Hallowe’en 2024 – NaBloPoMo Day #6

Welp. It’s certainly disappointing, the election results. I have no words, just lots of sadness and a need to understand what drives the American people.

On to the post I had drafted before election results came in…

Hallowe’en was so mild here this year. Some years it is so chilly and the kids have to bundle up and you can’t see their costume. Not this year. It sooooo warm. I had brought a light hoodie to wear myself and didn’t need it at all.

The kids’ costumes this year were certainly a mix of things. I love making Hallowe’en costumes, and helping the kids put them together. I selfishly get a little sad when the kids just want to buy one. This year’s costumes weren’t super fancy, but I think the kids were pretty imaginative.

The twelve year old went as a “water fairy”. Not sure what that meant, but it involved lots of fabric and a blue dress. I had taken her to the thrift store to find a dress that we could alter, and we found a iridescent blue dress that would be a nice base. The plan was to attach layers of shimmery fabric and tulle to the dress. We went to the fabric store and got fabric and then picked up some light up wings from Party City.

Well, when we got home, the twelve year old tried on the dress and it actually looked really good on her. And it was also knee length. Do you know how hard it is to find a skirt or dress for a tween that isn’t super short? Also- we discovered that the blue dress has pocket! Can it be more perfect???!?!? At that point I decided this dress was too useful to turn into a Hallowe’en costume and I wasn’t about to ruin it by sewing tulle and shimmery blue fabric onto it.

So instead of sewing the fabric to the dress, I sewed the tulle onto bias tape to tie around her waist. I sewed the blue shimmery fabric into a kind of skirt, and the twelve year old just wore the fabric as an overskirt. Add the light up wings and some glitter make-up and the look was complete.

The seven year old had originally planned to go as Darth Vadar again. But when he heard me talking to the 12 year old about her costume he decided that he needed a new costume too. Well this was two weeks ago and I had told him the window had closed on submitting requests to mom for a Hallowe’en costume so we had to make so with what he had. The Husband suggested that he wear his bomber jacket and go as Tom Cruise in Top Gun. (Note: I have never actually seen Top Gun myself.). I ordered him some aviator glasses – which he lost within 15 minutes of trick or treating. White t-shirt and jeans and a bit of hair spray and he was all set. I tried to get him to give me a toothy Tom Cruise grin, but he went for cool stoic Tom Cruise instead.

The five year old basically pulled a bunch of stuff out of her dress up bin, put it all on and declared herself a princess. She wore a Moana headband that I had made four years ago for the oldest, a Snow White dress, wings we bought at the Ren Faire, a tutu that a friend gave the 12 yrar old. And underneath it all, she is wearing a skirt made of the same blue shimmery fabric as her older sister. Fun fact, the seven year old sewed the pocket for the elastic on the blue shimmery skirt. Ever since he started taking sewing classes, he’s been wanting to make his sister a dress – I guess this is a first step.

Our neighborhood is pretty quiet for Halloween so we always go trick or treating with friends at their place. They have a fun neighborhood to trick or treat in. A lot of people actually sit out in their driveway and wait for the kids to come by, which is nice because you don’t have to play the “The place is dark, should I ring the door bell?” game. One house even had a crockpot with hot apple cider, with optional rum on the side for the parents. The decorations in the neighborhood are pretty fun and amazing. They have a neighborhood Hallowe’en decorating contest, and our friends actually won “Best night time” for their display.

Here are two of my favorites:

i thought this one had really effective lighting:

This one is a little sad now, but I really appreciate it:

This one was my favorite. I think it won “Scariest Display.” The whole yard will filled with dolls. Sooooo creepy.

We trick or treated from about 6:00pm til 8:30pm then went back to our friends’ house for chicken wings and candy counting, sorting and trading. It’s really nice that our kids are of an age when they can hang out by themselves and the grown ups can talk.

I’m glad I didn’t have to work on Hallowe’en this year. Some nights we have tech over Hallowe’en. I wonder when the 12 year old will stop going trick or treating? She loves going, and I figure at the very least she can still go with her little brother and sister, so she’ll have a good excuse to go even when she’s probably aged out a little. Though I don’t know if she’ll get as much candy then.

What was your favorite Hallowe’en costume growing up? (If you did Hallowe’en). What age did you stop going trick or treating?

I’m writing this post as part of NaBloPoMo – click on the icon below to see who else if participating. You can also leave me questions for an upcoming “Ask me Anything” post via this link. Happy reading and writing everyone!