Now that we are a family of four, coming up with a family Halloween costume is a little but more challenging as well as incorporating what my toddler also would be happy to dress-up as. I was inspired by the costume of Suzy Spin, a woman I saw who had a maternity costume of the solar system and based my costume off of hers.
Instead of having the sun be on the belly, I thought it would be fun to have the baby be the sun. For ease of walking around with the three month old, I decided to start by sewing a sun made out of felt onto a black carrier.
Then I began painting the planets. I used various sized styrofoam balls bought from a craft store. The planets were not to scale but I did try and make Jupiter the biggest and Pluto the smallest. For Saturn, I cut a circle from a cereal box, used tooth pick and tape to secure it and then papier-mache it.
I hot glued fishing line to the top of each planet before sewing them into the sleeve of my black dress. Having the dress on and someone helping you to sew or vice versa is really helpful so you can space out the planets evenly. Our wonderful nanny who joined the fun was a shooting star in which I simply sewed a yellow felt star to a black T-shirt and then added a bit of tulle at the bottom to stream down.
My husband’s flight suit was thrifted from a local shop and we added flags to represent our family – Hong Kong, United States & Great Britain. My husband also painted the NASA logo onto a blue felt circle but I am sure you could easily source a patch online. My son’s flight suit was ordered off Amazon which I justified because he will wear it year round.
My costume was fairly easy to wear but my arms did get a little tired. Another variation could be the planets sewn on or stuck to the dress that way they could be scene without having to lift your arms.
Our daughter did a great job and slept most of the evening because she was so comfortable in the carrier. I definitely recommend incorporating the carrier or stroller into your family costume if your little one can’t walk yet.
For our first Halloween costume as a family of four, I think we knocked it out of the park or rather out of this galaxy! Already plotting and planning next year’s costume and thinking of ways to top it! Happy Halloween 2021 from this side of planet earth!