Growing up we never really celebrated Halloween. It was just one of those secular holidays mom didn't care for us to participate in. You know, come to think of it, since being an adult I've never really asked her specifically why she chose not to let us celebrate it, so I can't say for sure what her reasons were. Maybe she'll read this post and then choose to enlighten me.
I have one really faint memory of trick or treating from when I was really young. All I remember is we were with my cousins, and they'd all walk up to the door for candy but I was too scared to. Other than that, my memories consist of going to church fall festivals and carnivals. Sometimes we'd dress up for these events, which meant digging around the house and putting random things together to create a costume. I think creating a one of a kind costume at home is the best way to do it! It's a great creative project to do with your kids, (when they're old enough,) PLUS you don't end up looking just like everyone else who went and bought their costume at the same place! I don't know how many bumblebees and spidermen I saw this year! Granted, they are all cute regardless of how many of them there are. There is something oddly adorable about babies dressed as insects, and little boys showing off their cotton-blend muscles. :) But still, it is fun to have something totally original! That being said, last year I went totally commercial and bought Liam a Mickey Mouse costume. I'm sure there were a thousand mickey mice scurrying around Fayetteville, but hey, last year was about convenience, and the lack of self control I had when I first placed those mouse ears on Liam in the Disney store - there was no turning back once I had seen the level of cuteness he took Mickey to. Some of my friends came up with some really creative ideas this year.
My friend Kati made a fireman costume for her 2 year old, and a dalmation costume for their 6 month old. Then she turned their wagon into a firetruck. It turned out super cute!!!
These are some of my lovely friends and the awesome "Where's Waldo?" costumes they made themselves!
There aren't too many things that my mom did growing up that I don't agree on, but failure to celebrate Halloween is one of them. Personally I think it's harmless and fun.We had a really good time this year and I look forward to many more in years to come!
Last year I really wanted to dress Liam up as a scarecrow, but since I had a hectic October, I ended up just buying Liam a mickey mouse costume as I mentioned earlier. This year I decided I'd make him a scarecrow though. Because I wanted Liam and Raleigh to be somewhat coordinated, I figured Raleigh could be a pumpkin. :) Keegan's cousin Katie makes lots of boutique items for kids and babies, so she made me an adorable pumpkin tutu and matching bow for Raleigh. The Friday before Halloween, Keegan and I threw together Liam's scarecrow costume during nap time. Keegan's unit was having a trick-or-treat event in their building that evening, so we had to work fast to get it done in time.
I got a red plaid shirt from Liam's closet, and a pair of khaki colored "Cars" pants from his drawers. I had them because they came pinned to some other pants I bought at a consignment sale, but I'm not a huge fan of kids clothes with character logos on them, so they were the perfect candidate to turn into scarecrow pants. I cut out some squares from scrap fabric and hand stitched them all over the pants to make patches.
Next, I measured the circumference of the bottom of the pant legs, and cut a strip of fabric in that length. Then Keegan and I hot glued this synthetic hay/crinkly paper that I bought for $1, to the strips of fabric. When each one was covered, we flipped the bottom of the pant legs up and hot glued the strips of fabric & hay to the inside of the pant legs. I decided I didn't want to alter the shirt in any way, since it was in like new condition, so I just glued a few ragged strips of fabric together to create a messy scarecrow belt to tie around his waist and make the shirt look more ragged.
I used some brown flannel and some cardboard from an old diaper box to throw together a hat. Since it was way to big for his head, I glued some ribbon inside to create a suspension that would rest on his head.
Keegan ran to the store to pick up a Halloween face paint kit, although I probably could have improvised with my own makeup. We drew a cute face on him and we were done! On the box of the face paint there were some scary/mean looking creatures, so Liam kept growling at them. He must have thought since we used that stuff on his face that he was supposed to be mean too, because he kept growling all night, and still does every time he sees his scarecrow hat, haha! All in all the costume literally cost me $2.99. I had the pants and shirt, and I only bought the hay paper and the flannel. I also happen to have a lot of both of those supplies left, which is great because it's always nice to have leftover supplies to toss into your craft box!
On Halloween night, we dressed the kids up and sat out on our front porch handing out candy. Liam had SO much fun! He loved handing out candy to the kids as they would come up, and he'd even run out to meet them if they weren't coming fast enough! He took special care to make sure every kid got a piece. When our candy ran out we teamed up with our neighbors and they let Liam hand out their candy for the rest of the night! It was really cold and wet that night, so we were ready to get inside by 7:30. Keean had smoked a whole chicken on the grill that day, and I had made a pot of greens, so we ate a delicious dinner and spent the rest of our evening watching Monday night football. It was a great day!
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