Kids' 31 Halloween Looks in 31 Days, by Mom, Are Amazing

If seeing photos of kids in brilliantly clever, homemade Halloween costumes fills you with fears of parental inadequacy, then look away now! (And maybe get some therapy while you’re at it…) But the whimsical creations of Jackie Kontoes, Boston mother of three, are meant only to amuse and inspire, and most were thrown together with just a few items, in an average of 30 minutes a day. The enterprising stay-at-home mom and former fashion student has managed to turn out spot-on pop culture–inspired getups for her kids, 2-year-old Johnny and 5-year-old twins Dexter and Darla, every single day this month, posting the amazing photo evidence to her Instagram page along the way.

“All through the year, I would think of something funny and then jot it down, so I have a long list of ideas,” Kontoes tells Yahoo Parenting. She adds that many of the characters she and her husband Chris, an oceanographer, have come up with were inspired by old movies and TV shows, plus their children’s hammy talents of mimicry, both purposeful and accidental. “We’ve been calling Johnny ‘Augustus Gloop’ forever,” she says with a laugh, referring to the gluttonous rule breaker in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” For each idea, she adds, they’d show the children an original clip of the characters, and the little ones would take on expressions and postures so accurately during photo shoots that mom and dad would be crying from laughter. “I like the idea of getting into character,” says Kontoes, who dressed as Cher to her husband’s Sonny for a Halloween karaoke party recently. “You always act a little different. And it makes the spirit of an event more fun.”