Oct 30

Oct 30 The Spirit of Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year -- a close second to Christmas. Every year I go all out planning my Halloween costume to match my themed party. Ever since I met the hubs in 2010, I’ve tried to make our outfits match. He LOVES when I choose his outfit (maximum sarcasm). I went back on Facebook for these pics, so don’t mind the quality.

One of my favorite things to do is create a costume out of stuff I have in my closet. Thankfully, I have a lot of weird things, but I usually have to hit up the local Spirit Halloween store to get a few key items -- tutus, fangs, face makeup, etc. Looking back on the past decade, I’ve only bought a full costume once, Little Red Riding Hood… and even then, I threw in my own basket.

One of my favorite costumes was when I had to go to a party last minute in 2008 (OMG, a decade ago), and threw together a Jennifer Lopez look. She wore a similar look to an awards show and I knew I had something that resembled it. I mean, I AM obsessed with her, after all.

Spirit Halloween always has the little things I need to complete my look. I searched far and wide for a tiny sailor hat to complete a DIY sailor-girl look, and the store came through.

Don’t get me started on my themed parties. In 2016, we had a full out 90s themed party and our guests definitely showed up!

Last year, the hubs and I hit up Spirit Halloween for head bandages and face makeup to complete our Walking Dead looks. Of course, I had to be cute with it and get a tutu, too. My party’s theme was “zombie/scary,” so I had to get some crazy decorations from the store, too.

I recently learned about Spirit Halloween’s huge charity spirit. When I think of giving back for the holidays, I immediately think of Christmas and Thanksgiving. But guess what, Halloween has a heart, too!

Spirit of Children is the heart of Spirit Halloween. All year round with an emphasis on Halloween, Spirit of Children has a mission to make hospitals less scary for children. Since 2007 with the Child Life Department at local hospitals, Spirit of Children has raised $45-million to provide art, music, aquatic, and pet therapy programs. They also use the funds to purchase educational items and toys to distract kids going through medical procedures. Best part is, 100% of donations are given to the Child Life Department in 140 partner hospitals across the US and Canada. You can donate online, or in-store at all Spirit Halloween stores. #SpiritofChildren

Halloween gets me excited for the back-to-back holidays, and now my heart is happy knowing the “scary” holiday is doing some good, too. I can’t wait to see everyone’s costumes on Insta!