I always put off buying Halloween costumes. And to be perfectly honest, making them is out of the question. Every time Halloween rolls around and there are countless fuzzy animals, knights, princesses, and cartoon characters on the racks, I get excited...until I check the prices. Around here, the going rate for a piece of painted spandex barely held together with a bad seam and a flimsy plastic mask is $20. If you're counting, that's $80 just so my kids can wear it for about 2 hours on Halloween night and go to houses where people will give them only about $40 worth of candy. No, I know Halloween is more than that. For kids, it's about a dream come true, a sense of community, trust and goodwill, dressing up and being your fantasty for one night when your friends don't make fun of you for it.... But I have such a hard time forking over the $80. I like to fork over the $2 the week after Halloween when noone wants the costumes anymore, and get my kids dress-up costumes they can wear the rest of the year.
All that to say, this year our costumes were pretty much night-of-Halloween decisions. Spencer was the only child who got a new costume, because he had outgrown the rest of the costumes at home. He was Batman.
As the time drew nearer and Collin realized he wasn't going to get a new costume, but he would have to choose from the cowboy (complete with horse!), the gorilla, or the Ninja turtles that we already had, he chose gorilla - for the third year running. And I have to say, he's perfecting the act quite well.
Claire was allowed to choose between Princess, Firegal, and Cowgirl (complete with horse!). She chose dog. She'd outgrown the doggie costume, but still wanted to wear it. So I let her - why not? Even if it didn't fit her, she was still cute as pie.
Katya didn't have a choice. She was the penguin - our only baby costume. It was perfect on her. So she was the penguin the day AFTER Halloween too, because it was too cute to put in the closet after only one evening.
We were a motley crew, but we had a great time!
Katya was fasinated - not terrified- by all the kids who came by, us giving them candy, and then them vanishing again into the dark night. This is the cute girlies calling "bye, bye, bye!" to the trick-or-treaters.
Who knew penguins liked apples?! The boys kept reminding me, "you know, real penguins are just as tall as Katya is!
So after we'd made the kids eat all of 1 bite at dinner, Vlad held down the fort with Katya at home and I took the older kids out trick-or-treating. Heat blasting, side door open most of the time, we drove from house to house. They each took a pillowcase. It was totally adorable seeing the boys shoot up the driveways to the house, Claire bouncing up behind in her costume and rubber boots, with her ears and tail flapping in the wind. After every house, Spencer would yell "To the Batmobile!" loud enough for all to hear. Then they'd come rushing back. When Collin wanted to take a certain spot in the van, Spencer complained, "Hey! It's MY Batmobile!" Hilarious! After a few houses, Claire was giggling, "Dis is fun!"
Collin, as every year, gave out after about 10 houses. His hands were cold, his feet were tired, his legs were tired, he was cold, and he just wanted to EAT CANDY!!! As Spencer told him, "This is no time to sit and eat candy!" Claire was a real trooper, and when her bag got too heavy for her to carry up and down the driveways, you could see her drooping with exhaustion, but she wanted to go on. So Spencer started carrying her bag for her. She finally gave out after about 16 or 17 houses. But Spencer carried on. ...and on...and on. Spencer never quits. And since this was the best deal he'd come across all year, he wasn't going to give up now just because that bag was as big and heavy as Santa's toy bag at Christmas. I was his faithful supporter and cab driver. I wasn't going to quit until he did. There was only one house that was so gross and gory that I said we won't go back again next year. Spencer literally started to run away from that house, but I called him back - after that fright, we'd better get what we came for!
I could see him dragging and his eye starting to droop after about an hour, but he insisted he was just doing "slow motion" and continued. I finally called it quits. We'd hit about 30 houses. The other two kids were having a party in the back of the van, and I was worried about sugar overload and Vlad's sanity with a cranky penguin at home. But Spencer's persistence paid off. When we went to put all the candy in gallon freezer bags, it took FIVE bags to contain Spencer's booty. Candy, pop, chips, hot cocoa, and even a free fries and soft drink from McDonalds! Seriously - the Halloween of my childhood dreams. Spencer seemed to think so too. :) Claire got 2.5 bags. Collin got 1.5. An absolute excess of candy was something I had never considered before we came home. Now I know - there is a reason parents only go down one quick block with their kids - or walk instead of drive. :)
What a blast! I love trick-or-treating with my kids. Sheer enjoyment and delight!
