A special shoutout to all our fellow new mamas! It is almost time to get your Halloween costume game face on and decide what ooh-and-ahh-worthy outfits you will pull together this year. Let’s be real, at this stage our littles have not hit that way-too-cool “I am NOT wearing that!” stage just yet, so it’s time to have some fun.
Here are six DIY costume ideas for you and your baby to rock this Halloween!
Aside from being the best two characters to play with in Mario Kart, Princess Peach and Toad are classics in the world of video games and ‘80s childhoods. And since a good number of recent mamas were probably born in the ‘80s, this is a great throwback to bring out this year.
1. PRINCESS PEACH AND TOAD
What you need:
– pink princess-style dress
– felt (blue, red, yellow)
– white gloves
– yellow wig
– gold crown
– white baby beanie
– blue tank top or onesie for your baby
– white baby pants
The dress was a TOTAL score at the Goodwill, and the rest you can find at your local craft or Halloween store. For baby, finding a tiny blue vest with yellow trim was not a task that was happening, but the Gap had the perfect blue tank top onesie that I simply cut down the center, adding yellow trim. The hat? I know — it’s so good. Simply glue giant red felt dots to a white beanie with hot glue and the creation is too cute to handle.
This one is a show-stopper! The trending hot sauce has finally given me an excuse to turn my mini into a teeny tiny taco!
2. SRIRACHA AND TACO
What you need:
– sriracha dress
– green hat
– white leggings
– foam
– tissue paper (green and brown)
– felt (red and yellow)
– string
Using foam and tissue paper lined with felt, this costume left little Elijah still able to crawl and play despite all the ridiculousness happening on his backside. For mama, I could not pass up this Sriracha Dress on Amazon for $20. I am convinced he knew I wanted to just eat him up by the look on his face in these images!
You know how the song goes, and your little one really is your sunshine, your only sunshine, he makes you happy, when skies are grey. Any mama can attest to this — what better way to honor your little sunshine by pairing up as your mini’s rainbow?!
3. RAINBOW AND SUNSHINE
What you need:
– little white dress
– white leggings
– felt (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
– white cotton fabric
– yellow baby onesie
– sunshine hat
This dress literally took 20 minutes to make. Simply cut out the colors of the rainbow in an arch and glue in order using hot glue. For the clouds, bunch some white cotton fabric like a sheet or pillowcase onto the base of the rainbow with hot glue. For baby, a yellow onesie is clutch for starters. This sunshine head piece was actually from a baby flower costume that I just cut off and added some orange paint to for more of a sunburst effect.
“Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king.” Yep, we just quoted Mufasa speaking to his cub Simba. And now, time to channel your inner Mama Mufasa!
4. MUFASA AND SIMBA
What you need:
– nude body suit
– red faux fur
– lion ears + tail
– baby lion ears
– baby lion suit
If the nude onesie is a little too revealing, you can always go with something a little looser, but we have to tell you that these onesie jumpsuits from American Apparel are no joke. They might as well be referred to as giant spanx because they are thick and hold everything where it should be! Grab a pair of lion ears and tail and add red faux fur with hot glue for Mufasa’s signature mane. For your mini, you can find a ton of baby lion costumes on Amazon. Bonus, this costume is SUPER comfortable and warm.
When I think of classic books from childhood, my go-to always has been and always will be Where the Wild Things Are.
5. MAX AND A WILD THING
What you need:
– dark blue/gray/black leggings
– striped shirt
– viking style hat
– Max Costume for baby
While you could make your little babe’s outfit, it is so easy and inexpensive to order on Amazon! This one here is SO soft and ridiculously perfect, I recommend buying it for sure. For mom, I actually found this shirt at H+M and paired it with leggings already sliced down the sides for an instantly wild look. Top the whole thing off with a viking style hat and you’re good to go.
You may have caught this clever DIY costume last week on Brit.co as part of a partnership with Cotton. It’s another genius way to get cozy with your little one, and is a cinch to create.
6. LIGHTNING AND THUNDER
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures