We have always taken costumes very seriously at our house. There have been a few store bought, but most of the time they come from Goodwill, the sewing box and the garage. One year Hayley made a Edward Scissorhands costume that was incredible. She even sewed scissors onto gloves. That year she sat on a friend's porch with the bowl of candy in her lap and terrified a lot of little kids. The following year she was Ace Ventura. That costume was scary only because Hayley could pull off the look so well.
Last year, Ashlyn was a crime scene. She is in college so the costume took a little more edge and height. She wore three in blood splattered heels. I am guessing she wasn't trick or treating in those babies! Neither of the girls dressed up this year. It was an off year, and that's ok. Sometimes it is just too much work to try and outdo the year before.
Jacob, however, did not let me down. He went as The Riddler. A trip to Goodwill was all it took to find some green clothes. We dug into the fabric box and a few days later, he was 'riddling us' all damn day. I was pretty proud of this costume. I had never changed a skirt into pants before. Jacob didn't seem to think it was any big deal and he was right. He looked pretty cool this Halloween. And yes, he did trick or treat, only to his friends' homes. I have had big kids come to my door and as long as they were in good costumes, I didn't mind. There isn't a whole lot for the teens to do on Halloween, too old to trick or treat, too young to bar hop. I say, let them get candy!
We did break down and bought a costume in October of 1994. We had just moved to Germany and our household items would not arrive until November. I had no sewing machine so we took the drive to Frankfurt, did a little siteseeing and stumbled upon a Disney Store. Ashlyn got a Snow White dress. Hayley wore it the following year. And I don't mean for Halloween, she wore it the entire next year!
There is not the tradition of trick or treating in Germany unless you live near American housing. Some of the German and Russian kids wore costumes and some of them didn't. Most did not know to say "Trick or treat".
When we moved to West Des Moines, we learned of the joke tradition. I for one would like to abolish this tradition. I don't think there are too many kids that want to waste valuable candy getting time with joke telling and I don't know if there are too many candy giving people that want to hear 60 jokes a night. I am there to give out candy and admire the cute little kids!
My sister is also amazing at costumes. She does great make up. We probably could have teamed up and started a little business. I do the costume and she makes them look bloodied and bruised!
I have some great ideas still brewing in my brain, I am just not sure how to pull them off. Danny and I have always wanted to go as the King and I. I think I know how to make a hoop skirt.
No comments:
Post a Comment