It's that time of year again, and this year you have an added attraction! An infant has joined the fun.  You are determined to find the best possible Halloween costume for the best price you can and wow all the neighbors and friends along the way. And now is definitely the best time to do your shopping, before all the cutest costumes get snapped up. But what can I choose and where will I find it? Never fear, help is here! Let's look at your options when it comes to choosing a Halloween costume for your infant.

The first choice to make is whether you intend to purchase a costume, make one, or some combination of these two. Buying a costume has never been easier. If you do your shopping online you'll have a lot more choice, as most retail stores will not stock nearly as many styles and ideas as you can find online.  So it would be wise to at least browse online first to get an idea of just what you're after before you hit the stores. Some of the advantages of the local department store or Halloween shop are that if something is wrong you can more easily get it back for an exchange, and you can touch and feel before you buy. Both of those are impractical online. The good news for either scenario is that since your child is an infant, you don't have to give them a choice! There's plenty of that going around for the older kids. If you decide to buy yours online, you'll have plenty of choice, prices are reasonable, and you'll have it your hands in a few days. The choice of cute costumes online is truly astounding, and much more than you will find in any store. Take a look for yourself!

If you'd like to make your own costume, then still make use of the internet to browse and refine your idea. This way you'll have a very good idea of just what materials you'll need to purchase when you go out to do this. You can make an inventive costume cheaply these days, and for your infant this is not a bad idea.

The main concerns you'll want to make sure to address, whether you make it yourself or purchase a Halloween costume, is to make sure it safe.  This means that there are no loose parts to swallow, poke, or suffocate your child. Also make sure that the costume itself is not too warm, unless you live in an area that will not require that come Halloween.

Whichever way you choose, I look forward to seeing you toting your infant around this Halloween dressed up as a pea in a pod; or a Hershey's Kiss; or a baby elephant; or a baby whoopie cushion, or any number of other ideas I've seen recently! Just make sure not to scare the little one too much!

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Just a quick note to let you know that BuyCostumes.com is offering free FedEx Premium shipping on orders over $99.

That means you can order right up until Friday night (Oct. 27th) and still get your costume in time for Halloween!

If you've been putting it off and are worried you won't get it in time, you still have a few days. Plus, you can still take advantage of the discount coupon - just click the 5% off graphic in the last post…

I am ready for the spooks to come out and the spirits to walk the earth. Okay, how is that whole walking the earth thing even possible? They're entities, right? So why aren't they floating? I am officially changing it to "spirits floating the earth." Get the memo everyone.

Anyway, that one creepy night of the year sure can be an absolute blast. What are you going to dress up as? Maybe a terrifying werewolf, or a nice pale ghost. Oh wait; I've got it. You can go as Emily Rose when she's all contorted like in that Exorcism movie. That was freaky! You would definitely scare a lot of children that way. Probably oodles of adults too. Yes indeed, there's nothing as fun and exciting as great Halloween costumes. The key is getting yours before they're all sold out.

I am constantly searching for great Halloween costumes. My seven year old daughter simply adores October 31st. She loves the idea of becoming someone else for the night.

Last year she went as a rock star. However, not just any rock star, but a superstar with all the trapping of a pop diva. Yeah, she prefers to go all out with that stuff.

Anyway, I searched through a number of great Halloween costumes before I finally found that one. This year is virtually the same deal. You know, I finally stopped bothering with the local Halloween superstores. You've surely seen them. They typically pop up in September. Not that they don't carry a few great Halloween costumes, but they always sell everything out so fast. That's a major bummer when you have something special in mind.

Oh, and they tend to be over-priced. I rather prefer the World-Wide-Web of great Halloween costumes. Now, when I say great, I mean fantastic. Anything you can fathom regarding costumes, masks, make-up, and accessories can be found in cyberspace. Just get online and see exactly what I mean. Like I said before, it's imperative to shop early on. Get that perfect bone-chilling costume before it disappears. Are you on the web yet?

So, in short, take advantage of the vast selection of great Halloween costumes found in your very own home. Pop open that Mac or PC and get started today. Before you know it, October 31st will be here and the little trick-or-treaters will be wrapping at your door.

If you've ever seen any of the Tom Arma collection of baby costume, you know how cute they are. I'll bet that any parent who sees these costumes will find them hard to resist.

I know that I wish I had seen them when my daughter was still young enough to wear one, but I'll just have to accept that she's more interested in being a "rock star diva" than a cute little butterfly or bunny.

There's a pretty big selection to choose from, but just look at this butterfly (it's my favorite):

Click here to take a look at the whole collection - just be prepared to pull out your wallet

Okay, here's the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang - Fred, Daphne and Velma…

	Fred, the fearless leader of the gang. If you've seen the Scooby Doo movies, you may have noticed he's updated his outfit a bit. Personally, I'm partial to the original, ascot and all. Fred's available in adult and kids versions.
	Daphne, the fashion maven. Again, she's available in both adult and kids version.
	And last, but certainly not least, there's Velma, the brains behind the gang. Available for adults and kids.

Scooby Doo has been a favorite cartoon for over 30 years. When I was a kid, it was probably my favorite show. I'd be up at 7:30 every Saturday so I could watch it.

And now, 30 some years later my daughter loves it as much as I did. The quality of the animation is a little better and the music has changed, but Scooby, Shaggy and the gang still get into all kinds of trouble before unmasking the villain.

Because it's been popular for so long, Scooby Doo costumes are great for family events when you want a family "theme". Everyone in the family can probably get into character, having watched it at some point or another.

Everybody knows Shaggy & Scooby love to eat, Daphne loves fashion and Velma loves science.

If you're looking for ideas for a family costume, here are a few options you can choose from:

	Scooby Doo is obviously going to be the most important part of this group - it is named after him, after all. You can get this costume for adults or for kids
	Shaggy is probably the second most important. He's Scooby's best friend and owner. There were even some Scooby Doo movies with just the two of them - the rest of the gang weren't part of the action. Again, available in adults and kids versions.

I'll dig up the rest of the gang and post some links to their costumes in tomorrow's Deal of the Day.

If you're not sure what kind of costume you want to wear for Halloween this year, you might want to take a look at the Clearance Center at BuyCostumes.com.

You'll find all kinds of interesting ideas and you can save a pile of money off their normal prices.

Most of the clearance costumes are "last year's models" or items they aren't carrying any more, but there's lots of great choices if you're not set on being the hottest character from the latest blockbuster movie.

Click here to check out the deals