Halloween Archives - The Workout Mama

Halloween 2020

This year we celebrated Halloween at home. And we had a pretty great time. The kids declared it their best Halloween ever. And I took that as a huge win.

We had several costumes this year in the house: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Aurora which later became Elsa (costume we already had), Mickey Skeleton which later became Baby Yoda which later became Thomas the Train (costume we already had), Prince Philip which later became Bumblebee (costume we already had). If you are keeping track 3 out of 4 kids decided last minute to wear a costume we already had. And honestly I was fine with it. They all got to wear their costumes multiple times because that is the beauty of doing homeschool. It was fun to teach a variety of characters in October.

On Halloween Eve we ventured out to Downtown Mesa for the Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt. On Main Street multiple businesses and empty store fronts had different themed pumpkin displays. In addition to these we were on the look out for the tiny mice that were dressed up in Halloween costumes.

It was a fun way to get outside and masks were encouraged if you were unable to stay physically distanced from others. We went on Friday morning and there was hardly anyone there. It took us about 45 minutes and was a good way to get the kids moving in the morning and something totally different to do.

Friday also included these Witches Cauldron Cookies, a FaceTime call with the kids friends, and a drive thru trip to Swig to get the kids a soda treat.

On Halloween the kids woke up so excited! Earlier in the week I had made a skeleton on poster board and cut out the pieces. While they were eating breakfast I hid the “bones” around the house. After the kids were done eating they went on a bone hunt which took about 30 minutes. It took about 5 minutes to put the skeleton together and once completed I taped it to the wall so they could admire their work.

We had some outdoor plasma car fun later in the morning, followed by lunch, and naps for the younger ones. In the afternoon there was a scavenger hunt around the house that led to a dollar store reward for each kiddo, Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin, and homemade pizza for dinner.

Once dinner was done and costumes were put on for several of the kids. We had a few that opted to wear pajamas instead and that was totally fine. They bobbed for apples, a totally new to them experience. I remember bobbing for apples when I was in elementary school at the Harvest Festival and I inwardly cringed now because all I can think about is the germs that were floating around in that water.

We set up candy in two rooms of the house, gave the kids glow sticks, turned off the lights, put Halloween music and started our rotating color lights to flash on the ceiling and let the kids go “Trick or Treating”. After the that I put loads of post it notes on the floor and we played freeze dance. When the music stopped they needed to land on a post it and bring it to me to get another candy to add to their bucket. They loved this game! We played a candy toss into a bowl and also had a 20 minute dance party with the flashing lights and glow sticks.

After all that fun they were so tired and fell asleep so quickly. The next night we watched The Grinch because this year we are moving right into the Christmas movies. After the movie all the kids made beds on the floor in our bedroom and we had a family sleepover.

It was a fantastic weekend even if it was totally different from what we normally do :).

The Greatest Showman Halloween Costumes

This year our family decided to do a group costume from our beloved movie The Greatest Showman for Halloween. We had so much fun last year dressing up as The Incredibles that we wanted to keep the good times rolling.

I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be to actually find these costumes or an easy way for me to recreate them. And that is how I found myself at Hobby Lobby in the sewing department looking up patterns. I hit the jackpot because the day I went the McCall patterns were on sale for $1.99. I purchased M6143 a patriotic pattern that looked like it would work perfectly for a P.T. Barnum inspired coat with tails and fabric, thread, and buttons. In total I spent $8. Everything was on sale and super cheap.

The last time I sewed anything was in middle school, thankfully my grandma is an expert seamstress extraordinaire who lives 5 minutes away. She was thrilled to help offer her knowledge and surplus of items that helped me finish this project. Here is my grandma sitting in her sewing/craft room.

My grandma made all the Halloween costumes for me and my cousins so it was really fun to be able to spend time with her while I worked on a costume for my own baby. The older I get the more I realize how important it is to soak in these moments with my grandparents and I am so glad that they live close by and that they are able to be as involved as they are in my children lives. Surprisingly once grandma showed me how to decipher the instructions for the collar I was able to finish up the coat quickly.

It was a huge confidence boost to finish this project successfully and add the detailing to the coat. I purchased a second hand vest and added the ribbon. Josh made the cane using a 1/2 inch dowel that we painted and topped it with a decorative drawer knob we found in the discount section of the craft store.

Once this costume was done I went to work on making a Tom Thumb costume for one of our littles. This basic t-shirt quickly turned into the military styled coat using the leftover fabric from the PT Barnum costume.

From there I used this free online pattern from Martha Stewart as a rough guideline to finish off the costume. Building upon this shirt really made this project go quickly.

Total cost spent for both of these costumes was $25. The rest of our family outfits that were super easy to put together for this ensemble that includes the bearded lady, a little lion, and Jenny Lind.

Several years ago my mom asked me if I wanted her old sewing machine. I really didn’t think I should take it because I knew it would just sit in the closet collecting dust. Today I am so glad that I took her old Viking machine because I now have a precious memory of making my kids Halloween costumes and getting to spend extra time with my grandma.