Tag Archives: Homemade Costumes

It’s the 5th Annual Modern Kiddo Costume Parade! {Cool Homemade Costumes!}

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Step right up folks, it’s time once again for the Modern Kiddo Costume Parade! We said wanted to see yer best homemade costumes—and you delivered! Of course I should have known that Modern Kiddo readers are a talented bunch and you guys turned it out with some spectacular and creative costumes. Let’s take a look at some of this year’s fantastic creations!

We begin with a BANG!

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It’s a jolly holiday indeed when you have someone like Ashley from Make It Love It on your team. WOW just check out this AMAZING Mary Poppins costume! photo Poppins_mary.jpg

As if this weren’t enough, she whipped together a simply adorable Bert costume too! You can even see how she made it right here.

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Next up! My little Pinata! Wolfie made a smash the previous year when he went as a meatball so we knew we wanted to do something equally fun the next year. A pinata was just the ticket! We made the entire thing out of a carbbord box and lots of tissue paper (the head was tricky but I love how it turned out!).

My friend Heather (@heather_rome) is a wildly talented stylist—so it should come as no surprise that her cool boy Cash turned it out with this bananas KISS costume! The question is, does he want to rock-n-roll all night, or trick-or-treat???? Hmmmm.

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Oh little Luna! Amanda of Elksan’s sweet girl is the cutest little kitty cat lamby we ever did see! {That sweet “fur”? A handmade Markham Loop Collar from Good Night Day}

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Cutie pie Aidan went as a lovely Monarch Butterfly. Her daddy made the mask and mama Tara whipped together six layers of tulle for the skirt. So adorable!

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Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles onions on sesame seed toddler! Marie’s sweet little man Timmy makes the most delicious little cheeseburger, no??
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Wolfie’s school friend Alyssa went as this super cool donut! They simply painted an inner tube and added beads as “sprinkles”! GENIUS!!
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OOMPAH LOOPMAH LOOMPAH DEE DOOOO! Look at Beth’s two awesome kiddos, Oliver and Violet. I’m not sure what I love more, their sweet names or those fun little overalls!
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I don’t know about you, but Minecraft is alllll the rage over here. Clever Stephanie (of MaeDae) crafted up these amazing Minecraft costumes for her kiddos Gavin and Guini. I bet these were a smash success!
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Modern Kiddo fave Billy went as a Zombie from “Plants vs. Zombies”. This stylish lad went to the thrift shop with his mama Gabrielle and picked the suit and tie as he wanted them just right! Fabulous!

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Brother Arlo wanted to be a Skeleton Fire Pterodactyl so Garbielle sewed him up a crazy red suit with a gold felt skeleton and a matching head piece. So cool!

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I love group costumes and oh my goodness, Miss Jill of kitchenfunwithmy3sons is the MASTER!! Just look at this amazing Camping themed group—vintage trailer! Campfire! Wee little marshmallow! LOVE IT! You must visit her site to see their costumes over the years, truly amazing!

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TOTORO!!!! The lovely Erin (of Swonderland) turned a simple hoodie + felt + hot glue into an adorable costume for sweet Clark. LOVE!
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It looks like little Baby Florence has been masquerading as Baby Venice in her brilliant strolling gondola costume! Really clever! (and she is just SO cute with that jaunty cap, no?) From instagrammer @lalstephens!

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Aww look how cute adorable Judah is as the Space Shuttle?? I LOVE these kinds of costumes! His sweet mama Jess (of My Little Mustache) crafted this stylish suit up. 3-2-1 BLAST OFF to CUTENESS!

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Instagrammer @ritabellekane turned her cutie Evan into the happiest lil cotton candy girl. Adorable!
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Hee hee. Sarah is so awesome. We love Wes Anderson around here, so you can bet I was giggling over her twin girls as Sam and Suzy from Moonrise Kingdom!
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I was totally smitten with my fab friend @mizlandry‘s daughter Audrey as this sassy Zombie!  Stylishly ghoulish!
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My lovely friend Kristi (@kristimontague) whipped together this amazing Max and Carol ensemble for her two cute Wild Things. Grrrreat!

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Stacey (of hartandsew) always comes up with the most special little costumes for her beautiful girls LM and Lark. Just take a look at these cuties!! The kitty is so sweet but that Gnome?? Oh my stars….
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Our pal Beth (of fuzzymamavintage) said her sweet son Harrison wanted to be James Bond— so her hubby spiffed up his tuxedo with a jet pack. It’s so Thunderball!!  We say, double-oh-YEAH BABY!

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The awesome Jenn (of The Blueberry Hill) said she was inspired by one of our past Modern Kiddo Costume Parades to make this fabulous California Roll costume for her cool son Max! I love it! Hey Max! Wasssssabi!
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Heather’s (@heather_rome) family is always so creative….remember Mr. KISS from earlier in this post? Well take a look at this! Cash has traded in the platform boots for a Krazy Klown get up (EEK!) brother Dax is Anubis (the jackal-headed Egyptian god of the afterlife!) and sweet lil Penelope is PUNKY BREWSTER (so stinkin’ cute!). AW yeah!
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Our cute pal Jody’s awesome girls Gillian and Eliza went as Jake and Izzy of Neverland Pirate fame. I gotta say that these little ladies are adarrrrrrrrrrgh-able!!!

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Kristy (of thriftyvintagekitten) turned out a very sweet Little Red Riding Hood for her little girl! She crocheted the little red hooded capelet and found a perfect  dress in her vintage stash. Adorable!

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Enzo and his mamas are just too clever! I was loving their Harry Potter outfits (with moms Colleen and Adrienne as Snape and Macgonnagal!) but then their super fab Scooby Doo Crew totally had me grinning. That FRED!
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Last year when sweet Suzy was 7 months pregnant, her son was really into the Peanuts gang. So what did they do? Oh, just a really really cute Charlie Brown-themed family costume. And guess who was the Great Pumpkin?!?  Ha! Too cute!

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Kim’s little man Thomas was obsessed with owls. So this crafty gal took some brown felt scraps, yarn from the stash and a souped-up stocking cap to create this sweet costume. Word on the street is that Thomas was owlfully proud.

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Last year my friend Katrina won me over with her son Ewan’s super sweet “Sheet Ghost” costume. This year she (and Ewan!) didn’t disappoint. “I want my mummy!!!!”

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Little Graham was not to be outdone. Katrina took a thrifted speckled sweater, beanie from target, and then crocheted a scarf and pom pom…..to make the cutest lil Sock Monkey EVER!
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Kristen (of RobotParadeVintage) always turns it out. In past parades, her son has been a rockin’ Macguyver, a super rad Transformer….and now check this out! A BATTERY!! We say Double AA+!!!

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We’ll close with two of my Kiddo Parade All Star favorites. First up is the magnificent Bela! She’s the daughter of  amazing designer Karen (mishalulu!). You probably remember her brilliant “Alice in Wonderland Outgrowing her House” costume….SO GOOD. Now check out this simply fantastic Amelia Earhart!!
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I mean, HOW creative and fun?? We just adore Miss Bela.

Speaking of creative and fun, one of my other favorite kiddos is the very clever Sayer, son of talented artist Kristin (KLT Works). Check out THIS artistic family! Sayer was a fabulous Oompah Loompah, his papa was Wonka…..and Kristin? Oh, just an adorable WONKA BAR. Love it!

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Kristin was kind enough to give us a sneak peek at this year’s costume—Abe Lincoln! Sayer read that Lincoln was nearly 7 feet tall with this trademark stovepipe hat, so he wanted a hat that would make HIM seven feet tall too! hahaha. What a kiddo!! {here he is at the roller rink….I’m dying….}

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WHEW! Well that’s all folks…..what an astounding array of costumes, no?? Thank you so so much to everyone who participated! My in box was bursting at the seams with all this DIY goodness!! {OH! and if you sent me something and you aren’t seeing it here, do shoot me a note! It’s possible it just got lost in the email vortex. We want to make sure everyone who wants to join the parade can!}

{PS Wanna see what Wolfie went as this year?? Pop on my instragram feed @galexina!}

4th Annual Modern Kiddo We Love Homemade Costumes Parade!


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Step right up folks, it’s that time again! I am thrilled to present our Fourth Annual Modern Kiddo Costume Parade! We said wanted to see yer best homemade costumes—the good, the bad, the semi disastrous. And you delivered! Of course I should have known that Modern Kiddo readers are crazy clever and ya’ll turned it out with some spectacular costumes (I mean, I can’t lie. I was secretly hoping to see some goofy fun disasters but there isn’t a clunker in the bunch!). Take a look at some of these fantastic creations. Seriously guys….you are so talented!

Let’s start with a bang, my friends. Beautiful Bela is one of the most creative kiddos I know—as is her mama Karen (of Misha Lulu fame). Check out this phenomenal Alice in Wonderland costume….complete with Rabbit’s house. Curiouser and curiouser!

This is her as a pouty Frida Kahlo. I love it!

One of our favorite movies is Kiki’s Delivery Service. Melissa (bucktoothmama) made this outstanding Kiki costume for her sweet Sadie. LOVE!

Awesome Kiddo friend Greta (of the famous Little Rainbow costume!) never disappoints. Sweet Olive went as an ice cream cone last year and it’s adorable!

I really should save this one for the end, but OMG, would you get a load of Sarah Ivy’s amazing son Finn as Baby Bowie???? This kid, I tell ya.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the adorable Super Wren! Her mom Mari (Small for Big) crafted up this crazy cute super hero ensemble and I love it!

Well, HELLO DOLLY! This might be the cutest thing I have ever seen! Mama Stacey (hartandsew) turned her sweet Little Miss into a wind up dolly.


It’s brilliant, no??  Stacey gave us a little peek into her genius simplicity: “The dress is a vintage dress from my shop. The Wind-up Key was made out of a toilet paper roll, styrofoam ball, and cardboard cutout, spray-painted gold. Elastic bands around her arms are attached to the toilet paper roll by brass paper fasteners!” The following year she and her sister went as a butterfly and caterpillar. I love this too!

How about this adorable (a-thorable??) Thor! Amazing mom Cheri (i am momma hear me roar) made this rad out fit for her little guy! Check out how she made it here.

The darling Isabella was a phenomenal She-Ra! This is SO GOOD, friends!

Her siblings were not to be outdone, check out Vincent as the spunky robot (genius use of CDs on that robot!) and sweet little Donovan as a (sleepy) penguin!

OK. This is amazing. Carrie Anne (thelittlebigblog) turned her sweet cutie into Baby Sushi. BABY SUSHI!!!! Cuddly and cute.

While we’re on adorable baby’s, how about sweet Matilda May as this little Bebe Unicorn? The wings are so sweet!

Little Miles dressed up as Russell from the Pixar movie “UP”??? Just kills me. Look at that widdle face!

Melissa of (whileitrains) sent me these next two beauties. I’ve seen quite a few little Snow Whites in my time, but honestly little Stella is just 10x cuter than most!

I also have a supreme fondess for Dorothy’s……and little Miss Rowan is so sweet!


I’m not sure what’s more incredible, the fact that this woman birthed quadruplets or that she crafted up these GORGEOUS Where the Wild Things Are outfits for them!!!! (yes, that deserves four exclamation points!) You can see more of her beautiful boys here.

My friend Jess’ boy (mylittlemustach) little Judah as an Ewok is just crazy cute….part teddy bear and part hip Star Wars awesomeness!

I love simple and sweet costumes and this one is awesome! Little Eames as Elmer Fudd! Whaddup putty tatt??

Katrina (CaliKatrina) stole my heart with the simplicity of her little Ewan in this little ghost. It’s SO Charlie Brown, I just love it!

(Also can we discuss how cute her outfit it??? I want that SKIRT!)

My friend Dawn loves Halloween….her little cutie Memphis went as a classic Box Robot— I love a good box costume!!

Our friend Gabrielle sent us her two cutes boys, Arlo and Billy! Billy was one of our very first Weekly Kiddos and I just love seeing updates on him! His “retro” ghoul is fab! And Arlo’s knight is terrific!

**BIGGER KIDDOS**

OK. As kiddos get older, they either tire of dressing up or they KICK IT UP A NOTCH! My talented friend Inessa (diaperstylememoirs) is of the KICK IT UP A NOTCH school! Check out her handsome boy (you’ll have to trust me on this one) as Beetlejuice!! Inessa really makes the BEST costumes!

My friend James (bleubird) sent me these hilariously awesome shots of her two older kiddos. Julian is too funny as Ron Burgundy (from Will Farrell’s Anchorman!). LOVE IT!

And the usually sweet Milla is brilliant as a super scary Girl Scout Zombie! So great!

Our friend Krista’s little girl Izzy went as an amazing SPOOKTACULAR bride! It reminds me of the bride at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion. Love it!

My friend Ward is super talented…check out this Sand Person (ahem….or Tuscan Raider) he made for his rockin’ boy Ezra. WOW!

Reader Angel and her husband made this AMAZING Lego costume for her younger brother last year. How did they do that headpiece??

** GROUPS! **

OK, Mollie Greene’s family had me in stitches! Each costume is terrific (Bat Boy Jude, little Lola as Super Mario and The Nerd, starring Henry) but something about them all together is just killing me!

I always love when little girls opt for untraditional costumes. Katie’s sweet Paisley loves Peter Pan….but did she want to be Tinker Bell? Oh no friends. She wanted to be SMEDE, the pirate! LOVE!

Here’s the whole family in on the action! Mama Katie (katiecupcake) is the lovely Wendy!

Our rockin’ friend Tiffanie (corner blog) has the cutest family—check them out as a Side Show extravaganza! Bearded lady! World’s Strongest baby! Sideshow Barker! Aaaaaand a sweet Dorothy thrown in for good measure!
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Little Josiah is a Star Wars fanatic so when he went as Darth Vader, sweet mama Jocelyn (thenestingspot) decided all the kids would follow along.  Sister Audrey was Master Yoda (in fact, Yoda was one of her first words!).  Little William was only 2 weeks old so he doesn’t have a lot of say in it all but he sure made a cute R2-D2!!

AWESOME EXPRESSIONS!

I am loving this Little Miss Muffet. Mama Shelley hand stitched it herself for little Lindsay—complete with bloomers! Her reaction is great!

My sweet friend Katherine sent me this awesome photo of her and her sweet lil man Henry. I just love that wistful expression! He totally looks like a little Civil War soldier!

Sweet Holly sent us these two rascals…..PIPPI!!!!!! And a really enthusiastic (and adorable) Anakin!

Etienne’s boy Oliver rules….here he is as a VERY dramatic vampire (with sweet Marlowe as the turtle!).

…and the year before, as a SUPER cool Tarantula. SO clever!

Speaking of clever….look how amazing Tara’s little fella Jake is as Jonah in the Belly of the Whale!! His expression kills me….haha!

This is another keeper. Tori’s son Augie as Eddie Van Halen!!  Toria told us everything, including the wig, was thrifted and then modified. The guitar was a purple Hannah Montana one before she painted it! It was such fun…

And finally….we come full circle. Remember little baby Bowie? Well sweet Finn is going as Dr. Who this year!

WHEW! So there you have it.  I’m exausted. AMAZING stuff my friends! Oh, if you submitted a costume and don’t see it here, please let me know! It probably just got lost in the shuffle and I’m happy to add it to the parade! EVERYONE is invited!!

Can’t get enough of homemade costumes? Check out last year’s Homemade Costume Parade for even more inspiration!

Hey BOO! It’s time for Some Spooky Friday Links

1. The Most Adorable Pinata Treat Bags You’ve Ever Seen.


My genius friend Teri (creator of Giddy Giddy, the ORIGINAL felt hair clippies for tots!) always has something amazing up her sleeve. I’m so loving her sweet Pinata Treat Bags. Cute as can be, eh??

2. Genius Halloween-Themed Bento Boxes.


Dottie sent me this link to The Kitchn and I am just dying over these brilliant Halloween-themed bento boxes for kiddo lunches.

3. The Cutest Little Sock Monkey Outfit EVER!


We at the Kiddo are big fans of Kathleen from Grossgraine. Look at this crazy cute little Sock Monkey outfit she whipped together for her adorable daughter Eloise. Wowza.

4. We Love These Simple but Sweet Ghosts!

One of my favorite, no-sew, halloween crafts are little ghosts! Check out this cute post my friend Jenny did for Elsie’s A Beautiful Mess.

5. You’re Gonna Flip for These Modern Kiddo Cupcake Toppers from Draw! Pilgrim!

Oh our brilliant friend Pilgrim has done it again! Check out these adorable cupcake toppers she created. There are TEN different designs for you to print out! For Spooky Kiddos click here and for Silly Spookers (ghosts and candy corn etc) click here. You can also score some awesomely evil Treat Bag lables on Pilgrim’s site too. Get your hands on them from Draw! Pilgrim!

6. Lawdy, it’s MORE Amazing Vintage Halloween Costume Photos.

My friend Heather (mama of Cash, our Weekly Kiddo) sent me a link to these vintage Halloween pics. Seriously I can’t get enough of them. I was pleased to see that they featured one of the same photos I did in my post. Brilliant/kitschy minds think alike!

7. Best of Modern Kiddo’s Halloween Edition

I have to say, we had some awesome posts the last two weeks. Just in case you missed ’em (or perhaps want to relive the glory), here are the highlights!

+ Dottie’s Vintage Kiddo Spectacular! Retro Costumes from eBay and Etsy!

+ Alix’s Creepy Cool Vintage Halloween Photos from the 60 and 70s

+ Dottie’s Besty of Etsy Halloween Costumes (loooove the mummy)

+ Real Life :: Alix’s  Trip to the Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch

+ Our pal Jek taught us a groovy Googly Eye Cupcake Craft

+ Real Life :: The hilarious tale of Wolfie, the boy who hated dressing up

+ The groovy ghoulie Tweedlebop Retro Music MP3 mix

+ The Spectacular Modern Kiddo Reader Costume Parade!! OH, and here are three late breaking submissions:

Reader Jenny sent us her adorable two year old daughter Esme’s costume as “Supa-Woman”. Love this!

My friend Lynn crafted up this AMAZING “Angry Birds” costume for her cutie, Miles. The hottest game is now the hottest costume!!! SO GOOD, you go Miz Landry!!

And finally, reader Jenn sent us a more recent photo of her awesome son Max sportin’ this year’s fabulousness (he was a Where the Wild Things Are “Max” in our Costume Parade). Check this out: AMAZING!!!!

WHEW!!!!! What a Halloween it’s been….I hope you guys all have a safe, happy and FUN Halloween this weekend! We’ll be expecting a full update on Monday!

It’s the Modern Kiddo Costume Parade!

Step right up folks, it’s time for the Modern Kiddo Costume Parade! We said wanted to see yer best homemade costumes—the good, the bad, the semi disastrous. And you delivered! Of course I should have known that Modern Kiddo readers don’t play the Craft Fail game and ya’ll turned it out with some spectacular costumes. Take a look at some of these fantastic creations. Seriously you guys….

Our fave girl Shutterbean’s sweet boy Cooper rockin’ the octopus. Love this!

Cutie brothers Max and Beck got inspired by Where the Wild Things Are and dress up as Moishe and Max. Mama Jenn (The Blueberry Hill) whipped together these amazing costumes. I especially love the Moishe costume! So unique…I’ve never seen one before.

Here is Max all by his lonesome tonight, as a stylin’ Elvis….

I love a good box costume and I’m dying over this picture of Finley as a Mini Cooper:

Sweet little Beatrice Bird makes a darling little lady panda:

And the hills are alive with the sound of cutenesssssss…….Bea as a fetching little Heidi:

Aw, the awesome Baby Olive is sweet as can bee:

And Baby Olive as an adorrrrrrrrrrrrrable pirate! (OK….HOW DID YOU GET HER TO WEAR THE HAT???)

Wolfie’s best bud Miles does the funky robot….woot woot! We hear he’s going as an ANGRY BIRD this year. Love it!

Awww, look at sweet little Baby Pia as a quirky butterfly!

This retro photo of my sweet “blog nephew” Henry as a Pirate melts my heart (Jenny, I can’t believe he’s younger than Wolfie here!)

Oscar is as utterly adorable as Max but it’s his mom Suzy as the BOAT that is EVEN MORE AWESOME:

Everyone was swooning over hipster Billy as our Weekly Kiddo a few weeks ago, check out the rest of his cute family! Billy is a bat, his sis Harriet is one of the Andrew Sisters (!!!! CUTE) and baby Arlo is another sweet take on Max.

Sweet little Oscar and his folks are awesome as the Gnome Family! These smart “no sew” costumes were created  by his cool mama Kate (of Troolie). They all look so cute!

Sayer is another Modern Kiddo sweetie and here he is with his papa Chris as the dynamic Robot duo:

Sayer’s amazing mama Kristin(of klt :: works) hooked him up with this cute costume— Plankton from Sponge Bob. Genius.

Seriously flipping muh wig over Piper as a 50s Diner Twin!!! Those glasses are so fab!

It’s a bird, it’s a plane….it’s SUPER PARKER!!!!! So stinkin’ cute, eh?

Modern Kiddo reader tipped me to the amazing Sarah who made these Woody and Jessie from Toy Story costumes for her and her little boy Max—AMAZING!

People you are going to D-I-E. You loved Miss Sasha as Weekly Kiddo, Here she is with her brother as a wee widdle cow….

But NOW check out the fabulous costume the super creative Inessa came up with for her sweet little girl Sasha (Diaper Style Memoirs). Eddie Munster? Bananas!!!!!! So good.

But how about her papa as Grandpa?? Just as amazing.

And yes, she hand crafted a grown up wig just for the occasion. BRILLIANT!!

I’m exhausted just looking at all that fabulousness. I hope you are inspired to create your own masterpiece this year. And even if you don’t make one by hand, I don’t judge. As we all know my own little Boy Wonder is not a fan of costumes (let’s relive the magic of my pain in last weeks post “When Yer Kiddo Hates Costumes“).

OH! And apparently a lot of you were inspired by my Crazy Vintage Mask post from earlier in the week (over HERE ) because I got some awesome old skool family photos. Like this amazing one from reader Chris:

Awesome reader Marcie as the pink bunny and her friend as a suspicious “Yoda”:

And finally, Modern Kiddo fave, Lishy Loo,  sent in her own vintage kiddo photos. Check out the adorable lil Lishy…but then thrill to the site of her DAD as….um…..honestly I don’t know what the hell he’s supposed to be, but I’m sure diggin’ it!!!

AMAZING STUFF! Hey, if you sent in a photo and don’t see it please let me know! I’ll be happy to add you to the parade!

PS: This late breaking entry just in! One of our fave Kiddo readers RocketGirl just completed an insane hobbit costume for her little cutie Eliza. Nothing beats a toddler with a pipe, friends.