Strollerderby : halloween costumes

Best Halloween Costume Winners!

editors — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:02:00 GMT

Yes, someone did it. Merili Carter and family turned their baby girl into a real live Cabbage Patch Doll complete with birth certificate. Congrats Carter Family - you have won the Babble Playground Photo Contest and therefore, the super duper prize from BabyBjörn! There were many, many more kiddo costumes we wish we had thought of ourselves, and here are three. The runners-up are:

Brooke and her dancing ballerina in the requisite jewelry box.

Sheetal as Superman exiting the phone booth.

Carolyn and her Lil' Frenchie.

We hope everyone got the candy they wanted for Halloween! Tune in for next month's Babble Playground Photo Contest: Family Portrait. - April Peveteaux

The Candy That Time Forgot

Brett Singer — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:45:00 GMT

I stumbled onto a list of candies that we are unlikely to encounter in our children's treat bags tonight. One of them (Bit O'Honey) was on my Babble List, but the rest weren't. Let's look at a few entries from the Island of Discarded Sweets:

Bubble Gum Cigarettes

To my recollection, these tasted really gross, but they blew sugary "smoke" and were therefore "cool" – or should that be "Kool"? I can't imagine seeing them today.

Candy Buttons

Nothing wrong with these, I guess – that is, they're not a candy that mimics a horrible unhealthy habit. But they do encourage the eating of paper, since it's impossible to get the stupid buttons off the backing without ingesting a little mashed up dead tree substance.

Wax Bottles

I have to be honest here. I've never tasted one of these. Whenever I encountered one, I avoided it like booger-flavored jellybeans. I guess it's some sort of sugary liquid encased in wax – is that right? Anyone want to enlighten me?

Sixlets

These were a rare treat. So good. Like M&M's but somehow fancier.

Toffifay

These always offended me a little bit. I can't remember if “It’s Too Good For Kids!” was the actual slogan but that was definitely the attitude. This and Toberlone – if these somehow ended up in my trick or treat bag, some dopey grown-up would liberate them from my possession. NO CANDY IS TOO GOOD FOR ME!

Pop Rocks

Man, do I not miss these things. They did not, I believe, actually kill Mikey. But they're so gross it's believable.

There's more, read the rest of the list here. Any old-time candy that you miss, or don't miss?

Source: MightyJunior

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A Halloween Playlist for Your Kids' Party

7 Awesome Halloween Costumes for Pregnant Chicks

The Return of the Halloween Baby Slut Costumes

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Trick or Treating Pays

editors — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:03:00 GMT

Awe-inspiring costume – check
Camera – check
Plans to rush home and upload your photo to enter The Babble Playground Photo Contest – you’d better!

This is it folks – we’re starting the judging tomorrow and will announce the winner of the Super Prize from BabyBjörn on Monday. Enter now because, as they say, you’ve got to be in it to win it!

Good luck and Happy Halloween!

How To Carve a Pumpkin (Video)

Brett Singer — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:00:00 GMT

If anyone hasn't gotten around to slicing and dicing their yearly Jack O'Lantern (me), or just wants a few tips on how to do it better (me), here is Chris Gould (not me) to show you how. Apparently it's all about etching rather than carving. In the spirit of the holiday, we'll forgive the Red Sox t-shirt.

Source: how2heroes.com

More Bad Halloween Costumes for Kids

Do You Dress Up for Halloween?

Why Are The Grown Up Costumes For Women So Slutty?

What are your kids wearing this Halloween?

Santa Claus says: Smoke More

Defamer's Top 10 Halloween Specials

A Halloween Playlist for Your Kids' Party

7 Awesome Halloween Costumes for Pregnant Chicks

The Return of the Halloween Baby Slut Costumes

Related on Babble:

The Babble List: The Best Candy Ever

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Incredibly Good Homemade Halloween Costumes

Brett Singer — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:00:00 GMT

When it comes to Halloween costumes, we're not very crafty at my house. The kids want to be characters from movies and TV, and I'm fine with that. It's much easier to buy an Iron Man costume than it is to make one. Admittedly, I have the artistic ability of a three year old, and that's being generous.

Some people, however, have the talent and are not afraid to use it. Check out this gallery of homemade costumes from the Kansas City Star.

Optimus Prime

This is, frankly, much better than anything you could buy. It wasn't cheap or easy, though – 40 hours and 50 bucks worth of materials, such as " rubber doorstops, PVC, football shoulder pads and 'lots and lots of duct tape'" according to Eric Collins, who made the lead Autobot costume for his son Cameron. The final touch was "custom vinyl decals." Way over my head. But nice job, dude.

Homemade Hippies

These two are more the kind of thing I might be able to do, except for the whole "making the clothes" part. (I can sew on a button, but that's about it.) Less impressive than Optimus Prime, but still cute. I guess that means the younger generation still knows what hippies were.

For a few more, click here.

When Halloween rolls around, do you buy costumes or make your own?

Source: kansascity.com

Do You Dress Up for Halloween?

Why Are The Grown Up Costumes For Women So Slutty?

What are your kids wearing this Halloween?

Santa Claus says: Smoke More

Defamer's Top 10 Halloween Specials

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7 Awesome Halloween Costumes for Pregnant Chicks

The Return of the Halloween Baby Slut Costumes

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Why Are The Grown Up Costumes For Women So Slutty?

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:00:00 GMT

When I asked the question "do you dress up for Halloween", I received a couple of unexpected answers. From the comments:

Manjari: They don't sell costumes for adult women that aren't bedroom wear.

Alice: …the costumes are all too trashy these days. Sexy Ragdoll? 70's Afroqueen? Gimme a break.

Looking at most of the costume pictures I found – I didn't do extensive research but still – I think we're on to something. Look at these:

This one is listed under "Women – Occupational":

2 Piece Black Fire Woman Costume

What's her occupation, stripper? This looks like, um...what's the word? Porn. Plus that is OBVIOUSLY a white lady (I know, bad joke).

This is under "Women – Period":

3 Piece Indian Girl Costume W/ Tomahawk

Again – this looks like something from "Zack and Miri Make a Porno". "Poke-Her-Hontas", anyone? Plus the proper term is "native American", everyone knows that.

Even the pic I used on the "do you dress up for Halloween" is clearly meant to be suggestive, although the costume covers far more skin. Compared to some of the Fire Lady and the Tomahawk Queen, it's practically a burka.

The men's costumes from the same store (Ricky's in NYC) are much less revealing.

After an admittedly quick perusal I found only one semi-nekkid costume:
Borat Mankini Green Lycra

The others are mostly clothed -- police officer, etc.

Now, as a guy, sure, I find the porno lady costumes pleasant to look at. And I'm not going all moral majority on you. But who is buying these things? Am I off base here? And when did this trend start?

Plus, won't those women be chilly? It is October, after all.

Source: Ricky's Halloween, Babble commenters

Do You Dress Up for Halloween?

What are your kids wearing this Halloween?

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7 Awesome Halloween Costumes for Pregnant Chicks

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More Bad Halloween Costumes for Kids

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Shine has a list of some of the worst kiddie costumes. Mike covered a lot of these in his brilliant post The Return of the Halloween Baby Slut Costumes. (Sample: "Would anyone ever sell a Chippendale outfit for young boys? Would a parent ever buy one?") But there are a few more in the Shine list that are worthy of attention, and I found a couple of others I wanted to share.

Baby Whoopie Cushion Costume

I have to admit, I think this is hilarious. I mean, I wouldn't put this costume on my child. But it's a funny picture. The only way that a parent could get away with something like this is if they were some sort of a lovable doofus – think Joe Isuzu. (You either get that reference or you don't. Here's a video if you're curious.) Maybe if you own a novelty store – I can imagine Christopher Walken's character in 'Hairspray' putting this on an infant Tracy Turnblad. Of course, those are both fictional characters, which probably means that parents should avoid this outfit.

The Joker from The Dark Knight

The Joker was always a scary character. In the Batman comics, he's a guy with no powers that is feared by heroes and villains alike. Why? Because he's just that crazy. Even so, Heath Ledger's performance in 'The Dark Knight' took that madness to a new level. (“Want to see me make a pencil disappear?” If you saw the movie, you know what I'm talking about.) In the comic book, Joker's perma-grin is the result of a fall into a vat of mysterious chemical goo. In Ledger's interpretation, it's a scar. As in, cut with a knife. Ew. This one will probably be popular because the movie was monster hit, but I wonder how many little kids actually saw it (it really wasn't a kids' movie, but that doesn't always matter). Dressing up as Ledger's Joker would be OK for an older kid I suppose, but if a parent buys this costume for a little one they either didn't see the movie or are a weirdo. Or both.

Zombie Skate Punk Child Costume

This one is on sale. BIG surprise. What's weird about this costume is the shirt, which I guess is supposed to show scars and tattoos and other “punk” things. If you really wanted your kid to dress up as a “punk”, you could just get an old flannel shirt, rip it up, put a Black Flag t-shirt under it. Maybe some ripped jeans with safety pins. A heroin needle. You know, easy.

Batman Muscle Chest Costume

This isn't on Shine's list, but I'm going to add it because it annoys me. I wore a Batman costume for years, and I never thought, “Boy, I wish this had big fake muscles.” Do we really need to make kids feel bad about their bodies this early? There's plenty of time for them to be insecure when they get older, start losing their hair, many years from now... You know, when they hit 30.

Source: Yahoo Shine, mrcostumes.com

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Do You Dress Up for Halloween?

Brett Singer — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Continuing with the Halloween theme (it's this Friday in case you forgot), I'm wondering if the grown-ups out there are planning to dress up.

I stopped wearing Halloween costumes my sophomore year of high school; I went to school as a made-up superhero called "Golden Boy" in a costume I sort of made myself. It was pretty lame and the whole thing was just… I don't know. It wasn't fun anymore. (I attended High School of Performing Arts, aka LaGuardia, and Halloween was a big deal there for the artsy kids.)

My first year of college I was talked into wearing a costume that some girls put together for me. I dressed up as Eurotrash, with a big "L" pin. The tag line was, "Hi, I'm Lawrence. Like the L?" Again, very lame. Lost interest quickly. Didn't even get any, um, candy from the girls. After that, if I was invited to a Halloween party, I would show up in a sweater and say I was Hamlet in a modern-dress production. That didn't go over well, although it was more helpful in terms of dating.

In case you can't tell, I don't do anything now, but I know that some parents do. Do you? If so, what do you wear?

On a related note, does anyone else feel like Halloween is overshadowed by the election this year? Not that it matters, but I actually had to write myself a note to make sure I remembered that Friday was trick-or-treating time.

image source

Santa Claus says: Smoke More

Defamer's Top 10 Halloween Specials

Economy? Down. Halloween Sales? Up!

Jen Chaney — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:02:00 GMT

We all know that the U.S. economy is in a state that financial experts describe, in technical terms, as "totally in the crapper." But despite that, sales of Halloween costumes and other assorted paraphernalia are on the upswing this year, according to this story in the L.A. Times.

Several stores in the Los Angeles area report that they are doing robust business, and a few shoppers tell the Times reporter that they plan to spend even more on their '08 All Hallow's acitivities than they did on last year's. ("My investment accounts, I'm watching it go down and down and down ... So this is an escape," explained Erich Hamner.)

That's in keeping with a survey by the National Retail Federation, which also projects more spending this year over last and estimates that the average American will spend $66.54 on Halloween.

It's hard to know if these findings are truly representative of a national trend. I am guessing that Halloween spending in, say, some of the harder hit towns in Ohio or western Pennsylvania is not chugging along to the same degree one might find in L.A., Chicago or New York. But the overall theme also dovetails nicely with this item Madeline posted on Wednesday, which indicates some families are not cutting back when it comes to their kids.

If that phenomenon -- wanting to make sure the little ones have a good time -- synchs up with the one mentioned by Hamner -- "I need to escape from my financial woes by dressing up as Batman" -- then Halloween could very well be especially lucrative for those in the costume-and-candy business. But what do you think? Will this be a bigger trick-or-treat day than ever? And how are you and your family handling the holiday this year? Throwing even more cash at it, or trying to be budget-conscious?

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Image: Pumpkin Masters

What are your kids wearing this Halloween?

Brett Singer — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Time for another one of my completely unscientific polls.

Just wondering what your children will be wearing this Halloween. Versace? Ralph Lauren? Sorry, bad joke. I mean costumes. Who are they dressing up as? (Unless your kids are wearing Versace pirate costumes, and if they are, I want to hear about it.)

In my house, it's all superheroes. Me, I spent a number of years as Batman, then had a few years of homemade costumes – Luke Skywalker, a ninja, pretty standard boy stuff.

So – whatcha got?

image: BuyCostumes

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How To Fake Being the Crafty Mom This Halloween

JeanneSager — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:57:00 GMT

What's better than being the creative mom who makes her kids' Halloween costumes? Faking it.

YouCanMakeThis is a whole Website devoted to pretending you came up with crafty ideas for your kids, including crochet patterns for pirate hats and make-your-own tutus. Some of this stuff looks too hard to fake. They promise that the buccaneer hat is perfect for a "beginning crocheter," but they had me at crocheter. And even I can admit it's a little disingenuous.

But it's cheaper than buying a whole book full of costume plans you'll never be able to tackle, and you'll earn a little street cred with the "we make our own baby food/sew our own cloth diapers/make elaborate princess castles out of a single cardboard box" mom set.

I have come to terms with the fact that I will never be Martha. Despite the packrat in me that's stored up bits of ribbon and decoupage-able cardboard boxes, all I've got is a closet of crap. But facing a future when the free Halloween costume run we've enjoyed will come to an abrupt (and expensive) end, I'm getting myself ready.

Image:

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7 Awesome Halloween Costumes for Pregnant Chicks

Jen Chaney — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:29:00 GMT

So I was innocently clicking around the 'ol Interweb when I came across this gallery of Best Pregnant Halloween Costumes over at parents.com. I clicked on it and found picture after picture of bare, swollen bellies dolled up in costume. A couple of them (see photos 3 and 4) made me smile. The rest (see photos 2, 6, 9, 10 -- wow, seriously, 10 -- and several others) were vaguely disturbing. I thought, "Man, there must be some cool Halloween costumes that don't require women to walk around with American flags scrawled across their massive, naked stomachs."

So I thought some more. And I came up with seven costume ideas for the knocked-up set. That's okay. You can thank me later.

Go as Juno: Throw on a striped maternity shirt, a gray hooded sweatshirt, a skirt and a pair of jeans, then carry a slushie in your hand and -- voila! -- you are Juno MacGuff. If you can convince your significant other to don a track outfit and be Paulie Bleeker, all the better. Just don't forget to spend Halloween repeatedly saying, "Honest to blog."

Go as a Baby on Board sign: One of the photos in that parents.com gallery plays with this idea. But you can do the same thing without painting your belly yellow. Wear a black turtleneck and a pair of black pants, then make a diamond-shaped sandwich board that says "Baby on Board" and hang it over your shoulders. You're done. A friend of mine did this when I threw an '80s-themed Halloween party a few years ago, and it looked almost as awesome as the "99 Red Balloons" costume.

Go as Bristol Palin: This only works if you can convince a spouse, girlfriend, significant other or friend to accompany you in full-on Sarah Palin regalia. Otherwise, you'll just look like a pregnant pseudo-teen wearing a nice dress.

Go as an oven: This requires a bit of artsy-craftiness. Take a cardboard box and decorate it to look like an oven, one that fits around your middle. (Don't forget the arm and leg holes.) The window of the oven should center around your pregnant belly, to which you should tape a picture of a loaf of bread rising as it bakes. That's right: You've got a bun in the oven. Laugh it up, people, I'm here all week!

Go as Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani or pretty much any well-known celebrity who is or has been pregnant. What, you honestly need my help with this? Nah, you can figure out these costumes for yourself. (Bonus points to anyone who goes as Jolie and brings a posse of children with her.)

Go as Murphy Brown: Remember when Candice Bergen's newswoman became a single, pregnant woman, sending shockwaves throughout conservative America? Why not revisit those halcyon days from the early '90s by becoming Murphy and, what the heck, talking your husband into dressing up as a shocked and appalled Dan Quayle?

Go as Barefoot and Pregnant: This is the ideal costume for the pregnant woman with absolutely no spare time. Show up at a Halloween party, slip off your shoes and you're all set. Hey, don't say I never saved you time.

Image: Fox Searchlight

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As the Cookie Crumbles: The Disheveled Family Rescue Plan

Madeline Holler — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:00:00 GMT

I guess what's missing when the husband and I take our girls out is a "cohesive family look." What with the heat sensitive husband always in shorts, the cold sensitive older child in a hooded jacket, the color insensitive younger one in mix-and-not-match colors and patterns and me, mostly in jeans and a kicky top (usually clean). We've never thought of ourselves in that Von Trapp "we'll look good on stage" way. Once, we all accidentally wore green shirts to a picnic and felt a little on the silly (and/or Amish) side.

As usual when it comes to style, though, I was mistaken. The goal is to dress alike, especially mothers and daughters.

Thank goodness for the October issue of Cookie magazine. They tackle the challenges of raising a child as an accessory and give you plenty of ideas for ensuring your kids never come up with their own ideas on what to wear.

Let's start with this month's big event: Halloween. To get you out of your "lame" witch hat habit, you are encouraged to coordinate family costumes. So, if your son is dressing as Sherlock Holmes this year (what? Yours isn't begging you for a houndstooth cloak?), you need to go as Dr. Watson. Orange cat outfit for the little one? Focus all attention back to you and shimmy into a black shift and pearls. You're a dead ringer for Holly Golightly!

The monkey kid (looking less than thrilled with his round ears and peeled banana -- "but mooooommmmm! I want to be a Transformer!" ... "Shut up and get cohesive, son!") will be a perfect sidekick to your Man with the Yellow Hat idea. There's also Tinkerbell/Captain Hook and Bucket of Chicken/Colonel Sanders pairings. Cute, sure -- and you're the star of this show!

Wait, whose Halloween is it?

Next in mini-me stylings is the "Separated a Birth" section, this time with winter coats. Gorgeous wool coats for kids should match your own gorgeous wool coat (remember: cohesion). My favorite pairing? Mom's taupe tie-neck coat from H&M ($129) and a kid's Dominique Rouzier "recital coat" for $450 (oh, she'll wear it all the time!). That's the sign of a truly cohesive family unit -- a mother who shops discount so her daughter can wear couture.

So many lessons.

Oh, the shambles that is my uncoordinated, uncloaked family unit!

As the Cookie Crumbles: A Taste of the High Calorie Magazine

Photo: Cookiemag.com

Say Aww: Baby Halloween Costume Contest Winners

Gwynne Watkins — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:53:00 GMT

The winners are in for the costume contest I co-judged over at Etsy! It's thrilling to see so many creative parents, and tough to pick a winner. But the above costume, Max and Wild Thing, took the grand prize. I'll be posting more about the contest in Droolicious -- in the meantime, second and third place winners are after the jump. Prepare to squeal.

Baby shrimp!

Eric Carle-inspired baby butterfly!

See more (non-baby) contest winners here.

Pregcellent: Dress Up That Bump

Kelly Mills — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:31:00 GMT

Determined as ever to ride Halloween into the ground, I scoured the internet for, like, 30 seconds to find costumes for those with child this holiday. Then I got distracted by the open bag of fun size Almond Joys, and then I looked at pictures of puppies, and then I remembered I was supposed to be looking for costumes. Luckily Mamablogga has a list of ideas for you and for yer partner, though if you haven't gotten your outfit yet, you might be screwed by now. Unless you are one of those crafy types who whips up costumes in ten minutes, and that's only slightly less annoying than being in your pre-pregnancy jeans one month after giving birth. Just saying.

I actually like the pregnant nun and priest thing, but I'm easy to please like that. If I was knocked up I might go school girl, cuz that's funny too. Maybe you could be Mylie Cyrus, though you know, whenever you dress up like a celeb people always say, "Who are you supposed to be?" and once someone says that, it's anti-climactic to have to explain the whole thing. You could also make your partner wear a pregnancy suit and go as twins. But you know what my vote is for pregnant Halloween costume? Go as a playboy bunny. Ha! You could even pretend to frantically search for Hef with a paternity test kit in hand. I think pregnant women are the only ones who can really work the slutty Halloween costume thing to best effect. And whatever you do, remember: the baby wants candy, and lots of it.

Did Your Kid Go to School in Costume Today?

Karen Murphy — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:34:00 GMT

I'm rather amazed at the variety of costume policies implemented today at schools around the U.S. When did kids wearing costumes become a political statement? But the talk about the high school that banned all Halloween costumes because three students dressed as Captain Underpants last year (an awesome costume idea, by the way) has me baffled.

When my kids attended a Waldorf school, their costumes had to reflect the curriculum of the grade they were in. It was kind of cool to see characters from Norse mythology mixing it up with Romans, Hindu deities, various saints, and fairy tale characters. Not that my kids would wear those costumes for later trick-or-treating, but everyone dressed in costume on Halloween. This year they're in public school. My son's middle school requires that costumes meet the dress code, and masks are fobidden so his faceless Death ghoul costume is out, but he went happily off to school with rainbow clown hair this morning. My daughter's second grade, on the other hand, has created a huge event for the day complete with parade, movie and party, and as long as the kids aren't bloody or wielding weapons, anything goes.

So what gives with the costume restrictions? Are costumes really a "disruption to the instructional day?" I hardly think so, and I'd hate my kids to attend that school. It seems to me that encouraging costumes on this one day of the year could really promote creativity and become—gasp—a learning opportunity. Not to mention—another gasp—fun.

What about your kids? Costumes or no today?

Hitting the Bottle: The I Wanna Be a Firefighter

Madeline Holler — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:15:00 GMT

In honor of the men and women who have managed to beat back the fires, rescue homes and many lives during the raging infernos that burned down here in Southern California this week – and also in honor of an impending evening of out-of-control children dressed up like rescue workers (or sluts) in less than a week – we bring you this fire hot and blazing spicy drink: The I Wanna Be a Firefighter.

1/2 ounce each of spiced rum, Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam and cinnamon Schnapps. Pour over ice in a highball glass, top off with Dr. Pepper, and remember (1) it could have been a lot worse and (2) Halloween will soon be over. (Platitudes, I know. Here, have another sip.)

(Thanks to Drinknation.com for the recipe.)

GreenHouse: Green Your Makeup Drawer (In Time for Halloween)

Alisyn — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:26:00 GMT

As a kid, I planned my Halloween costumes around how much makeup I could get away with "borrowing" from my mom's cosmetics drawer. I loved slathering on rouge, lipstick, eyeliner, mascara... it made me feel so glamorous and exotic and grown up. But - *sigh* - those were the good ol' days, when parents were more worried about finding razor blades in their kids apples than exposing their kids to toxic levels of lead toys and yes, makeup.

The cosmetic products test recently conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics serves as a timely reminder that there is no "safe" lead level - it causes environmental and health problems even in small levels, particularly to babies and kids. It comes from many sources and accumulates in the body. It should be avoided - period. This Halloween, if your kids are planning on incorporating make-up into their costumes, it may be worth considering purchasing some reasonably priced, organic alternatives to name-brand make-up. Because like candy, lipstick and makeup are ingested, and can sit in the body indefinitely. And if lead is lurking in 61% of our brand name lipsticks, should we assume that the rest of our make-up products are safe?

Gourmet Body Treats is a great online resource for organic (and fairly cheap) make-up. Organic Lifestyles offers a wide range of products, including a mouth-watering, lead-free redder-than-red lipstick. Saffron Rouge, and Nvey Natural Organics do, too.

Halloween is an excellent excuse to go out and splurge on new, eco-friendly makeup, but the best reason is you.