Should these costumes be called Willy Wonka Family Costumes or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Family Costumes? We didn’t have enough people to have a Charlie so I’m calling them Willy Wonka Family Costumes. This was the perfect year to do this theme because last year we had a darker theme going so this year was a perfect contrast for happy and whimsical. Another reason 2021 was a great year to this Roald Dahl classic, is it’s the 50th anniversary of the 1971 movie. Since it was the 50th anniversary there was a special Life Magazine issue dedicated to the movie. I used the magazine as a prop and learned some fun things about the movie.
Where Did You Take The Halloween Photos at?
We took Willy Wonka Family Costume photos in a candy factory of course. I knew we were allowed to take photos in the candy store because of these family pictures I had taken. I also knew what an incredible experience the kids would have just walking around the store because of the past classes we have taken at the candy store. Part of the family costume experience for me is coming up with a background that suits the theme. Aside from the candy store I wanted some photos outdoors with the bubble machine. The bubbles remind me of the scene in the movie where Charlie and Grandpa Joe drink fizzy lifting drinks. Perhaps, I should have had us drinking bottled soda in the photos.
Sweet Pete’s is such a great family friendly location to wander about. The employees are so kind and helpful. There are tons of pictures from the original 1971 movie that we had the kids pose by their characters. We learned that the original golden ticket for Veruca Salt is in the store in a frame. We had our own little Veruca Salt take a photo with it.
Was it Hard to Pick Who Was Each Character?
Surprisingly it was not difficult for us to figure out who we were going to be. I thought the girls might have wanted to be the same character but that wasn’t the case at all. Initially I thought that our youngest would be an Oompa- Loompa because he’s the smallest but my oldest wanted to be an Oompa-Loompa.
Oompa- Loompa
Facepaint and coloring the hair seem to be appealing to my oldest so she wanted to be an Oompa-Loompa. She also got to demonstrate her gymnastic skills to be in character. She did some cartwheels at the park and had fun being in character.
Veruca Salt
My younger daughter wanted to play the part of the fancy Veruca Salt. She likes dressing up and looking beautiful. We all laughed at the great impression of Veruca our sweet girl gave. She wanted a prop and we were able to get a golden ticket for her to hold. She actually had a red dress that could have worked but this one worked much better. We had the tights and shoes already. We just had to curl her hair and she was ready to go.
Mike Teavee
My older son is pretty happy if he gets “accessories” with his costume (aka any weapon). Mike Teavee was the perfect character for him to play. We wanted the cowboy Mike Teavee look for her and there wasn’t one to buy so we pieced together a costume for him. We already had the pants and a cowboy hat. It reminded me of our family costumes a long time ago where we had a little cowboy. We bought a yellow button up shirt, took off the pocket and I sewed on the fringe along the shirt. It didn’t take long ago and I was so happy to “make” something for our costumes. We had to buy cowboy boots, teal handkerchief, and the toy guns.
Willy Wonka
The youngest one we told he could be in charge of all the candy. He loved the idea of being in charge of all the candy (I mean who doesn’t want to be in charge of all the candy). There wasn’t a Willy Wonka costume in his size (if you look at most of the family pictures the smallest person normally gets to be an Oompa Loompa). So again we pieced together his costume. His top hat was from ebay, we got a purple suit for him (he just wore the jacket), he had the pants and shoes already, we got a Willy Wonka undershirt that was a little big for him but we made it work). We thought about getting a walking stick for him but decided that it would be used as a weapon and we didn’t need that temptation.
Grandpa Joe
Matt knew from the beginning he wanted to be Grandpa Joe. This was another pieced together outfit. We had the sports jacket already. My parent’s have a cane (they actually have four canes so we even got to pick which cane). Neither of them have ever used a cane before but they said they have inherited them from when people have passed away. They also have a walker and wheelchair just in case we ever need those as well. We purchased the nightshirt and this gave me and his sisters a good laugh. I mean it’s like a dress. We also bought the hat, wig, mustache and slippers. The details really do help an outfit.
Violet Beaugarde
Last but not least I got to be Violet Beaugarde. I decided I was going to be committed to the role and cut my own bangs. They are probably not perfect but I definitely think it helped me be in character. I had some leftover gum from our trip to the gum wall in Seattle this summer. It was less expensive to piece together a costume rather than get a Violet Beaugarde costume. I got a blue jumpsuit that I could be also be Jeff Bezos in the future if I want. I had the shoes and just had to get a red belt.
Exploring the Candy Store
After we took photos in the candy store, we bought candy and let the kids fill up these little boxes with candy. The best part was they got to choose so many different types of candy they had never tried before. Another good reason that we did these candy focused pictures was the kids were not able to go trick or treating this year. So a trip to the candy store was a fun alternative. We also watched the movie as one of our Halloween movies. While it has nothing to do with scary things I think a movie about candy is totally Halloween appropriate. We will have to watch the Johnny Depp version with the kids at some point.
While we took photos and walked around the store so many people came up to us to compliment our costumes. I think we added to everyone’s tour that day. As we were leaving one of the employees asked if we would pose for a photo with Pete. We said we would be honored to take a photo with him. The kids felt like little celebrities and couldn’t believe someone would want a photo with them. Our Willy Wonka family costumes were an experience to remember.
Where Did You Get Your Costumes?
Violet Beaugarde- Amazon
Grandpa Joe- Slippers- Night Shirt, hat, wig, mustache- Amazon (already owned suit jacket)
Willy Wonka- (Hat ebay) amazon ordered a purple suit (only wore the coat), pants we already had, shirt underneath was from amazon
Oompa Loompa- Halloween Costumes; Toilet paper roll bobby pinned in her hair to make it stick up with green spray paint
Veruca Salt- Golden Ticket- Amazon , costume: Halloween Costumes
Mike Teavee- Amazon- Guns, Boots, Handkerchief, Shirt and Frills. The shirt was a little bit of a DIY. We took off the pocket from the yellow button up and i sewed on the frills. I just kinda eyed balled sewing on the white frills. The pants and hat he already owned.
Magazine- Publix
All of the Candy
Another reason the Willy Wonka Family Costumes worked out so well this year is the kids actually didn’t get to trick or treat. We had a wedding to go to and were unable to go trick or treating. So, I felt like doing something special and candy centered was perfect for this year. I was glad the kids were able to have a little candy shopping spree and pick out their own candy this year. They are definitely not candy deprived but I know not getting the experience of actually trick or treating was a disappointment for them. They took it well and were good sports about not getting to trick or treat this year.
Check out Years Past Halloween Costumes
2019- Pirate Halloween Costumes
2014- Frozen Halloween Costumes
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