Happy Friday! As our little tradition goes, we’re sharing what Clara and Burger will be for Halloween this year. I made Clara’s costume myself for the second year in a row—no tears, no cursing—and I love how it turned out. When we first asked Clara what she wanted to be, she said “a lawyer!” which made us laugh as we imagined her carrying a tiny briefcase. A few days later she changed her mind: “I want to be a jellyfish!” After asking a few questions—like what color—she declared, “I want to be a pink jellyfish… and I don’t want to be a regular jellyfish, I want to be A FAIRY QUEEN OF THE JELLYFISH!” So that’s what we made.
I transformed a clear umbrella into a glowing pink jellyfish using pink tissue paper, fabric ribbon, and curly plastic ribbon. John added battery-powered, cool-to-the-touch LED lights to make the umbrella glow, which was perfect. Clara absolutely adores it and kept trying to hug her costume. Burger, on the other hand, was less enthusiastic—more on him in a bit.
To design the jellyfish umbrella, I looked at other DIY ideas and decided an umbrella would be practical: Clara can hold it and swing it without balancing a hat on her head. I bought a clear umbrella and began by filling each of the umbrella’s panels with pink tissue paper so the top wouldn’t be completely transparent. I left the bottom clear so Clara could see while walking, but wanted the top to read more jellyfish-like.
Next I tied long strands of thick fabric ribbon to the umbrella’s internal spines so they could hang down as tentacles. I’d seen many creative tentacle ideas—ribbons, fabric strips, bubble wrap—but I chose to use materials we already had around the house to keep things simple and fun.
Finally, I attached a bunch of long pink curling plastic ribbon to each metal spine—six curly strands per spine on the eight spines—and curled them by running the edge of scissors along the lengths after tying them. I picked up the plastic ribbon for just a couple dollars. When Clara returned from school and saw it she was ecstatic: “It’s AMAZING!” John then added fairy lights around the umbrella’s interior, which gave the costume a magical glow in the dark. Since it gets dark earlier in the season, the lights will be both pretty and practical.
Clara will wear a little tulle skirt and other fairy-like pieces under the umbrella, so if she gets tired of holding it she’ll still have a complete costume for trick-or-treating. I’m planning to tuck a wand and a crown in my bag for extra sparkle.
Burger’s not a fan of clothing or costumes—sweaters, boots, hats, anything. Still, we found an adorable seal costume for him and couldn’t resist. Dressing him up has become a tradition, and he’s been in outfits long before Clara arrived. We joked he could be a King Seal with a crown and scepter to match Clara’s royal jellyfish theme. He does look pretty cute as a seal, even if he’s plotting an escape. In fact, he might secretly enjoy trying to wriggle out of his costume; he certainly seems to get a kick out of it.
John and I are also attending a costume party this year. After a bit of brainstorming, we leaned into a Game of Thrones-inspired theme. Some folks say I resemble Daenerys, so I picked up an inexpensive blonde wig and paired it with a green dress I already owned. To create a gold belt and shoulder accents I used a ten-cent placemat I found at a yard sale—cut in half and pinned in place with the dress’s belt. The whole look was quick, affordable, and fun.
John’s costume is a punny, personal take on Jon Snow. He decided to be “John Snow”: a woolly hat and a large, ironic snowflake on his shirt. He made the snowflake from white duct tape on a blue t-shirt so the tape can be removed and the shirt worn later. Watching him carefully place strips of tape in front of the mirror, sleeves rolled up, was pretty entertaining—his dedication was obvious.
We kept our costumes simple and low-key rather than elaborate, but they’re fun and should be perfect for the party. Now we just need to decide what dish to bring.
We also had a blast decorating some unusual pumpkins. Clara loves bugs, so she helped me paint one pumpkin into a spider and another into a caterpillar. We picked pumpkins that already looked a bit bug-like and added craft paint: Clara covered the spider’s top, leaving the bottom orange to emphasize the legs, while I painted a tiny eye and quick segment lines on the caterpillar. After they dried we added painted eyes on the spider—Clara insisted on four, inspired by a real spider photo—and called them done.
We still plan to carve pumpkins after a pumpkin patch visit with Clara next week, and of course there will be fresh-baked pumpkin seeds at our house. What are your plans for costumes and pumpkins this year? We’d love to hear your ideas.
*******************************
If you want to stroll down memory lane, we’ve shared past costumes for Clara and Burger in earlier posts, like a homemade Jesse & Slinky Dog set, a monkey & banana duo, and their first Halloween together as a hot dog & hamburger.