Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Matt and I love to dress up. When we moved houses this summer we downsized from five large boxes of costumes to just two, haha. I typically start planning my halloween costume months before October. Gathering the pieces to make the most authentic costume that doesn’t look like it was bought from a bag. Sometimes I buy multiple costumes to pull pieces from. When I lived in Pasadena, I would go to the best Halloween stores to find what I needed. Other times I start with regular clothing and go from there. But living in a remote town has its complications. I can’t just run out to a craft store or halloween store. So the earlier planning the better. Also, thank you Amazon.
The first year with Izzy in our lives we were the Fox and the Hounds. At our baby shower we were gifted a knit fox beanie and diaper cover. Izzy being the fox at only two and a half months old. I made dog ears for Matt and me out of socks and headbands and rummaged through our closets to find clothes that would work. It wasn’t my best work, but I was sleep deprived with very limited resources!
Last year I started to choose our costumes by what I wanted Izzy to be. She was so petite I decided that she would make a cute gnome. So garden gnomes we were. I simply choose clothes that we already had, ordered red gnome hats from a handmade shop, and put an apron on myself. Here is a photo of us last year. I thought that this family costume came together really well, and it's so easy!
This year, Izzy is a two years old, and is very into to dinosaurs. So I choose to use her interest. We decided that Izzy would be a dinosaur and Matt and I could be the main character’s from the original Jurassic Park movie. Pretty simple. Just some safari-like clothes that we mostly already had, and Izzy as a dinosaur. (Shop our costumes: Matt's shirt, Matt's hat, My Shirt) Except she will not put her costume on! She loves carrying it around the house and wearing the feet, but has been pretty insistent on not wearing it...toddlers. After weeks of trying to get her excited to put on the fancy corduroy dinosaur costume (that I love, find it here), we took a trip to the thrift store. And we found a really simple dinosaur hoodie that she was absolutely thrilled to wear. It only cost me $1 and she has worn it everyday since! So much for buying a fancy costume! But, it's all about her having fun and being happy.
We're having a Halloween party at our new house this year so we'll be able to show off our costumes there. Matt and I talked about taking her trick-or-treating this year, but we decided that there is no need for Izzy to be collecting Halloween candy just yet. We have many more years ahead for her to go door-to-door for candy. We try to limit her added sugar intake even though we own a bakery. Trust me, she still has many opportunities for sweets. Everything is in moderation for us. But, that doesn’t mean she won't get to have treats for Halloween! I will typically make them so I can control the ingredients. Last year I made a Halloween pudding which she absolutely loved, you can find the recipe here. It only uses natural dye’s and organic ingredients. It’s really easy to make, even the kids can help.
This year, for the party, I'm doing a cake from the bakery of course. And I am doing a bunch of plates of Apple Nachos. These are so easy and so fast to make, plus kids and adults both love them. We're having kids at the beginning part of the party and then just adults at the second half. But, everyone loves a caramel apple! I used our Caramel Sauce recipe which you can find here.
Apple Nachos
Makes 4 servings
2 large organic apples
Caramel Sauce (find recipe here)
2 ounces (57 grams) organic dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 ounces (57 grams) organic white chocolate, finely chopped
Method
Slice apples into thin wedge like slices. Arrange on plate or platter, making sure they are all fairly flat so they all get covered.
To make a double boiler, fill a small saucepan with a small amount of water and place a heat proof bowl on top. Do not let the water touch the bowl. Put over high heat. Melt both the dark chocolate and the white chocolate separately. Drizzle the caramel sauce, dark chocolate, and white chocolate over the top of the apples.
Serve immediately.