It was around 6 am on October 31st when I realized that I had no costume for myself while taking the kids out trick or treating. I am an adult who firmly believes that dressing up for Halloween is suitable for all ages. I love to see families that dress up together and if they have a theme, then they get brownie points. So here I was with my coffee in my hand standing in my messy kitchen and wondering what I was going to do. I saw my reflection in the microwave door when it hit me.

MOMBIE!

I took an old robe and used scissor to rip several spots and then used some grey spray paint to give it an aged look. I hot glued some fun accents to the robe- a scholastic book order form, a Starbucks cup, an old baby bottle, a diaper and of course, little wine bottles. As evening approached I styled my hair to look unkempt and messy. Well truth be told that it wasn’t hard as my hair was already pretty scary looking from wrangling two children under 5 who were hopped up on Halloween excitement all day. I did some zombie-ish makeup which again, wasn’t hard because the dark circles already under my eyes nixed the need for adding any additional makeup. Under the robe I wore pajamas, threw on some old slippers and out of the house we went! It was both terrific and comfortable!

I got so many compliments on the costume that it truly surprised me. People even stopped me for pictures!
It took a total of 30 minutes to put this costume together. I really didn’t have any more time than that because, of course, I was getting the costumes for my kids together! They didn’t dress as zombies but a great idea would be to theme your whole family as unique zombies.

Have a teenager swamped with homework? Make a school themed zombie. Use some pros-aide or similar skin safe adhesive to “impale” a pencil onto your kid’s forehead. Disheveled hair with a protractor bobby pinned into their undead coif. Glue on some paper, maybe a folder and a scantron sheet to their clothes and you have yourself something that every kid and parent can identify with.

A gamer zombie would be a fun costume that has endless possibilities. Video games and computer games each have their own identifying characteristics. Add in some stereotypical accoutrements (empty bag of chips, a can of red bull and maybe an old controller attached to the clothing or a mouse with the cord *loosely* draped around the neck)

Ballerina zombie? Yes!
Football zombie? Yes!
Surfer zombie? Yes!

Don’t let your toddler feel left out! Zombie kids are creepy and if you do it right, they can be funny too. Grab that pair pajamas from the drawer that are a little too small and get to work! Attach a plush animal or doll of some sort to their costume. Better yet, have the kid channel their inner Michonne and let your little monster drag it around. If your child won’t be traumatized, then make their beginnings of a tiny zombie horde undead as well. But I’ll warn you that I did turn a baby doll into a zombie for my costume this year and my little girl was so enamored with it that she slept with that horrifying thing for several months. When she was done with it, the doll would pop up everywhere. Mostly when I wasn’t expecting it, when the house was quiet and I was about to turn out the lights that creepy doll would be lying on the couch staring at me or laying in the middle of the hall directly in my path. It would send shivers up my spine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.