Simple Halloween Costumes

My kids just can't get enough of their super capes.  It is seriously their favorite dress-up toy.  My daughter is being a super girl for the third year this Halloween and with my son's super hero birthday party last month he decided to jump on the bandwagon too.

I like to make my kids Halloween costumes every year but I also like to keep them simple.  Really simple.  So this year they got to wear the new capes from my son's party, and I made them both a belt.  My son informed me that he need a shirt with a "S" on the front so I used a $5 shirt from Target and a smaller version of my Superman template and we were good to go. 

Super simple for me, and I have two happy super hero's ready to go out and save the world, or at least ready to go out and collect some candy . . .

What are your kids being for Halloween this year?

Ghostly Pudding Cups

Inspired by Amy's healthy Halloween snack and these cute frankenstein pudding cups I set out to make a cute, easy Halloween treat for my boys.  What I came up with is so super easy that anyone  can do it!  All you need is a vanilla pudding cup and a sharpie!

And viola!  You have a little ghost pudding cup.  I'm excited to pull these out for dessert tonight.  The boys are going to love them!

Roasted Seeds

I love roasting pumpkin seeds every fall.  My mom roasted them when I was growing up so I feel like it's a tradition.  I could eat them year round, but the two pumpkins we buy every year never seem to have enough seeds to last us very long.

Last year when my mom came to help after baby #3 was born she made some delicious acorn squash with apples for dinner.  She saved the seeds from the squash and roasted them up.  They were so yummy and I couldn't believe I never thought of doing that.  I always threw the seeds away.  Now they're a favorite snack at our house.  My kids always groan when they see I'm making squash for dinner but they get super excited when they see me roasting up the seeds for a snack.  Those tasty little seeds are gobbled up quick at this house.

Roasted Pumpkin or Squash Seeds

1 cup squash or pumpkin seeds

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

Rinse seeds in cold water and make sure all the the pulp and strings are removed.  Drain and pat dry.  Stir seeds in a bowl with remaining ingredients making sure they are fully coated.  Place seeds in a single layer on a baking tray (I like to place parchment paper underneath for easy clean up).  Bake in a 250 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until brown and crispy (pumpkin seeds may take an extra 15-20 minutes).

Enjoy!

Healthy Halloween Snack

With all the candy that comes with the month of October, how about a healthy Halloween snack?  I think we need some of those too.

The other day I picked up some mandarin orange cups from the store . . .

and with some inspiration from Aimee I created these festive little orange jack-o-lantern snacks.  

Aren't they cute?

A sharpie marker is perfect for drawing on the little faces.  I'll be serving these for lunch on Halloween next week.  I think my kids will love them.

Another idea is to draw a little face right on the peel of an orange or clementine like Ann did here.  Great idea!

So, are you ready for Halloween?  Costumes all done?  Or are you still finding time to squeeze in the finishing touches?

Monster Books

Inspired by this post and in honor of the spooky month of October I wiped out our libraries collection of monster books to read with my kids.  I thought we'd read them over several days, but we were enjoying them so much that we couldn't stop and read them all in one afternoon.  When we were done I had my kids vote on their favorite.

And the winner was . . .

Yuck! That's not a Monster! by Angela McAllister

Mr. and Mrs. Monster eagerly await the arrival of their little monster hatchlings.     First there's Frightful . . . then comes Horrid . . . but when the third little monster creeps out of his shell, he's . . . horribly SWEET and CUDDLY? What will the Monster family do with their Little Shock?

 This book won twice since both my son and daughter liked it best.  It is a really cute book with an ending that made them laugh.  Check to see if your library carries it too.  I'm sure you and your kids will enjoy it!

More of our favorites . . .

Beware the Tickle Monster! by Craig Yoe

My toddlers have always loved this book!  Guaranteed to send any little tyke into tickle-fits of laughter, Beware the Tickle Monster! is destined to become every kids’ favorite first book. 

Go Away, Big Green Monster, by Ed Emberley

Another book your toddler and preschooler will love!  Caldecott Award-winning author-artist Ed Emberley has created an ingenious way for children to chase away their nighttime fears. Kids can turn the pages of this die-cut book and watch the Big Green Monster grow. Then, when they're ready to show him who's in charge, they'll turn the remaining pages and watch him disappear!

The Monster Princess, by D.J Machale

Deep in a cave there's a story, it seems, of a sweet little monster with very big dreams.  She wished she was pretty.  She wished she could dance.  She wished to be special . . . and this was her chance.

The Monster Who Ate My Peas, by Danny Schnitzlein

What do you dread eating the most? For the boy who's the hero of this story, it's peas.  Eventually he faces a daunting decision--can he conquer his loathing for peas . . . or will he lose his most prized possession?

Jeremy Draws a Monster, by Peter McCarty

Jeremy draws a monster . . . but he doesn't expect it to be bored and hungry! How will he ever get rid of this monstrous nuisance?

 

The Great Monster Hunt, by Norbert Landa

When Duck wakes early one morning, she hears a funny pshh pshh! noise from under her bed.  Too afraid to look, she jumps out of bed and finds a friend to help.  Soon Pig and a brave band of friends are heading Duck's way to save her from the terrifying monster . . .

Monster Mess, by Margery Cuyler

A tired monster goes up the stairs.  But a boy is sound asleep.  And his room is not so neat--not neat enough for a monster to take a nap! So the monster starts to clean.

Monsters Don't East Broccoli, by Barbara Jean Hicks

Monsters insist they don't eat broccoli.  They'd rather snack on tractors or a rocket ship or two, or tender trailer tidbits or a wheely, steely stew.  But boy, do those trees they're munching on look an awful lot like broccoli.  Maybe vegetables aren't so bad after all!

The Monstore, by Tara Lazar
The monstore sells only the most useful monsters--perfect for all your monsterly needs.  And Zack has a big monsterly need indeed: to frighten his pesky little sister away.  No more sneaky sister snooping, sleepwalking, or snatching his stuff!  But Zack's monsters don't quite work to plan.  And the only rule of the Monstore?  No refunds.  Perhaps it's the little things in life that are the scariest of them all.

See some of my favorite Halloween books here and other book reviews here.

Super Hero Party (free templates included)

My oldest son turned four last month.  Turning four at our house is a big deal because that means you get to have your first birthday party with friends.  I love planning parties for my kids.  It's so much fun for me.  Because I was excited to start planning I asked him several months ago what kind of party he'd like to have and threw out some ideas.  A teddy bear picnic (he thought he was too old for that), ninjas, a spy party like his cousin, knights and dragons, pirates, or super heros.  My son didn't have to think about it for long.  Super hero's it was!  I thought it was a great choice.

I kept the decorating pretty simple.  Decorating is something I can easily get carried away with so I had to remind myself that a bunch of three and four year olds don't really care about a bunch of fancy decorations.  I made my super hero garland using some free images found online and this free download from One Charming Party.  I also downloaded this awesome free font called Sound FX from dafont.com.  It's full of pow and bang and zaps.  Really fun.  Check it out.

Next, the cake.  I have officially declared myself cake challenged.  When it comes to making and decorating cakes things never go how I have planned.  My grandma, mom, and aunts all make incredible cakes, but unfortunately I didn't inherit the cake decorating genes.



I wanted to find little super hero figures to decorate the cake and had a hard time hunting something down.  I finally spied these cute little guys at the bookstore.  They were perfect!!!  And after eating the cake and washing them off they're a new favorite toy for my little boy.

When the kids arrived at the party they each got to decorate a super hero mask using fabric markers.  I made the masks out of a thin pellon.  I wanted a material that was somewhat stiff so it wouldn't flop over and something that had a smooth surface making it easy to decorate with the markers. Pellon seemed like the best bet.  (See below for mask template.)

Then it was time for some super hero games.  I put my husband in charge of the games because he's so much better at that stuff than I am.  I can't remember everything he did, but here are a few ideas.

Superhero Obstacle Course
For this party game, get your Superhero guests to save the world by going through an action hero obstacle course. Set up an obstacle course around your yard or inside your home using cardboard boxes, garbage cans, old tires, bicycles, ropes, sports equipment, logs, trampolines, basketball and hula hoops, chairs, pillows or anything you can find to create a challenging course. You can have challenges like ball throwing, long jump, balance beam walking, climbing, crawling through a tube, running faster than a speeding bullet, bouncing a super ball very high, etc. Use a stopwatch to see how fast each child can complete the course.  If there is time have them try the course a second time and see if they can beat their time.

Kryptonite Toss
Take a bucket and cover it in tinfoil as if it were a planet. The "kryptonite" are ping pong balls painted bright green. Have the kids throw the "kryptonite" into the "planet" and see how many they can throw in, every time throwing from a tougher distance.

Lava Pit
Place some red fabric under a beam to create a lava pit and bridge.  Party goers try and cross the bridge without falling in the lava in order to save innocent citizens (or toy dinosaurs or other toy).  Once on the other side the superhero rescues the "toy" and then crosses the bridge again to bring them back to safety.


After games, and cake, and opening presents my son gifted each of his friends with a super hero cape of their own.  These were a lot of fun to make (plus simple and easy to whip out several) and a big hit with the kids.  They loved running around in their capes until it was time for mom or dad to come pick them up.

I couldn't resist making them reversible.  Makes for double the fun. (Templates included below.)

Superman and The Flash for the boys . . .

and Super girl and a princess cape for the girls.

Except for my six year old, who was not interested in a princess cape at all.  She has been dying for a bat girl cape.  So bat girl it was.

 We just never tire of super capes at our house . . .

They're well loved and played with often.

 Each guest got to bring home the mask they decorated, their reversible super cape, and this simple goodie bag which included superhero fruit snacks and stickers, a batman pencil and a punch balloon.

It was one. fun. day.

 Happy birthday super boy!  I sure do love you!


As promised, here are my templates for the super masks, batman and flash logos.  For my cape template, super man and princess logos please see this post.  I hope they come in handy for you!

(To print templates: Click on picture and then copy and save to your computer.  Open in a document and reduce your margins to zero.  Expand to 100% and print.)

Have a SUPER day!

Playroom Art

Not long ago I spotted this piece of art on pinterest.  "What a perfect thought for the playroom!" I thought.  Plus, who can go wrong with the Beatles?!  I did not, however, care for the style of this piece.  So I set out to make something a little more me.  This is what I came up with.

 

And it just happens to be your lucky day because I continued to play around with the colors and am now offering them all to you for free.  Because free is my favorite.

To download just click on your color of choice.  Then right click and "save image as".  Once it's saved to your computer you can print it at home or send it to your favorite developer.  (They are all set up as 8x10's.)  Please use these for your personal use only . . . and enjoy!

**ps. I found my background here.