Day 31 - Happy Willoween!

YAY! *Celebration clap* for a few reasons.

1. I survived this whole 31 days posting thing

2. I made what I am pretty sure is an ORIGINAL Halloween costume thus,

3. Making Munchface's little dream come true

I hope during your 31 days here on the island you've learned to embrace your child and take time to celebrate as often as possible.  I am still growing into Super Mom and I certainly don't claim to be an expert, I just know what works for me.  I'm always open to hear how you survive mommyhood... I LOVE COMMENTS!

Now... what no one is waiting for but entertain me, people Our fabulous version of WILLOW SMITH!

First, our inspiration was the START of the "Whip My Hair" music video pictured below:

Check us out:

Boom box trick or treat bag! We hot glued foam core board to a felt bag

Nail polish...

Eye shimmer...

WILLOWED!

Whipping out the lego catalog in Panera... Where the cashiers named her costume of the night!

Bling

Mall-O-Ween... Rock stars burn up the mall!

Posing for a fan's photos.... She must've taken 10 pics for strangers!

Another fan!

More fans!

Even people who didn't know Willow Smith LOVED the heart hair!

Back home we enjoyed our Panera and released the fro hawk!

Day 30 - Easy Fall Crafts!

My poor hot glue-burned fingers can barely find the strength to type... PITY me... I've been creating a fabulous costume for Munchface and I think the 31 post will be a day late to post the Halloween pics...

Well, here's a line-up of some EASY Fall crafts every mom must do with their little one...  Check them out:

Step-by-steps here.

Yummy peanut butter pumpkins (no baking or knives) step-by-steps here.

Put those pine cones to good use! Click here for an easy tutorial!

Done carving? Soak the seeds overnight, pat them dry, then thread string through for a cute SEASONAL necklace.  Tutorial here.

Halloween is almost here and gone... Might as well keep up the crafting momentum because before we know it Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here!

Day 29 - Face Painting Tutorials

Just when I didn't think I could find an awesome CHEAP costume idea... For those who need some last minute ideas, go pick-up some FACE PAINT! 

THIS WEBSITE has some AWESOME tutorials for the following (and more) face painting options... SIMPLY, dress the kiddos in all black for an instant costume...

Aren't they cute? Bookmark the site or subscribe to this post for your child's birthday party too.  Face painting and tattoos are ALWAYS a hit!

Day 28 - $2 INSTANT Halloween Decor

I'm about to show you 2 VERY easy Halloween decor options.  We will DEFINITELY have 1 on our porch for the trick or treaters... As if being easy isn't enough, they are both REALLY cheap!

1. Glow Stick Goblins.  White balloons + Glow sticks = FABULOUS.  We'll tape these to the porch for a quick and easy decor item. LURVE!

2. Milk Jug Ghost.  Save your milk jugs, draw a face with a black marker and drop in a glow stick (or battery operated light)... Fab and EASY!

Munchface woke up in the mood to make the house HALLOWEEN ready so we'll be doing something similar to get ready! I could totally see something similar for any event really... Maybe letters of a name lining an entrance for a night time party?

Hmm, might have to keep this in mind....

Day 27 - Creative Costumes

My definition of a creative costume coming up was one that didn't require us to spend money - baby, doll, Marine, Ninja... these were my typical "free" costumes.

I found some AWESOME costume inspiration online for costumes that you can create for $10 or less!

- Crayons. Dress each child in a solid color and use black tape to create the lines of the wrapper design.  Take party hats and paint them in coordinating colors for your child's color of choice.  Parent costume could be a crayon box.

- Pringles can.  Dress your child in red, slick the hair with a part in the middle, make the mustache of card stock and, and re-create the pringles can sign using construction paper and poster board.

- Sushi.  Dress in all white, draw/color a pink salmon shape and attach it to the body by wrapping with black (electrical?) tape or ribbon.  For girls, you can create a cute green (wasabi) and pink (ginger) headband... Parent costume: kikkoman sauce? all black with red hat and a "label" made of poster board... Check out this CUTIE:

- Bag of jelly beans. Take a clear trash bag and fill it colorful balloons.  Use poster board to re-create the Jelly Belly label and adhere the bag to the body.... EASY and cute. You could also pin purple, red or green balloons to a solid colored outfit for Grapes... lots of bounce... and LOTS of fun.

Speaking of creative costumes, Munchface made a request to be Willow Smith from her video "Whip My Hair Back and Forth" and we've been hot gluing for days to re-create this look:

I think we may have done it for less than $20... I'll tally up after Halloween and let you know!  What are you doing to make this a fun holiday?

Day 26 - Host A Spooktacular Dinner

I've decided to host a fun family dinner party this weekend.  We'll decorate our family pumpkins, make a spooky dessert and have some holiday-themed food... 

I love cool food tricks as  much as the next person but SOME Halloween food freaks me out.  I can't do any of the following no matter how creative they are:

Yes, it's food; jell-o in a straw = earth worms.

 

The sight of those images makes my stomach turn... I couldn't eat them if I wanted to! So, for our family dinner, I'll keep it more CUTE than CREEPY.  Here's what I'll serve for dinner:

- Mummy Dogs (hot dogs wrapped in Croissants).  Yummy and EASY!

- Mummy mini pizzas (mini bagels with marinara sauce, cheese and 2 olive eyes).

- There's a Bug in my Salad (spinach salad with a gummy worm on the bowl for the bug).

For dessert, we will make monster fingers (we tried sugar cookies but they swell up to be too plump for witch fingers...). We just use pink icing nail polish for and Munch, the monster nail technician adds sprinkles nail designs.

Ours will be a girly version!

I know, it's nothing crazy... Just a little something to help us have family fun for any reason at all really :)

What are you going to do to make something so dark and creepy fun for your little one?

Day 25 - Ghoulish Goodies

I made ghost cupcake 2 years ago for my co-workers and they were a HUGE hit... I found a photo of the same recipe I used online... I'll post my own this weekend BUT I didn't want you to miss out on baking some of your own AWESOME ghoulish goodies:

Photo Source

Simply follow the package instructions to bake and frost your cupcakes.  Purchase pre-made white fondant.  Cover your workspace with flour.  Roll the fondant out until you have a thin layer.  Have your little one use a large circle cookie cutter to cut the rolled fondant.  place the fondant over the iced cupcake and EITHER poke the eyes (as pictured), draw the eyes (with an edible marker) OR use mini candies (and extra icing to hold) to create the eyes.  

Easy P-Z and o so fabulous...

Mommy Tip: For smaller batches of cookies and cupcakes, visit your neighborhood Dollar Tree.  They sell the smaller boxes that make 1 dozen cookies/cupcakes... PERFECT for a smaller group, class, or office (just a co-worker hint-hint)! Go and BAKE something easy today!

Day 24 - Kid-Safe Candy

Halloween is fun for me because I enjoy the excitement of Munchface dressing up and putting on sparkles to go from house-to-house.  It's fun for her because she enjoys all of the above PLUS the sweet rewards that come with it. .. WHICH gives me mommy anxiety over two things -

1. What candy should I buy? 
2. What candy should I allow Munch to eat?

I had a tooth ache the other night and it's prompted me to wonder the damage all this sugar has on her teeth AND what damage will the candy I buy do to others' teeth?

Apparently my good ol' favorite CHOCOLATE is the best candy option for the kids.  Though it has a small amount of caffeine, it won't stick to their teeth and has very little (if any) artificial flavors/colors.  Keep in mind though that many children have an allergy to nuts so steer clear of ALL of my favorites (like Snickers) when buying for kiddos.  Some good chocolate options? KitKat or Hershey's Kisses.  Wal-Mart has some other options for Halloween goodies that are festive and healthier (like mini pretzel packs, cookie packs, and fruit snacks).  I am going to pick up a mixture of both chocolate (which I'm VERY happy about) and better-for-you snack packs.

As far as the WORST candies on the list, I made up a little rhyme to help me remember:

If it's chewy, sticky or hangs around,
It will make teeth turn shades of brown!

In other words CHEWY/STICKY candy like Laffy Taffy, Now-&-Later, Starburst, etc. stick to crevices in your teeth and allow bacteria to feed on them longer. 

Candy like Lollipops and jawbreakers that HANG AROUND in your mouth have the same effect and should be avoided.

If you do allow your child to have the candy mentioned above (2-3 pieces after dinner is a reasonable treat), have a few apple slices to help pull the junky stuff from those hard to reach places and REMEMBER to brush their teeth before bed!

Hope this helps you know which candy options are good for keeping a pretty little smile!