Costume Scramble

Well, I was not really prepared for Halloween. I knew we’d take the kids out trick-or-treating, but I just didn’t really plan ahead. I mean, I bought a bag of candy at Costco a couple days ago, and I’ve got pumpkins (yet uncarved) lining the front porch, but that’s as far as my preparations went. I didn’t plan on the whole costume issue… just figured we’d go with what we did last year… that, or swap them around!

For Blessings #s 1 and 2, I kept hyping up the good ol’ princess dresses that are in the dress-up box. Granted, they’ve been the princesses for like three years, but I was still working on those. Blessing #3 was Superman last year—we pulled out the trusty Superman pajamas and off he went. Last Halloween, Blessing #4 was half cricket half duck. Blessing #5 was cozied up in my belly, so he didn’t need a costume.

I really wanted to get by on what we have because I have no intention of spending money on Halloween costumes… You buy for one and you gotta buy for all… and these days, they don’t have the cheapy plastic costumes like they did when I was a kid. Five costumes add up to quite a bit of money. Anyways, my dear, sweet, Beloved (and practical!) Husband said that Halloween was a lot like Prom… why spend the money on something that only lasts a few hours… I neglected to remind him that he, himself, went to Prom (though, not with yours truly!) and dressed up for trick-or-treating… mostly because I didn’t want to buy anything anyway!

But, unfortunately for me, it was a No Go on the princesses. And the Superman. And the cricket and duck costumes are too little for B#4 and too big for B#5.

So MM had to get creative...

Bs #s 1&2 have been on The Little Mermaid kick lately and were quite insistent on being Ariel this year. So, yesterday morning (yes, the day before Halloween), after unsuccessfully proposing Cinderellas in the princess dresses, I set out to create two Ariel costumes. Two cereal boxes, a tub of scrap fabrics, a hot glue gun, a stapler, and a spool of pink ribbon later, I was successful… mermaid fins and clamshell bras (coincidentally covered in material left over from my highschool prom dress!) to boot. Total cost: $0. The girls’ reactions? Priceless. (And when I sent the kids up to get their jammies on last night, B#1 came down with the just the pants, curiously unable to find the matching shirt, and put on her clamshell top. It was quite amusing, but she was not allowed to wear that to bed. She did strut around the kitchen for the few minutes it was on, though!)

Since B#3 said he didn’t want to be Superman (“Those are jammies, Moma.”), I dug out the Batman pajamas that he hasn’t seen in a while. That, too, was met with a negative response. He got bright-eyed and eager and decided that he wanted a sword and he’d be King Tritan! But I decided that even the manly Merman would end up looking pretty girly on my little boy. So, King Tritan was also met with a negative response. Instead, together we decided he’d be G.I. Joe… we dug out his camo shirt and camo jacket. I got a camo bandana to tie around his head, and I’m going to paint his face. Total cost: the 97 cents for the bandana. His reaction? Priceless… when he came down the stairs this morning singing “It’s Halloween! It’s Halloween!” and wearing his camouflage gear and his black snow boots, er…, I mean army boots. (Though, by breakfast he said he was going to be Superman this year. Then he came in with the Batman pajamas. “I think I’ll wear these to go get candy.” Humphfff! …I don’t think so! He’s decided to be an army hero again… Daddy found him a toy gun that only G.I. Joes get to carry.)

B#4 got dressed in her orange thermal jammies this morning… she is going to be a pumpkin. I’m going to paint her jack-o-lantern face on this afternoon. She said she wanted a sad face with mad eyes… I’ll probably just put on a happy face with happy eyes. After all, she is only two! No need for her to be a grumpy pumpkin!

For B#5, I dug out the Winnie the Pooh pajama costume. Then I look and it says it’s a 6-month. Unfortunately, he’s 9 months old. Fortunately, he’s only 17 pounds, so he fit in it just fine. (Also, previously unbeknownst to me, Pooh enjoys more than honey from his honey pot. He also has a taste for cat food from the kitty bowl. It seems I left the laundry room door open, and he got in there and has now left a trail of brown drool across the kitchen floor.)

We even pulled out the doggie reindeer costume a few days ago, so Zacchaeus is also ready for tonight.

These pictures are from the “dress rehearsals.” I’ll get more pictures up after tonight.

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