A Storybook Halloween

Here's a lovely theatrical quality Belle costume, but the color won't look good on most people.

This traditional Cinderella costume would make you look like you just stepped out of a storybook.

If I owned this billowy Cinderella costume, I suspect I'd wear it more than at just Halloween. Lounging around the house, or going out to dinner parties, I think.

The Disney Store would love for you to fork over nearly $500 for this licensed Disney Princess Snow White costume. You'll have to buy the shoes and crown separately.

Your child can trick-or-treat dressed as Rapunzel in this sparkly Tangled costume.

Should you for some reason want to spend over $1000 on your child's Halloween costume, here's a very accurate Beast costume (Beauty not included).

If you prefer theatrical quality costumes, here's a lovely basic Snow White theater costume.

If you feel the need for Snow White to be sexy, here's a fantasy Snow White costume.

Two New Pop-Up Fairy Tale Books for Autumn and Winter

Louise Rowe's beautiful pop-up Red Riding Hood book will be released in America on December 1st.

What a shame it doesn't arrive earlier, as the book fits in so well with an autumn theme.

Her Hansel & Gretel pop-up book also arrives December 1.

It also features beautiful fall imagery, with woods and leaves.

These would make fabulous fun Christmas presents for careful young people; or intriguing coffee table books at your next winter dinner party.

A Fairy-Tale Christmas

"A Fairy-Tale Christmas: Creating Magical Celebrations Inspired by an Enchanted Castle."

This book of lavish holiday photographs features Lyndhurst, a gothic revival mansion in Tarrytown, New York. The home, open for tours, happens to look like a castle.

Every year, the multiple rooms in this house are decorated in fairy tale themes. Each room has a fabulous themed Christmas tree and color scheme complementing the tale.

Each fairy-tale chapter of the book has four or five gorgeously photographed pages, including photos of the beautiful trees, info on the original fairy tales, and a menu for a fairytale meal.

• Cinderella - Destroy the Evidence Tarts, Cinderella's Gentle Mimosa, 'Mad Minuet' Sports Drink
  

• Rumplestiltskin - Golden Treats, Ginger Syrup
  

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears - The Bears' Oatmeal Porridge, Teeny-Biny Bear's Tea
  

• Hansel & Gretel - Gingerbread Cookies
  

• Little Red Riding Hood - Lemon Poppy-Seed Cakes, May Wine
  

• Snow White - Snow White's Turnovers
  

• Sleeping Beauty - French Toast, Orange-Butter Glaze
  

• Beauty and the Beast - Tenderloin of Beef
  

• The Princess and the Pea - Peas on a Pillow, Princess Peas
  

• The Little Mermaid - Mini-Pizzas with Anchovies, Smoked Salmon Appetizer
  

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - White Rabbit's Carrot Cake
  

• Peter Pan - Crocodile Tears Punch
  

• A Christmas Carol - The Stuffing of Dreams
  

• The Snow Queen - Snow Cream, Aurora Borealis
  

• The Nutcracker Ballet - Arabian Coffee, Sugar Plums
  

While none of us probably spend an entire six months of the year prepping our house with multiple Christmas trees in anticipation of the holiday, this book is quite inspiring. You'll love the photos of elegant slippers hanging on Cinderella's tree; strands of pearls dripping from the tree in the Little Mermaid-themed room, and the madcap red-and-white decorations in the Alice in Wonderland room.