The idea for our costumes this year began with photos of big, fluffy tutu dresses I saw floating around Pinterest. I just love them! There are all different kinds of these, and really I suppose one could take almost any costume idea and make it into a tutu dress. I saw this one:
and wondered if I could weave a family theme into a Cookie Monster idea. With a less-than-an-ideal family situation growing up, I always
hoped that one day I'd have one of those families where everyone
dressed in coordinating costumes on Halloween. As a child, that looked like so much fun to me. But that's definitely not
something that would have happened with my family.
So I wanted to coordinate if possible, and so I got to thinking...what if Julian was a cookie?! I don't think there's any treat he gets more excited about than a chocolate chip cookie. So then I searched for ideas on a cookie costume. This was the start of my inspiration for Julian's costume:
I had a little bit of trouble coming up with what Stace and I would be, but ultimately decided that I would be a milk carton, and Stace could be a milkman!
The milk carton would look something like this:
and the milkman costume, I thought, would be super easy! Just like this:
I was so excited when I'd finally decided on the family costumes, I texted Stace while he was up at a conference in Atlanta to tell him I had decided and I needed to talk to him ASAP! He texted back, while in a meeting, "oh yeah?! what did you decide on?" and I said I wanted to tell him over the phone rather than through text because that would be more fun! So he called me later and sounded a teensy bit apprehensive! ha! I told him not to worry, and that his was not going to complicated at all. :) He laughed when I told him, and played along. However, last Friday...the night before we'd dress up all together, we were walking around Target and he was saying, essentially, that he thought "a milkman" might be a little bit too weak sauce. "Can't I be, like a vampire milkman? Or a dead milkman?" He found a sweet grill for his teeth and a giant gold chain and said "or what about a T-Pain milkman?" He also brought up a good point in that probably most people wouldn't know what he was if he was by himself or not holding his little milk bottles. Then my genius husband came up with a better, even easier idea! "What if I just wear a shirt that says 'got milk?' and have a milk mustache?" he said.
Brilliant. LOVE IT!
We looked at the white makeup for the milk mustache, but decided we'd try to do it with toothpaste. :)
So, without further adieu...
Here is Princess Cookie Monster right after her costume was completed:
Here I am after finishing my "stride of pride"...so excited! Though Ella Grace was super intent on reaching some food over there on the counter:
I followed this tutorial for the tutu dress. In the tutorial, she suggests maybe just using two pieces of tulle per knot, as opposed to the 3 she used, in order to decrease the fluffiness factor. But I personally ere more to the side of the bigger the better! ;) Which is one reason I love that giant headband so much!
And here is Mr. J right after I finished his costume!
I was a little nervous he would not like wearing his costume after the work I put into it, or that he'd say he'd rather dress up as something else. But he has been PUMPED to be a "BIIIIG COOKIE!" ever since we told him what he and Ella Grace were gonna be. Phew!
I thought this was funny...it reminded me of the way I rest my hands on my belly when I'm pregnant:)
Julian didn't have a nap that day due to our bat festival outing in between setting up for the party, so he was not entirely on board for the following photos. :/ Funny how he perked RIGHT UP when it was time to go trunk or treating right after this...
It was hilarious to watch Ella Grace crawling around in this giant tutu dress! A friend of mine and I were laughing and she said "she's like a blue armadillo!" That is a good description!!
