The Greatest Showman Archives

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.

Movie Workout: The Greatest Showman

Josh and I watched The Greatest Showman several months ago for the first time and it quickly became a family favorite. It also became the new soundtrack for our family dance parties that happen daily. This movie just makes me happy when I watch it. The dancing, the singing, and costumes are all amazing.

Our oldest is dressing up as PT Barnum for Halloween this year and I am in the process of sewing his coat. Wish me luck.

This soundtrack has been on repeat in our house for the last few months. I have shared only one other movie workout on the blog it was for Frozen. So it has been awhile since anything like this has been posted.

You can do the workout while you are watching the movie or you can do it listening to the soundtrack. The soundtrack version of this workout is tough because there is no rest and you are working for 39 minutes straight. For the entire duration of each song you will either rotate between two exercises or do a single exercise.

Disclaimer: Not all exercises are suitable for everyone and this or any other exercise program may result in injury. To reduce this risk of injury, please consult your doctor before beginning this, or any other, physical fitness program. Any user of this workout assumes the full risk of injury resulting from performing the routine presented.

You will need a set of heavy weights for the deadlights, squats, and rows, medium weight for biceps curls, presses, and lunges, and light weights for triceps kickbacks. You will also need a stability ball for the pikes and hamstring curls.

For the entire duration of each song you will either rotate between two exercises or do a single exercise the entire song. For example on The Greatest Show you will perform 5 plank walkouts followed by 10 alternating lunges and repeat until the song is finished. Challenge yourself with those burpees on The Other Side and see if you can hold the plank for the entire duration on A Million Dreams (Reprise).

Please feel free to modify as needed. Take your pushups to the wall and sub out any core exercise that works best for your body and where you are today. If jumping is not your thing skip the burpees and just sit down and get up and down the floor to your feet. You will still be sweating after 3 minutes of doing that, trust me.

Enjoy and have fun singing and sweating while you are working hard :).