Setting the perfect table for your dolls Halloween Party can be easy and a fun way to prepare for the holidays. In today’s post I wanted to show you some fun ways you can add to your doll play collection with items you may have already around the house that will help your dolls enjoy Halloween as much as you do.

I love the new Banquet Table & Treats from American Girl. As we celebrate Halloween I thought this Celebration deserved a party and including the cake. I have made a copy cat crafts that you can easily make with items you may have at home.

First let’s make the celebration cake.

For the Cake I used:

• 3 different sized white lids from Vitamin bottles and one from a prescription bottles that were empty (get your parent’s permission first and be sure to have them wash the lids thoroughly)
• 1 Orange juice lid (my favorite Green ones) They make great serving platters when they are turned upside down!
• Some craft ribbon (mine had pearls on it)
• Craft flower ribbons (small)
• A small Yellow Butterfly as the cake topper
• 1 glue gun and three glue sticks

• First stack the lids to see how they will look.
• Add a ring of glue where you think the second layer should rest
• Press down the second lid and hold it until it dries. Add the third layer the same way.

• Glue the ribbon around the layers.
• Trim the small flowers and add a puddle of glue on the top layer and push the flowers down.
• When they are dry add a butterfly topper.

I love how it turned out. Flip over a green orange juice lid and you have a perfect cake stand!

Let’s make a punch bowl!

I also made a punch bowl and cups using a Mott’s apple sauce container, some flower embellishments from the dollar store and some 1 oz plastic shot glasses from the dollar store.

Glue the embellishments around the cup and the 1 oz shot glass

How to make Sponge Cake

• Using a kitchen sponge and some pink fun foam you can easily makee a sponge cake!
• Glue the fun foam to the sponge and make a “sandwich”
• Then cut out cake pieces and glue a flower embellishment like I did on the Celebration cake

Make a fancy Croquembouche

The “ Croquembouche” is a traditional cream puff pastry that you will see on the table that looks like a Christmas tree but is made here with pompoms.

It is easy to make and I have used another lid from my orange juice to make the base and I have glued the pompoms to the base and each other forming the “Croquembouche.” You can easily create your own using pompoms, I used orange but you can use any color you want.

To create a great buffet table for your dolls Halloween party I recommend using items you may already have at home and that you may have already made from previous posts here on Doll Diaries.

To give height to your dishes you can always turn over a small glass or in this case I used extra plastic 1 oz cups from the dollar store as I got 30 in a package and then I placed one of my doll sized plates on top.  You can use other lids from shampoo bottles or other lids you may have around the house to help give height to your table.

I also highly recommend that you put the American Girl Doll book Doll Parties on your wish list, it is a great book with lots of fun ideas and great doll play accessories that are ready to use.

I also made Halloween cookies like I did in the bakery post from September 16ths post, only using pumpkin and jack-o-lantern fun foam stickers.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s post and hope you enjoy your Halloween. Stop by next Friday for more doll craft fun with Karen of Karen Mom of Three!

Week 1 of the Halloween Parade was so much fun! We have some very creative readers and your photography skills are awesome, too. Now it’s time for week 2. If you entered in Week 1 you are welcome to enter this week. The photo should be different from Week 1′s entry. If you were a Doll Diaries t-shirt winner in Week 1, you are still invited to enter this week because you could win again. The winners are drawn at random from the entries for the week.

How do you enter? Go to the Doll Diaries Halloween Entry page to upload your photo. Then return here to see your entry into the Halloween Parade and everyone else’s photos, too! Photos are not automatically entered – I have to approve each one, so check back often to see the new entries.

Click on the images to view them larger and on their own page (where you can comment separately on each photo).

The Week 2 Video Recap:

Don’t forget to enter a new photo each week the entire month of October!! Here is the Week 1 recap.

*Note – Winners will be notified by email. Char, Karen & Alex17 may add photos to the parade each week, but don’t worry, we are not eligible for the drawing at the end of the week.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the fabulous entries in the first week of our Halloween Parade and I can not wait to see what you all come up with for week 2! You can use the same form for Week 2 entries as you used last week and tomorrow I will start posting all the Week 2 entries.

But first…. here is a video recap of Week 1 entries along with the winners at the end. Remember, winners were drawn at random and I will be sending the winners an email shortly.

In case you just can’t wait until the end of the video to find out who won this week’s Doll Diaries t-shirts, the winners are:

• Gretchen – Tipi as a Pirate
• Caelen – Mia Says Boo!
• Iris – Ihee as Athena
• Hannah – Jessie as Mrs. Claus
• Annamarie – Chrissa & Sierra

Congratulations! And even if you are a winner this week you can enter again – don’t enter the same photo as last week though, that would be boring

Happy October!!! Are you ready for some fun?? It is time for the Doll Diaries Halloween Parade.

How do you enter? Go to the Doll Diaries Halloween Entry page to upload your photo. Then return here to see your entry into the Halloween Parade and everyone else’s photos, too! Photos are not automatically entered – I have to approve each one, so check back often to see the new entries.

Click on the images to view them larger and on their own page (where you can comment separately on each photo).

Week 1 entries are now closed! Here is the video compilation of all this week’s entries plus the winners.

Don’t forget to enter a new photo each week the entire month of October!!

*Note – Winners will be notified by email. Char, Karen & Alex17 may add photos to the parade each week, but don’t worry, we are not eligible for the drawing at the end of the week.

I have to admit, Monster High Dolls are starting to grow on me a bit. Yes, I know they are kinda creepy looking, but I am starting to appreciate the humor with which they are marketed and the tribute to monsters throughout mythology and pop culture.  So, when I was approached by HalloweenCostumes.com to review one of the Monster High costumes, of course I agreed. They let us choose which costume to review and my daughter picked Lagoona Blue (she is a swimmer and likes Lagoona Blue’s fins).

The Lagoona Blue Costume Monster High Costume comes with a top that is actually a jacket and shirt that are attached together and kind of look like a leotard with a jacket over it in teal and pink fish scale patterns. I think the top is super adorable and very age appropriate! The bottom is a skirt (which I think is a bit short) with built in shorts. It also comes with light blue fishnet leggings – but we will substitute light blue opaque leggings for Halloween and there are fins for the arms and legs that just slide on. The costume retails for about $25 (depending on where you get it).

The costume is not complete without the wig – unless you have long blonde hair and want to put some teal streaks in it – but be very careful with the wig! Since the wig is long and curled, it tangles almost immediately!! It looks very cute on, just handle with care. The Lagoona Blue wig retails for about $15.

The package shows Lagoona Blue carrying a fish bowl purse – I have to figure out how to make one of these for my daughter’s Halloween adventure – she could use it for collecting the candy. I’m thinking I may just have to paint a regular jack-o-lantern blue and either draw or find a large fish decal to put on the side. And no, she will not be wearing giant black high heels like the doll does.

As far as kids Halloween costumes go, the Monster High costumes are comparable in quality and fit to most that you will find – especially those based on licensed characters. But, the good thing about Halloween costumes is they can be used for dress up and costume play all year long. I expect that Monster High costumes will be one of the most popular lines of costumes for tween girls this Halloween – and Halloween is the perfect time of year to spotlight the Monster High characters.

Right now they have costumes for five of the Monster High characters, but you could probably make costumes for many of the characters with a little creativity from what you already have at home.  Click on the images below for more details on ordering or inspiration for your DIY costume.

Lagoona Blue Costume – Child Licensed Monster High Costumes Frankie Stein Costume – Child Monster High Costumes Clawdeen Wolf Costume – Monster High Doll Costume Draculaura Costume – Licensed Monster High Halloween Costumes Cleo de Nile Costume – Mattel Monster High Doll Costumes

Are your dolls ready for Halloween? Are they going Trick-or-Treating? This is a collage of our dolls and some reader dolls from years past. I think our dolls are still getting ready for their Halloween parade.

Here is more Halloween fun to keep you busy while waiting to go Trick-or-Treating or while enjoying all that candy!

• American Girl Pumpkin Bounce game
• There are TONS of free Halloween printables at my Printables4Kids.com site
• Make some cute candy people with some of your candy stash
• Practice your pumpkin carving skills online
• Visit the Ben & Jerry’s site for a whole bunch of fun online Halloween games and activities

In the past years we have had a Doll Diaries Dolloween Parade showcasing dolls of all kinds dressed up and ready for a Halloween costume party. This year I am hoping to have it set up so you can upload your own Dolloween photos directly and don’t have to wait for me to get them posted. (I am a busy gal, you know!)

So start getting your dolls ready for the parade. Any doll (American Girl, Barbie, Tonner, Madame Alexander, etc) or bear (Webkinz, Build a Bear, Gund, etc) that is decked out for Halloween is invited to participate!

Stay tuned for details – I hope to have the page set up by mid-week.

And there may will be prizes for the best photos! I have a few goodies in my secret American Girl stash that I will be giving away (will announce prizes when I announce the start of photo submission) and if there are any doll related vendors that want to donate a prize to our contest, we’d love to showcase your product!

Our friend Tari, who makes beautiful handmade doll clothes, is joining the Halloween parade today.

Here is JLY #6 revised (now retired I believe), Katie, in the retired Mermaid costume:

Here is Julie in the retired Hippie costume:

This is retired #20, Heather Noelle, in the Grecian Princess:

And finally Natalie #5 in a Battat ballet outfit:

It’s not too late to get in on the fun! Submit your dolls’ (American Girl, My Twinn, Build a Bear, Webkinz, Barbie, the works!) photos for our Halloween parade. You can submit them by joining the Doll Diaries forum and posting your photos in the Halloween Costume thread, or you may email them to me at share@dolldiaries.com.

One of our most creative readers, Gale, has shared some of her doll photos and boy, are they cute!

Hula girls Emily and Kit

Samantha and Nellie dressed as boys

Karen as a witch and Mia as a hockey player

Mia as a scarecrow

It’s not too late to get in on the fun! Submit your dolls’ (American Girl, My Twinn, Build a Bear, Webkinz, Barbie, the works!) photos for our Halloween parade. You can submit them by joining the Doll Diaries forum and posting your photos in the Halloween Costume thread, or you may email them to me at share@dolldiaries.com. Check back each day this week as I add new photos.

Our Bitty Baby and one of the twins have joined the Halloween parade dressed as a puppy and a kitten.

Get in on the fun! Submit your dolls’ (American Girl, My Twinn, Build a Bear, Webkinz, Barbie, the works!) photos for our Halloween parade. You can submit them by joining the Doll Diaries forum and posting your photos in the Halloween Costume thread, or you may email them to me at share@dolldiaries.com. Check back each day this week as I add new photos.