8 years of Halloween Costumes

Am I allowed to say the word Halloween before October 1st?
Eek. Hope so!....because that's all that Lucy keeps talking about at our house!
What should we be for Halloween???

She and her girlfriends want to dress like Lalaloopsies, which I think is adorable.....and guess which pattern might be fantastic for that?....The First Day Dress! (assuming she doesn't want to be one of the crazy lalaloopsies, like the mermaid.  But I think she's hoping for Peanut)

So to get me in the mood for making costumes---rather than complaining and procrastinating---I gathered photos from the last 8 years of costumes.  Most are homemade, some are semi-homemade, and some are storebought.....which I gotta be honest, can feel just as awesome as slaving away making something.  There are upsides to both.
So, here's a costume time capsule....

Last year I loved doing a semi-homemade/storebought routine.
Owen wanted to be Luke Skywalker.  And when I asked what we needed he said, "we have everything!  I'll get it together!"
FANTASTIC.

My favorite part of the costume is the reversible hooded cape, which I made for the kids years ago.  I had made one for each of them.  And seriously....they are THE MOST USED item in our costume bin, constantly.  My kids love them, friends love them.  I should make more.  Read the details here.

With Owen being Luke, Lucy wanted to be Padme....which made this store-bought costume so fantastic.  Done!

Of course I thought they looked a little more like Wesley and Buttercup.

The year before that, Owen also wanted to be, yep....a JEDI. Specifically---Mace Windu.  This time around I made a few items and threw them together with things we already had.  It was also the first year the kids did not dress as an ensemble, which gave me mixed emotion.  They were growing up and also learning to have their own opinion.

Clara was a very simple Little Red Riding Hood.   (And I'm suddenly realizing....did I not even dress her up last year??   Guess I'll have to make up for it this year.  Sorry 3rd child).

Lucy's costume was one of my all-time favorites.  She wanted to be Sleeping Beauty....but we gave it a twist.  Just like the fairies in the movie, we couldn't decide if she should be pink, or blue.  So we did both!  Just pick which side you want to stand on.

It was especially fun because her friends dressed up like the fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.

The same year (not on Halloween) Owen dressed up like Marty McFly from Back to the Future for the Film Petit series.  I had a blast putting this together, since this is a classic favorite at our house.  And this year is the 30 year anniversary!  That's heavy.

And Clara was as a 50s diner girl.  

Okay, the year before when Lucy was 5 and Owen was 3....they wanted to be bats.  And if you live in Austin, TX---the city of bats----you can only say YES to that request. 

These were pretty simple costumes---I made wings and hats from felt and satin, then combined it with black clothes.   The kids were so cute together.  And spectators really loved watching them "fly" down the Congress Bridge in downtown Austin. 

This year, my niece in California wants to be a bat so we mailed the costumes to her and the fun continues!  I love when costumes get good use over the year.  And these ones definitely have with my own kids.  They're pulled out of the costume bin at least once a month....even though they're much too small now.

In 2010, the kids were a Costume Wonderland, as Alice and the Mad Hatter.

This photo shoot was really fun; the kids loved having a pretend tea party.
Has anyone noticed that I've taken photos in the exact same grassy field for the last 4 years?  It just always seems to work!

The year before that, Lucy was obsessed with the book Green Eggs and Ham.  So we went with Dr. Seuss characters---Sam I am and the Cat in the Hat. 

And back before there was a nice camera, or even a blog....the kids dressed as Halloween Traffic, since Lucy was really into STOP signs.  She pointed them out wherever we were and would say "S-T-O-P...STOP!"

Owen's traffic light was a simple romper made of felt.  Oh he's so tiny!
And another all-time favorite was Lucy's 2nd halloween costume when was in love with strawberries.... Little Lucy girl!  

And finally, the very first year of making kid costumes, we went as Back to School Night.  Wow.  I got Casey to wear a "dress".  What a man! 

And there you have it!....8 years of ideas.
This makes me excited to get sewing for this year.
I hope you're motivated too!  And if not, just head to the store and don't think twice about it.

QUESTION for you guys:  I've been thinking about making a pattern for the Bat Costumes and wonder how many of you would be interested?  I wouldn't have it done in time for this year.....but could do it over the summer for next year.  Anyone interested in bat costumes?  They really are fun all year long.