Toddler Costume Party

So after all the talk about planning my toddler's costume party, I thought you might actually like to see how it turned out. This my first time hosting a Halloween party, so I have been posting alot about party ideas and offering my creations as printables all week. Well, the party was on Friday and I am happy to report it was a HUGE success! We had 10 children show up, the majority of which were under 2 years old. Is there anything cuter than babies in costumes? We had a cowboy, a pumpkin, Tinkerbell, twins as Lion and Dorothy (Wizard of Oz), Bob the Builder, a dinosaur, a mermaid, a dragon, and of course my lil owl! That many children and toddlers calls for alot of thoughtful planning. I set up the playroom so they could burn off energy with the adult sitting area and treat table in the adjacent room. In the living room I set up the coffee table for crafting paper plate masks. And in the kitchen I laid down Dollar Store tablecloths on the floor under the kiddie picnic table for snacking on messy cupcakes.

Here is a shot of the treat table...

The treat table consisted of:

• Candy Corn Monster Mash (Bag of chex mix, fall colored M&M's, candy corn, and melted chocolate)
• Cheesy Popcorn (popcorn sprinkled with a cheese packet from a box of Mac & Cheese)
• Pumpkin Fluff & Gingersnaps (can of pumpkin pie mix blended with cool whip)
• Juice boxes and Take & Toss sippy cups (decorated with Halloween stickers)
• Red velvet cupcakes
• Breakfast casserole
• Treat bags (Halloween stickers, stamps, bubbles, toothbrushes, glow sticks, tatoos, crayons, cars, fairy wands, etc)
• Large Bibs (cut out of Dollar Store Tableclothes)

We were so lucky to have a beautiful day so we could take the kids outside for a pumpkin hunt (mini pumpkins filled with candy scattered over the lawn and landscaping). After they collected all the pumpkins we rounded them up in front of my neighbor's garden corn and took a group photo.

Everyone had a great time and most importantly, my son had a blast!

I hope you all have a great weekend and a Happy Halloween! We are so excited to take our son trick or treating with our neighbors tomorrow. I think he is going to love it!

Free PRINTABLE "Out of Candy" Sign

I don't like to be a party pooper but our neighborhood is trick-or-treat central so unfortunately, no matter how much candy we buy we inevitably always run out. Last year, we didnt run out until about 9pm but even with all the decorations and porch lights turned off we still get some stray doorbells and knocks. Since I will hopefully have a sleeping toddler by that time this year, I wanted to avoid any racket that might wake him once we are out of candy. This year, instead of taping up a last minute handwritten "out of candy" sign I decided to make a nice one I can put up every year. Just in case you might like one too, I created it into a printable PDF. Read on to download...

Free PRINTABLE Trick Or Treat Banner

With Halloween less than a week away and my toddler's costume party in only 4 days,  I have been super busy planning all the details. Last week I finished up my coordinating cupcake toppers and wrappers and offered them up to you as a free printable. This week I wanted to make a trick-or-treat banner to hang above the food and treat table at the party. I finished it up today and it matches the cupcake toppers/wrappers! Read on to download the printable banner!

Free PRINTABLE Halloween Cupcake Toppers & Wrappers

This is the first year my son is really getting in to Halloween. He wasn't even a year old last year, but this year he is trying on masks in the dollar section of Target, begging for "balls" aka M&M's, and masquerading as an owl. He is really into pumpkins and he goes around saying "boo!" Seeing how much fun he is having, I decided to host a Halloween party for him all his buddies. Last night I started working on the cupcake toppers and wrappers. I looked all over the internet for something, but alas I came up empty handed. Last year I bought a ton of cute party supplies the day after Halloween at Target and was saving them for an occasion like this. I couldn't find any coordinating cupcake toppers so I decided to make them myself. Yes, I recreated the plaid from scratch! Whew! Totally worth it though, and I am passing on my hard work to you! All the toppers and wrappers are printable! Read on to get the download...

Handmade Owl Costume

Not sure if you have gathered by now, but I love owls! I think they are just adorable! You can imagine my delight when one of my son's first few words was "owwwwl". The way he says it in his sweet little toddler voice would warm anyone's heart. Now my son is obsessed with owls. He points out every single one he ever sees with an enthusiasm only a toddler could muster. Recently, after almost two years of refusing teddy bears, he found a plush owl and has adopted it as his lovey. It didn't come as a surprise when he asked to be an owl for Halloween. I started, snooped around stores and poked around online looking for owl costumes, but when I didn't find anything I liked, I decided to make the costume myself! Read on to see how...

We've Been Boo'd!

Before this year, I had never boo'd or been boo'd. I cant believe I haven't heard of this darling Halloween tradition before. The legend goes that you put together fun goodie baskets, leave them on your neighbor's doorstep, ring the doorbell, and run like Lindsay Lohan from rehab.

My Spooky Mantle

I just added the finishing touches to my spooky mantle. I have been assembling it for a few weeks now. I handmade pretty much everything up there! I am so pleased that I was able to put my own touches on everything. I just love it, and best of all, it passed the husband test. He said it's "the best Halloween display he's seen." Aww...what a keeper! ;)

Read on for some mini tutorials and neat links to how I did it...

DIY Halloween Banner

A couple weeks ago, I ran across some black glittered felt. When I saw it I instantly thought how cute it would be to use in a Halloween banner for my fireplace. I had visions of black glittery bats, owls, spiders, and letters spelling out "boo". Because of my No-Halloween-Decorations-Before-October rule, I wont be putting this banner up for another week, but I had to get started on making it if I wanted to use it this year. As I played around, my vision morphed into the bats, candy corns, and words you see now. I just love how it turned out! It is seriously so easy and cost a whooping $2 to make! I even included a printable template for you so the hardest part is done! Read on to get the tutorial...