Last week, we hosted our first annual Halloween Costume Party at TLB Music!  Our amazing staff teamed up to transform our music studio and playspace with giant cobwebs, bats, jack-o-lanterns, lights, balloons, LED candles, and more.  We created a Trick-or-Treat table filled with yummy vegan sweets like YumEarth lollipops, Dandies Marshmallows, Newman’s Own Cookies, and fruit.  I also baked almost 300 mini brownies!  (Brownies are so easy to veganize:  just substitute eggs with flax eggs in any brownie recipe.)  Continue reading to see my photos from the party!

Over 60 children attended in adorable costumes and the TLB team dressed up as a rainbow! We all had so much fun together!  In our music room, the kids jammed out with our teachers to songs like “I Put a Spell On You”, “Monster Mash”, “Love Potion No. 9″, and “Thriller”. They made the sound of thunder with our collection of world percussion instruments and got a chance to play the Trombone, Saxophone, and Snare Drum with our head teacher Ashley! In the art room, Let’s Gogh Art helped partygoers decorate foam pumpkins with glitter pens, jewels, and other stick-ons. After music and art, kids headed down to our indoor playspace for snacks and playtime!
Thank you to everyone who attended the party!

(Click on photos to enlarge)

I created this Halloween coloring sheet for you to download and print for your kids!  Click on the image below for your free PDF copy!

Coloring inspiration:

We made this lollipop spider to hang above our YummyEarth jar at TLB Music.  All you need is a lollipop, black pipe cleaners and adhesive eyes!  It’s so easy to make: wrap 4 pipe cleaners around the lollipop stick, bend them into little legs, then apply the eyes.  If want to hang your spider, just use monofilament line!

Here is what we used for our spider:

YummyEarth Lollipop: The kids (and parents) at TLB love these lollipops! They are certified organic, gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free, peanut-free, casein-free, dairy-free, all-natural, and most importantly, unbelievably delicious. View YummyEarth lollipops on Amazon.

Black Pipe Cleaners: Buy at your local craft store or you can order a pack on Amazon.

Wiggly Eyes: You can find these at your craft store! We purchased this pack from Amazon.

Monofilament Line: Pick this up at your hardware store or purchase a roll on Amazon. This is the one we ordered.

This Halloween, make your own bats with your kids! This free, printable template is perfect for practicing fine motor skills while creating adorable decorations for the holiday. Crafty parents: these cute creatures can double as a wine bottle topper.  See pictures below!

What you’ll need:

• Printer and paper for printing template (click PDF link below)
• Scissors (tip: cut out pieces for young kids new to scissors)
• Removable double stick tape or glue stick
• Fishing line, monofilament line, or string for hanging

Printable Halloween Activity for Kids- Create Your Own Bat PDF

Start by printing the above template and use black crayon to color the reverse side of the wings (and body if you’d like). You can color solid, add a pattern, or even use a leaf underneath the template to create an impression with your crayon!

Next, cut out all the pieces from the template. This is challenging scissor work for little hands! Supervise or help cut out the tough parts for young kids. For the bat feet and handle of the Trick or Treat bag, don’t worry about cutting around the little black pieces! Just round off the image at the outside border.

Use removable double-sided tape or glue to line the edge outside of the dotted line on the body.

Now, simply roll up the body, securing it with the sticky edge. Be careful to line up the ears!

To attach the wings, first cut a bit of the line or string you’re going to use to hang your bat. Cut extra so you can adjust your length after completing. (If you’re using as a wine topper, skip the line/string). Place it with some tape or glue in the center of your wings…

then attach to your bat body!

Now is the really fun part: customizing your bat! Choose a set of eyes and attach them with tape or glue.

Next, add the feet and accessories!

You can use a bow as a “hair” bow or as a bowtie.

I put the Trick or Treat bags hanging from my bat feet but you could also have your bat carry its bag from its wings.

I decided to use my candy corn as bat ears! You can put yours in your bat’s wing, feet or put them in the candy bag.

For adults: check out how cute the bats look as wine toppers! They fit perfectly!

These bats are so lightweight, it’s easy to hang them in almost any way. They look adorable hanging in front of a window or you can make a mobile by attaching a few bats to a twig, then hanging your stick with more fishing line!

Happy Halloween Crafting!

Updated September 2015

It’s almost October- can you believe it?  We were just at the beach and now we’re surrounded by pumpkins, scarves, boots, and chilly air!  One of the best parts about this time of year for kids (and parents!) is Halloween.  Have you chosen your costumes yet?

Click through for 24 of my favorite Halloween costumes for babies, toddlers, and big kids.  Click on the links beside the list items to view each costume on Amazon.  Looking for a Halloween event to attend with your kids in NYC?  Make sure to join TLB Music for a Halloween Costume Party on Friday, the 30th on the Upper East Side of Manhattan!

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1.  Precious Peacock Costume by InCharacter {view on Amazon}
2.  Cozy Cow Costume by Rubie’s Costume Company {view on Amazon}
3.  Born to be Wild Costume by InCharacter {view on Amazon}
4.  Little Lobster Costume by Lil Characters {view on Amazon}
5.  Flower Costume by Lil Characters {view on Amazon}
6.  Monkey Costume by Lil Characters {view on Amazon}

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Katia and I are so excited to be throwing our first Halloween costume party for kids at TLB Music!  We can’t wait to decorate the studio with cobwebs, spiders, glowing lights, pumpkins, and more.  If you live in the NYC area, please join us on October 30th for music, making Halloween-themed crafts, playing in our indoor playspace, and snacking on yummy sweets. We’ll be giving away $100 in Bird Bucks to TLB’s staff pick for favorite costume of the day and will be raffling off a full session of music classes ($688 value) for our Winter/Spring 2014 session!

What: Halloween Costume Party for kids ages 4 months – 6 years
Where: TLB Music 266 East 78th Street (between 2nd and 3rd) NY, NY 10075
When: Wednesday, October 30th 2013
Time: come anytime between 2:30 – 5:00! We think most people will stay about an hour.
Tickets: $20 per child in advance | $25 per child at door | 50% off siblings
How to Purchase Tickets: Call 212-744-0404, email tlb@tlbmusic.com, or purchase tickets online at: www.tlbmusic.com/workshops-events/

(Click image to enlarge, save, and print!)

Click through for our favorite Halloween 2012 costumes for babies and toddlers! Afterwards, make sure to view our Halloween 2011 picks- all of our selections are still available online.

Looking for an NYC Halloween event to attend with your children? Time Out New York Kids put together a fantastic guide of Halloween events throughout the month of October.
CLICK HERE to check it out!

1. Tootsie Roll Bunting Costume  view on www.amazon.com

2. Butterfly Bunting Costume  View on www.costumeexpress.com

3. Little Lobster Costume  View on www.amazon.com

4. Rompin’ Roo Kangaroo Costume  View on www.amazon.com

5. Lil’ Froggy Costume  view on www.amazon.com

6. Peanut Costume  View on www.amazon.com

7. Golfer Costume  View on www.amazon.com

8. Pink Poodle Costume  View on www.amazon.com

9. Elephant Costume  View on www.amazon.com

10. Dorothy Costume  View on www.target.com

11. NASA Jr. Astronaut Costume  View on www.amazon.com

12. Strawberry Costume  View on www.amazon.com

13. UPS Costume  View on www.amazon.com

14. Flamenco Dancer Costume  View on www.amazon.com

15. T-Rex Costume  view on www.amazon.com

16. Sock Hop Costume ($26.99) view on www.amazon.com

We’ve gathered 10 of our favorite children’s costumes for Halloween 2011.   All of these costumes are non-commerical and uncomplicated.  There is nothing worse than being uncomfortable in your costume while trick-or-treating,  so make sure your little ones are comfy in their clothes!

1.  Peapod Costume (0-6 months)

Click here to view this item on www.target.com.  It’s on clearance right now for $9.80!

2.  Pig Costume by Lil’ Characters.

Click here to view this item on www.halloweenexpress.com.

3.  Monkey Costume by Lil’ Characters:

Click here to view this item on www.amazon.com.

4. Sugar Plum Fairy Costume- We love this nod to Tchaikovsky!

Click here to view this item on www.target.com.

5.   Sock Monkey Costume.

Click here to view this item on www.target.com.

6. Berry Cute Costume

Click here to view this item on www.halloweenexpress.com.

7.  Triceratops Costume

Click here to view this item on www.target.com.   This costume is on clearance right now for $24.48!

8. Lion Costume

Click here to view this item on www.target.com.  This costume is on sale right now for $10.00- $14.00.

9. Rag Doll Costume by Yarn Babies

Click here to view this item on www.buycostumes.com.

10.  Astronaut Costume

Click here to view this item on www.amazon.com.