Retail Love #8: Boo-tiful

Every August, we do 3 things in our family: 1) go on a vacation; 2) buy school clothes, shoes, supplies, etc.; and 3) order Halloween costumes.  Yeah, #3 is completely strange, I know.  It's something we started when my oldest child was 3 years old and we had to order a costume online.  Not that there aren't any local stores with costumes around here, but that year she decided on a character that I knew wouldn't be that easy to find: Madeline.  In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines . . . the smallest one was Madeline.

Madeline Child Costume

So a family tradition was born!  One good thing about deciding what you want to be for Halloween sooooo early is that you're not rushing around last minute in October choosing among whatever sizes are left in the costume you might want.  Perhaps even more important, your kid can't keep changing her mind after you've bought the costume!

This year will be no different--my youngest and I have already been "talking" about who she wants to be this year and looking at this year's crop of costumes (which invariably looks much like last year's, with some notable additions.)

Unlike my kids, I don't always get dressed up for Halloween.  In fact, I haven't bought a costume since 2004 (leopard ears and tail).  However, I'm having too much fun looking at costumes with my kid right now, and really must have one of these:

Candyland!

A Christmas Story "Leg Lamp"

Doll Box!

On the plus side, I'll be ready for Comic-Con.

Sweetest Whimsy is usually known for custom cakes and personalized stationery and gifts, but with our recent affiliations with over 3 dozen online retail sites, we are now able to offer an expanded range of gifts and apparel, including costumes!  So this year I didn't even have to look very far for Halloween ideas.  The Party Works' site features literally thousands of costumes, from infants to adults, to choose from.  The Party Works is an amazing online retailer, and sort of unique in that they offer party supplies (and I mean the "works") as well as cake decorating supplies (which I love) AND costumes!  They really have your bases covered for any kind of party or event you're planning!  Click here or the banner below for some pre-Halloween inspiration:

Retail Love #7: London Calling

I've been so busy watching the Olympics for the past 5 days that I almost forgot to share that Sweetest Whimsy became an affiliate for Beyond Graduation, a fabulous site designed to provide gear (everything and anything you can imagine) for sports fans!  All sports, all the time.  You can find College, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, Soccer, and many other sports well represented at their online shop.

Even better, they are 100% committed to supporting college and university alumni associations throughout the country with their fundraising program.  See that t-shirt from your alma mater? When you purchase it, your school keeps 25% of the profit!

Right now though, they're celebrating the London Olympics just like I am with some fantastic prices on their official Summer Games apparel and collectibles.

I bought this t-shirt for my father-in-law.  Love the Union Jack logo!

If you support another country besides USA, no worries. Beyond Graduation's got you covered:

Quite like these as souvenirs as well:


I love the Olympics!  So head on over to Beyond Graduation's London Olympics shop and show your support for your favorite team or country!  USA!  USA!  USA!