Halloween costumes

My favorite halloween costumes for kids are the ones they want to wear, in one form or another, all year long.  When my daughter was young and she wanted to be a Disney Princess ( . . . wait:  she's graduated from college and she STILL wants to be a Disney Princess! . . . ) um, anyway, when she was young I found a sort of frilly yellow nightgown with an image of Belle or Ariel or someone on it.  Y'know, one of those Disney girls.  My daughter loved it and wore it for several years, at all times of day and night.

For several years I made fuzzy coats for my kids:  cat-shaped coats for my pre-school daughter; dinosaur-shaped coats for my toddler son.  Those were essentially free (I made them with scraps left over from other projects) but incredibly time-consuming to make.  But coats have the double advantage: not only can kids wear them all winter long, but on Halloween night, they don't have to cover up the coat with a coat to keep warm.  Princess pajamas suffer when they're topped with a parka.

Last year's ninja outfits for the boys have gotten lots and lots of happy use.  The only disadvantage is that if the boys get too quiet, I have to be careful walking by closets:  I could have ninjas jumping out at me.   This year, my dragon ninja will wear the same costume.  My spider ninja will magically transform into a vampire . . . perhaps his cape will keep him warm.