If you are trying to decide on the perfect homemade costume, turn your little one into a sweet M&M. MOM Magazine reader Evonne Walls provides a a tutorial that is simple to follow, even if sewing isn't your strong suit.

M&M Costume

Materials

• Fabric (felt or cotton blend is fine) in the color of M&M you want to be. Two yards for a toddler and up to three yards for an older child
• One to two yards of batting to make the M&M a little poufy
• Small remnant or quilter's square of white or brown fabric to make the M on the front of the costume
• White thermal underwear (one or two piece)
• Velcro strips

Instructions

1. Use a piece of cardboard to cut out a pattern. Cut a large circle to the size you need your costume to be, keep in mind its better for the costume to be a little big than too small. (Cut an oval pattern for a peanut M&M.)
2. Cut out four circles from the fabric and two circles from the batting using the cardboard pattern.
3. Cut a large M (Search for M&M under Google images for to print out a template) out of white material, then glue it to the front or use Wonder Under to iron the M onto the one of the circles. Appliqué the edges of the M. This circle will be the front of the front M&M piece.
4. Select two circle pieces and sew two strips (6"-7" each) of Velcro across each piece, one about one-third away from the top and the other one-third away from the bottom of the circle. You will then sew the other side of those Velcro pieces onto the back and stomach/chest region of the thermal underwear.
5. Now you will take one circle with the Velcro and the circle with the M and place them on top of the each other so the M and the Velcro are facing each other. You will repeat this step with the other two pieces except you just need to make sure the one circle that is blank has the right side (finished side) of it facing the Velcro strips.
6. Sew around the edges of each pair of circles leaving about 4" open at the top so you can turn the circles right side out so the raw seams are on the inside of the costume .
7. Stuff the batting inside the circles through the opening so it lays flat inside.
8. Once you have stuffed the batting inside you can close the opening by folding in the edges and hand stitching it closed or sewing it on your sewing machine.
9. You're done. Have your child put on the thermal underwear and then attach the circles.

Variations

Instead of affixing the M&M with Velcro you can sew straps or strings into the shoulder area and on the sides so you can tie the costume on.

Still trying to figure out Halloween costumes for the kiddos? Think outside the box - a cardboard box, that is. Check out all the great costume ideas using cardboard here, like Mia's American Doll costume.

So, if you read my editorial in the Mid-Valley MOM Magazine you know that I have 3 kids.  And once again I had one that wanted a store bought costume (Mimi is going as an adorable pink and black spoted kitty) one that wanted a home made costume (McKenna now has a black and pink poodle skirt) and one that waited until yesterday at 3pm  and then decided he wanted to be Picachu from Pokemon'. 

I figured finding a gold/yellow sweatsuit shouldn't be to hard.  (We are OSU Beavers at heart but there is quite a bit of Duck stuff around).  But, wouldn't you know it......(insert explitive here)  The Ducks went the green and black route this year and not a gold color sweatshirt to be found...

Last ditch effort I ran to good old Target. I found a half zip gold color fleece jacket but no pants.  So around the corner to JoAnn's Fabrics I went.  I grabbed a pajama pattern to make the matching pants and then found fleece that pretty well matched the jacket.  Of course according to the pattern I didn't have enough material left on the bolt to get the pants and a hood made for the jacket (picachu's head).  So I took what they had and then they literally locked the dorrs behind me.  Although I didn't feel to bad because they were really busy between 8pm and 9pm last night...guess I am not the only one with a last minute kid!

By the time I got home, got the kids to bed, saw my husband for 15 minutes, etc, etc.  It was now 11:30pm and I still had to make the darn thing.  I cut with lightning speed with the mini size dull scissors I found in the drawer (remember we just moved and my sewing stuff is buried in the garage).  I sewed the pants...made the hood, added the ears...crafted the tail and cut out the face....then I went to bed at 2:00am but was so wired after the Coke I drank I couldn't sleep until 3:00am.

My son awoke to me hollering..."get out here and get this thing on so I can get the elastic in your pants...and your tail in the right spot"!  In the mean time I was helping both daughters with spelling words and a math assignment about how many pockets our family has on.....AAAhhhhhhhhhh!!!

I finished with 3 minutes to spare..just enough time to pull on some jeans and run a brush through my hair and one over my teeth.  And off to school we went!

But, my story doesn't end there....I offered to do the crafts for the girls classes today during their Halloween parties.  Mimi's is finished and individually bagged so the kids can get right to work...McKenna's were another story. 

I had good intentions of making these adorable "Witch Hands" with clear plastic gloves, candy corn finger nails, filled with popcorn and then topped off with plastic spider rings.  I borrowed an air popper from a girlfriend after an SOS was sent out on Facebook.  Candy corn..check,  ring....check,  rubber band...check....gloves...OH NO...I forgot the gloves. 

How hard could they be to find....hahahahahahaha!  (Never ask yourself that question the morning of the event).  All I could find were the latex type gloves...so I finally called my local Fred Meyer and they said no...I "needed a restaurant supply that has gloves like in our deli section...."   ding ding ding...we have an idea... "Can I buy gloves from your deli section?"  and we were off and running.  Thomas the Asst, Grocery Mgr was very helpful and said to come on down and they would help me out!  (Thank goodness for Thomas!)  So, away I drove and now I am a happy camper with gloves in hand! 

I just have to finish popping the popcorn, get a shower, find my costumes,  write this blog, get a few other work related things done...get to the parties...(I think I will stop there and just hope I get that far).  Thanks for listening to me...I really just had to tell someone...anyone??? 

I totally forgot!  the Freddy's in Albany has all sorts of Halloween stuff going on Saturday:

Cake & Cupcake Decorating 11am-4pm  (you buy the cakes and they provide the decorations)

Cake Walk  Noon-130pm

Costume Contest  2pm  for a chance to win at $25 gift card to Fred Meyer  (open to kids 10 and under)

I am sure the Fred Meyer in your neck of the woods has stuff going on too!  Just give them a call.........gotta go...the popcorn popper is blowing and I need to put more popcorn in it!  Happy Halloween Everyone!  I will get picture of the costumes up soon!