Costumes for Kids

It's that time of year again, when parents start to panic over what their kid wants to be for Halloween.... our kid tends to change her mind day to day, so having a well-stocked "dress-up" box (or in our case, hammock) is key. [For her first real Halloween outing in 2002, she wanted to be Yoda. Hubby slaved away at a costume but on the night she pitched a fit and wouldn't wear it. Instead, she was Minnie Mouse.]

With this in mind, I've been scouting for some basic costume patterns; today, I came across the simplest hero-cape pattern ever, using fleece. Biggest surprise? It's on a Disney site. Of course, if you've seen the Incredibles, you'll know that capes are a bad idea. Burke's Backyard offers some classic favourites -- fairy, vampire, pirate, princess, and robin hood -- plus commercial tie-ins Obi-Wan Kenobi and Xena, Warrior Princess. Is your kid a fan of Madagascar? Fleecefarm offers instructions for making basic animal parts (ears, tails, etc.) so you can customize to your heart's content.