store-bought costumes are for the birds // DIY family Halloween costumes

For the two of you who read this blog who aren't related to me, an old college friend, or in my moms' group, and therefore haven't already seen these pictures, I now present you with our 2013 Family Halloween Costumes.

Yep, we're a bunch of bird brains around here.

For two years in a row, my husband has come up with a "theme" idea for Halloween and I've had to figure out a way to make it happen. I'm not a pro with the sewing machine, by any means, and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on something we'll wear for such a limited time, so our costumes are mostly thrifted, upcycled, and thrown together with a lot of hot glue, staples, safety pins, and maybe a handsewn stitch or two. (Here's last year's costumes for reference.)

This year, Jason said he wanted to go as birds. That seemed a little...weird, so during a very rare date night when my parents were visiting, we sat together over cappuccinos and brainstormed how to make it come together.

Here's how I ended up doing it:

Since I was going to have to wear Phoebe in a carrier, I decided that it would be cute if she could be a little bird in a nest and I could be the tree she was nesting in. She already had a brown and white striped beanie, so I attached a fake nest and a package of plastic robin's eggs from Joann Fabrics with some hot glue and brown embroidery thread.

For my tree apparel, I bought a garland of ivy at Michael's and wrapped it around the sleeves of a green sweatshirt, then pinned it at the shoulders and wrists. I already owned a green Moby and a pair of striped brown pants. Done.

Do I have any makeup on? Had I even showered? Nope and nope - 

but when you promise your toddler you will go trick-or-treating, you go, end of story.

Lorelei's costume wasn't too hard - I found a Carter's duck costume (albeit in an 18-month size - it's a little tight, but you go with what you can find on the cheap!) and bought a sheet of posterboard and a bag of craft feathers, then went crazy with a gluestick one afternoon during naptime. A yellow shirt from Goodwill plus black leggings and yellow rainboots that we already owned helped to finish things off. It's not going to win any awards, but it gets the job done.

And Jason's was the easiest: a birdwatcher! He is one, so everything he's wearing is his own. There's even a bird guide tucked into the pocket of his vest.

Peeking out of his other pocket? A burpcloth, naturally. 

And Lorelei had never eaten candy before, so please excuse all the shots of her digging around in her little bucket.

We already have our idea for next year all mapped out...and we hope to keep up the family themed costumes for many years to come!

p.s. Phoebe is sad you couldn't see her face in any of the photos above, so here you go: