31 Days of Tricks & Treats: Unusual Kids' Costumes

I'm getting ready for an early Halloween costume party in a few days, so needed some inspiration.  I think I've figured out what I'm going to be for Halloween, but some of the costumes that are available for purchase really had me wondering who comes up with these ideas!?  Some are too clever and some are just too strange.  But that's Halloween for you!

Here are some fun and funny costume ideas I found:

Bollywood Kid's Costume

Garden Gnome Costume

Homage to Fay Wray!  King Kong-esque "Unhand me you beast!" Costume

My kid would die if my husband and I went out in public like this, but I love these Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head Costumes.

Like what you see?  Head over to The Party Works and browse page after page after page of costume ideas for your entire family (pets included!).  Click on any of these costume faves to see more, or visit them through Sweetest Whimsy's affiliate link:

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You'll find our link to Cardstore on Sweetest Whimsy's website, or click on the link below:

31 Days of Tricks & Treats: Personalized Halloween Coloring Books for Your Little Ghouls & Goblins

Halloween party plans almost complete?  Our pre-Halloween Pumpkin Decorating Party at our house was a success, although I didn't take enough photos!  Pumpkins were decorated, party snacks and drinks were eagerly consumed and the homemade caramel apple dessert activity was a hit.

If you're still stumped about a non-sugary treat for the goodie bag or a pre-trick-or-treat activity for your celebration, you really must check out Frecklebox's FREE collection of PERSONALIZED Halloween printable coloring and activity pages!  Actually, they have over 40+ pages in different designs and holiday themes that you can print with your child's name or the names of your guests.  For example, these are perfect for an early ice breaker among the Crayola set:

If you've got the time, why not print 4-5 pages per child, staple or bind together with colorful Halloween ribbons, and present to your guests as a non-candy party favor alternative?  My daughter loves activity pages and coloring books, even at the age of 8.  Quick and easy!

Frecklebox, one of Sweetest Whimsy's Retail Love affiliate links, offers an amazing selection of personalized gifts for kids.  Check them out here:

Wishing everyone a spooky, kooky and safe Halloween tomorrow!

31 Days of Tricks & Treats: Days 22-24: Catching Up

EEK!  Where did the week go?  Did not have a chance to post any 'tricks and treats' this week because I had some very minor stuff done at my dermatologist's.  It's been more of a nuisance than anything else, but has somewhat curtailed my range of motion (no lifting or vigorous movement), so everything I need to do seems to take longer! 

So to get caught up, here are funny things I love this week, courtesy of some new Sweetest Whimsy Retail Love affiliates!  Because we all need a little funny in our week:

Awkward Family Photos!  They're not just awkward, they're awesome!  I'm so excited that Sweetest Whimsy has added Cardstore to the Retail Love list of affiliate links.  You can order 1 card or 100; there are no minimums, so I'll be ordering one of each, especially this one:

I mean, how can you not laugh at these?!  The photos are funny on their own, but the captions just them even better.  Jazz hands, anyone?

Something else that's funny?  Finding out that today is National Bologna Day!  Or rather, today WAS the day we celebrate (is that the right word?) that lunchtime favorite made from beef, pork, chicken, or turkey.  Thanks to our friends at Punchbowl, an online party planning site, we will never be in the dark about today's reason to celebrate!

What's even better than National Bologna Day?  Well, it's also National Bake Week in the United Kingdom.  Visit Punchbowl's fun site and mark your calendars with all the important reasons to celebrate.  Just so you know, this week we also celebrated:

National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day (October 21)
International Caps Lock Day (October 22)
National Boston Cream Pie Day (October 23)

Who knew?  I am loving Punchbowl!  I'll be visiting their Celebration Calendar every day.  I've already missed so many special days!

31 Days of Tricks & Treats: Days 20-21- The Weekend Edition

Very busy weekend with out of town visitors, family holiday photo shoot and one literary pumpkin (more on that later) so I didn't get everything done that wanted to do!  Thus, a belated "weekend edition" of my 31 Days of Tricks & Treats for your delectation.

Do you love printables?  I do.  I am a paperaholic.  (As if you didn't know already from the name of this blog!)  I am a bit of a paper hoarder, much to my husband's dismay, although this has been a tiny bit reduced since digital papers were introduced.  So now I love digital papers and embellishments as much as real paper.  My digital collection grows apace.

The TREAT of the weekend is courtesy of Smilebox.  They have some adorable Spooky Party Circles available for download TOTALLY FREE!  They are too cute.  Four each of four different Halloween designs, absolutely perfect as cupcake toppers, party bag decor, etc. 

They match perfectly with Smilebox's Spooky Circles invitations, of course.  Time to get your Halloween party started!  I've already downloaded the FREE printables and will definitely be using them on treat bags and such next week.  Don't miss this spooky and sweet digital download!

31 Days of Tricks & Treats: Day 18: Flirty Savings

I've previously posted about my love affair with Flirty Aprons' designs at the Sweet Spot blog, but I have to go on about them a bit more because they are having a quick 3-Day Sale on their awesome aprons!   Yes, these cuties are 40% OFF through this FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19.

The Apron Flash Sale applies to: Marilyn Sugar n' Spice; Original Pink Chocolate; Original Blue Chocolate; Original Cocoa Lime; Original Sassy Red and Original Frosted Cupcake.  (I have the Marilyn in Sugar n' Spice.)  While you're at Flirty Aprons' site, you can also add these to your cart to match:

These gloves may be glam but they are a necessity in my kitchen (lots of washing up when cakes are involved)!  I have several pairs myself, and can always use another one.

 Got some junior chefs at your house?  They have kid-sized aprons to match Mom's!  They are too cute.

Visit the link below to start shopping the Apron Flash Sale!  At checkout, enter the code: flash40.  You only have a few days left!

31 Days of Tricks & Treats: Day 15 - Magnetic Personality

I am halfway through my challenge to post daily throughout October and offer you some tricks and, treats!  (Patting myself on the back.)

Today's little TRICK is something cool for the party planner in you-- a clever and inexpensive Save the Date idea for your next big event.  I personally love magnetic Save the Date cards.  Your friends and family are less likely to lose them (and the important information) if they can stick them to the their fridge when they arrive in the mail.

I just discovered these at Birthday in a Box last week-- magnets you can personalize with several lines as Save the Dates:

The magnets are just the right size (2 1/4 inch round) to attach to a card for mailing.  And they are just the right price too-- $1.59 each!  Or if you're planning a party and just need a few lines of text, why not use it as an invitation:

I love how simple this idea is.  If you don't use it as a Save the Date or invitation, then how about a cute party favor?

You can personalize them even further by ordering one for each guest at your event:

Endless possibilities for a very little bit of money!  I'm ordering them as party favors for my Pokeno get-together.  Right now, Birthday in a Box will even sweeten the deal with a 20% discount on personalized items: