I often joke that my kids are rarely impressed with my baking creations, and would almost always rather eat an Oreo cookie.
So, I wasn't surprised when Bea decided she wanted to be an Oreo for Halloween this year. It was the perfect choice really. She's one sweet kid. (And a really smart cookie.) She even came up with the idea of using a milk jug for her candy bucket.
Oreos & milk - the perfect combination.
Gus is 14 now, so he decided he was too old to dress up and go trick-or-treating this year. But he was a nice big brother, and helped walk Bea around the neighborhood.
I didn't take any how-to photos as I made the costume, but it was pretty simple. First, I had Signs Now print the Oreo wafer images on adhesive vinyl. Then I applied them to black foam core and cut out the cookie shapes with an exacto knife. For the creamy filling, I used upholstery foam, making sure to cut holes for the head, arms and legs. The foam tends to have a yellowish hue, so I painted it white with spray paint. Bea wore a white shirt, tights, hat and gloves and I painted the inside of the milk jug with white spray paint too.
I'm a child of the 1970's so, I pretty much grew up on sugary cereals. I loved Captain Crunch and Quisp and Cocoa Pebbles. But the Halloween cereals were my absolute favorite. Probably because they only came out once a year. It made them seem even more special.
I've had this idea to make Halloween cereal box costumes for about 10 years, but my kids were always too small and my husband doesn't really like to dress up for Halloween. (Boo.)
However... this year, I was finally able to convince Bea, Gus and our next-door-neighbor-buddy, Jay, to dress up as Franken Berry, Boo Berry and Count Chocula boxes! We're going to go trick-or-treating as a group on Halloween and hopefully hit some Trunk-or-Treat events the next couple of weekends. (For the first time ever, we have our costumes done early. Hooray!)
Ideally, I wanted Eric and I to dress up as the lesser-known Halloween cereals: Yummy Mummy and Fruit Brute. But the logistics of steering 3 kids in bulky box costumes, up and down stairs and through the dark streets of our neighborhood, means we better remain costume-less. Not that I wouldn't make an awesome Yummy Mummy mommy!
I scanned images of the actual cereal boxes and created files of the front, back, sides and top in Photoshop. Then I took the files to my local sign printing company - Signs Now - and they printed them on vinyl and adhered them to plasticore. Then Eric and I cut and taped them into box shapes. I'm going to build some compartments, just inside the hand holes, for the kids to stash their candy treats. That way, they don't have to hold onto any bags.
Happy Halloween everyone. Let the trick-or-treats begin!
