Halloween Costumes - 2012

It's not quite yet last minute, but it is getting close and we are just settling in exactly 'what we want to be this year'. My daughter has known for months, perhaps even since last Halloween, what she wants to be - "Rapunzel, from Tangled...when her hair was cut short". My son was kicking around the idea of being Anakin Skywalker, but we are exploring some other options.

For my daughter, it was easy. We headed to Wholesale Halloween Costumes and explored their collection of Tangled costumes and accessories. They have a variety of dress options for Tangled - they have a classic dress, a deluxe dress and even a wedding dress version of the Tangled costume. My daughter decided on the classic. They have tiaras and wigs to go with the costume. Since she wants to be Rapunzel after she cut her hair, there was no need for a wig - in fact, she told me that we might need to get her hair cut before Halloween if it grows too much.

They also offer shoes and princess make-up to complete the look.

We went with the largest size that they had, a medium (7-8). It gets cold here in North East Ohio and we need the option of layering beneath the dress. Plus, the kids turn their Halloween costumes into dress-up clothes - so it is good when they will fit them for a little while. As soon as it arrived, she couldn't wait to try it on. She was very excited to see herself dressed as Rapunzel. We tried on just the dress, with nothing underneath. It fit her and there is a little bit of room for putting on layers.

The dress is cuter in person than it appears on line. The skirt is satiny with a shimmery insert and a sheer, beaded overlay. The ribbon detailing on the top is capped with a 'broach', featuring Rapunzel's picture. The sleeves are satiny with shimmery ribbon accents. The shimmery tulle at the collar was a bit itchy to her. Fortunately, she will have something on underneath it and when we play dress-up, we typically leave on our t-shirts. I might see about pressing it a bit as well, so that it doesn't brush up against her. My daughter can't wait until she can wear the costume and be Rapunzel.

Now, for my son, we explored the great 2012 costume collection available on Wholesale Halloween Costumes. There are some really cute costumes out there. They have Captain America, Angry Birds, Skylanders and more to choose from. They even have 80s Rock Mullet Wig - that makes me feel old. I can remember as a kid that people would dress up like the 50s - Poodle Skirts and the like, now kids are able to dress up like my youth. They have several other fun costumes - like a piece of pizza, skeletons and more. They also have the Anakin Skywalker costume.

If you are still looking for a costume, be sure to check out WHCostumes on Facebook. They share specials on there - the most recent one was a 30% discount on all accessories.

No compensation was provided for this post. A complimentary costume was provided to facilitate the review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Harry Potter

We like to do theme birthday parties at our house. We have had a variety of them over the years. With girls, it seems a lot easier to include costumes as part of the theme. Last year, it was princesses and everyone got princess dresses to wear. For my son, it can be harder. Trying to find costumes for boys to fit the theme is not always easy. Last year was Phineas and Ferb, I'm not sure what I could have done for costumes there.

This year, it could be different. Harry Potter is the theme that my son chose for his birthday party (any ideas on a cake? - this is the first theme chosen by my kids that I am not familiar with). There seem to be a number of different Harry Potter costumes available. My son of course would want the Harry Potter one, but you can also find Gryffindor robes, Quidditch robes and even Voldemort (now if I had read a book or watched the show, maybe I would know the difference and could come up with a theory on what type of robes we could use. There are even accessories available too.

Even if we don't dress up at the party, my son has decided that the Harry Potter Robe would be part of his Halloween costume this year too. He will wear his shirt and tie from First Communion. We still need to pick up a wand and some glasses to finish accessorizing, but we have a few weeks until his party and Halloween. Here he is in just the robe:

and here is what the picture on the package looks like. The shirt and tie and glasses definitely help complete the look.

Playing Dress-Up

My kids love to play dress-up. On any random day, it is not completely uncommon for them to decide it is time to dress-up. I think this is a great way for them to be creative. Plus, it is a great way to entertain them on a cold or rainy afternoon, where playing outside just isn't an option.

Last weekend, my daughter put on her Tinkerbell dress and my son put on his Superman costume. My daughter was upset because Superman and Tinkerbell didn't go together. She thought he should dress up like a Prince or a King, to go with her Princess costume. Eventually, we agreed that Superman and Tinkerbell both fly, so they did go together. We had a babysitter and when we went to pick her up, they both came along and wore their costumes. They told her to let them get in the house before she came in. They quickly came in and put back on the cape and wings that they couldn't wear when they were in the car. When she walked in, they jumped out and showed off their costumes.

For us, the start of our dress-up collection consisted of former Halloween costumes. The collection also includes dress-up clothing that was from a party - my daughter has some from friend's parties and her own and my son has a prince costume from my daughter's party. Others are items that we have picked up in the off-season.

Our most recent adddition is a Toy Story costumes to choose from.


When the costume arrived in the mail, my daughter was sooooo excited. She has been saying since last year, that next year she wants to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. She was very excited to try it on. It's a little bit big for her, but I wanted to make sure that it would fit her this fall, especially if it was a cold night and she needed to bundle up. The first thing that she asked about after putting on the costume was where are the wings. Unfortunately, the wings are currently out of stock, so we will have to pick those up later. The next thing she asked was where the laser was. I explained that you couldn't put a real laser on a costume, it wouldn't be safe. She questioned back about why they couldn't have put a light on it. I explained that there isn't power on the costume and you would need power to make it light up. She wasn't happy about it, but she accepted my answer.

I'll probably let her wear it some for dress-up between now and Halloween, as I'm sure that she will want to, but I'm hoping that we can keep from getting it messed up before Halloween. After Halloween though, it will become part of her dress-up collection stored in easy reach for the weekend dress-up days.

No compensation was received for this post. Costuem Discounters provided me with the Buzz Lightyear costume for the purposes of completing a review. All opinions expressed are my own.