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Smiffys Crocodile Child's Costume
by broxi3781
Crocodiles existed well before the dinosaurs, and while modern versions tend to be smaller, these creatures have changed very little in millions of years. Various sources estimate the yearly human death toll from crocodiles to be over 2,000*. They generally lay submerged floating quietly until prey is within reach - then one quick snap ... and they pull you down to drown - and possibly tenderise you by letting your flesh rot a bit before dining. Although they look slow, they are capable of short bursts of speed on land - think you can out run one - no chance. Of course if we want a really frightening creature, the mosquito is by far the most dangerous animal to man with deaths estimated between 1 and 2 million per year.
So technically the crocodile should make a good scary creature to dress up as for Halloween - but this costume is much more cute than it is creepy. In fact my sons will not be dressing up as crocodiles, as they want something scary instead. They will be zombies this Halloween, but this costume does get a lot of wear. My son likes to wear this just in house - I guess you could call it lounge wear, and of all his dress up costumes this is by far his favourite. I bought this last Christmas as I had bought crocodile pyjamas for my oldest, but couldn't find any the right size for my youngest, who was 3 at the time. The large head makes this a bit awkward for sleeping in, but he is happy to wear this just to play indoors - and trust me getting him to wear anything indoors is a challenge.
I bought this from Amazon and paid roughly £16. It is now available at £14.49 in size 4 - 6 which is what I have. For ages 7-9 it is only £12.49. My son was age 3 when I bought this, and it fit him well enough, but with the legs slightly pushed up. It still fits well at age 4 - but I think it will be a bit short by next year, so I would put this as age 3 -5. If I were buying for a 6 year old - I think I would choose the next size up. But there is some room for error here with sizes. If you buy this a bit large, the legs just push up a bit - kind of like combat trousers as they are lightly elasticated. Because there are no feet to this, you could get buy with using it a bit short, especially if you dressed the child in green socks with cloth cut out feet - or better yet crocodile slippers.
The picture above shows the suit quite well. The only thing you really can not see is the small white teeth that line the bottom of the mouth. Perhaps if the teeth were larger the crocodile might appear more menacing. There is also a single row of felt triangles down the middle. I think a double row would have been more appropriate for a crocodile, as this makes me thing a bit of a dragon. I do really like this costume, but it isn't the least bit scary. It looks more like a cuddly soft toy than a ferocious beast. If you are happy with cute - by all means buy this, if you want creepy I would give this a miss.
This looks quite furry and warm at first glance, but it is thin, and not at all warm. If worn for Halloween - you would most definitely want to dress the child in other clothes underneath - which would mean you really need a costume with enough room. My son doesn't wear anything under this, because as I mentioned - he prefers to wear as little as possible. We get clothes on him to take him out, but the second he is the door he is peeling them off. He is very fussy about textures or anything tight or uncomfortable, but he does find this very comfortable, and this is one of his favourite things to wear inside - perhaps because the thin woven fabric does allow plenty of air circulation.
When I first bought this, I honestly did not expect this to last long. The fabric looks very thin and easy to tear, and it is covered in little tiny strings. I do not have the original washing instructions, and can not remember the recommendations. I have however chosen to wash this by hand. It has always cleaned up very well and looks brand new once dry, but I honestly do not know how it would hold up to machine washing. It is a very favourite item and I am afraid to damage it. One thing that is difficult with ths costume is drying though. Because the head and tail are both stuffed this can take quite some time to dry unless you have a very hot summer day - a real rarity hear or have the radiators on and can lay this over a radiator. The body dries very quickly but the tail takes a long time and the head even longer.
My son loves this costume - and I'm happy for anything that gets him to wear clothes. It has far exceeded my expectations in terms of wear and durability. This costume is great fun for acting rhymes like 5 Little Monkeys sitting in a tree, or even for playing dragon or dinosaur. It would also be grand for school dress up days, especially as many have book themes and there are so many great Crocodile books ( if you want a list just message me - we have tons of them ). This gets 5 stars from both my son and myself, and a full recommendation.
*http://www.animaldanger.com/most-dangerous-animals.php
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Smiffy's Devil Horns
by xd-o-n-z-x
As many of you will have been aware, it was Halloween a couple of weeks back. I was going on a night out to celebrate, but was unsure what to go as. I wanted something 'simple' - as I still wanted to look 'glamorous' but with a tiny hint of 'fancy dress'. Last year, for a laugh, we all dressed up as Santa Clause to go out in town - I ... have never been more embarrassed especially when everyone else I knew looked glamorous and I looked like a man! So this time was different.
I was originally planning to go as a cat, but someone else was already going as one, and so I thought that I would be different. It wasn't until I was in Clinton's Card shop a couple of days before the event that I saw something that give me an idea; Devil Horns.
The horns are made of plastic. The band is black and so it hides in your hair (if like me, you have dark hair) and the horns themselves are made of red plastic. They were in the sale (even though it was a week or so before Halloween) and selling for just 99p instead of £1.99 which I think is great value for money.
Even though the horns are aimed at children, they do look good on adults (if I say so myself). I had a lot of comments about my horns. They give a good effect without going too over the top.
One thing which I liked about the horns was the fact that I only had to put them on my head and people could see easily what I had come dressed as. Also, because they give some a good effect, it meant that I didn't have to go in the full fancy dress. I just put on a red dress and some heels and I was ready. Proof, that you can still 'do fancy dress' with minimum effect, whilst looking girlie and glamorous as the same time. Obviously they would go well if you were in the whole 'devil costume'.
Even though the horns were aimed at children (I wouldn't say I have a small head or a big one), they fitted really well. They did stretch a little even if they were made of plastic. They weren't too tight nor too loose. They stayed in place the whole night which was good, as I had imagined that I would have got fed up of them falling off my head all night, but they were ok. They did slip slightly when I bent down, but not enough to come off. I wore it like a hair band - with some of my fringe pulled back - not only did it look good but it kept my hair in place too.
I would definitely recommend these horns, especially with Christmas coming and I know that a lot of people like to do fancy dress around Christmas time.
Thanks for reading!
November 2011
Xdonzx / xd-o-n-z-x
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