Sunday, November 3, 2013

Halloween 2013

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. i love making costumes, decorating and of course candy. ;)   i asked the kids a couple weeks ago what they wanted to dress up as, so i could get a head start on the costumes. It's not unusual for them to change their minds several times before the actual day. My boy wanted to go as Saruman and my girl wanted to be a wolf. 

i started scouring the thrift store for a white robe for the boy. i figured his costume would be pretty easy. i purchased a white beard/wig  combo from amazon, and knew making the staff would be easy. So i focused on Sage's wold costume first. 've seen quite a few really cute wolf masks on etsy, and knew i could make one east enough.  i did a search for different wolf mask ideas and came across this pattern from oxeyedaisey.  Her masks are some of the most detailed i've ever seen. i also like that she offers patterns rather than completed masks. Definitely check out her shop if you get a chance!


So, i finish the wolf mask and Sage put it on, told me she loved and that she'd rather be a Leopard.  i can't say that i didn't expect that. i decided not to make a new mask, but instead to visit the thrift stores again. i was able to find leopard print pants, shirt and a sweater with leopard print trim.  i also picked up leopard ears and a tail from the dollar tree. She had black boot she was dying to wear with it, so i picked up some face paint and she was completely thrilled.



Nothing like waiting util the last minute. Up until last weekend i was still unsure what i was going to do for Sequoia's Saruman costume. i found a white cape at the thrift store, but he needed robes to go under it and couldn't find any. So two days before Halloween,  i ended up making basic robes from an old sheet. 
The day before Halloween, i made the staff. We found the ball for Saruman's staff at dollar tree. It is larger than we needed, but lights up when you tap it.  The rest of the staff s made from cardboard a piece of bamboo, hot glue and paint. i actually like the exaggerated size of it. 



i usually go all out for Halloween, with lots of decorating and spooky themed foods.  This year i just wasn't feeling it. i didn't want to go out and buy a bunch of decoration, and didn't have time to make them. We never even got around to carving pumpkins. Halloween morning i was feeling a bit bad about my lack of enthusiasm this year and went to the store early that morning for ingredients to make some spooky treats.  Shortbread witch fingers are super easy and fun.


i also made mummy dogs (veggie dogs wrapped in crescent rolls) and mini candy corn pizzas. It wasn't much, but i do this every year and the kids still get excited about it. In the past we have made all kinds of spooky foods, but the limited space in the camper made it more difficult (especially the lack of space in the fridge).  So this is all i did this year, but the kids didn't seem to care at all.



Sage wore the majority of her costume to school. As soon as she came home, we applied the face paint.  i think this has to be the easiest costume we've ever put together! She looked great!


Sequoia's costume was a little trickier. Once he had the robes/cape on we had to get the wig and beard on.  We'd tried it on when we first bought it and the wig didn't fit around his head very well, and the beard wouldn't stay up. So when i'd gone to town i purchased a $1 knit cap we hot glued the wig in place on the hat, and glued the beard to the hat. It worked out great!  He can also now take the entire thing off in once piece, and put it back on easily. Now if he wants to reuse it for a costume next year, he is all set. 


i really think they looked great! Sage has a tail too, it's just hidden behind her. i was a little bummed that once the ball was glued to the top of Saruman's staff we couldn't get it to light up. It needed to be tapped, but i was afraid we'd knock it off the staff if we tried tapping it too hard.


As soon we began to walk, Sequoia tapped the staff down on the ground and it lite up!! Sequoia's costume got a lot of attention! Everyone loved it, unfortunately most folks thought he was Gandalf the White!  Only two folks recognized him as Saruman, a couple folks called him Jesus and at least one person thought he was Moses. lol. 

So every year we go to Hillsville for their 'Safe Halloween'. They close off the streets downtown and the area businesses hand out candy. They typically have a bounce house, carnival games, a hay ride, costume contest and more. Most of the treats come with a business card, so it isn't unusual to get cookies, candy apples, popcorn balls and other homemade non candy treats. The kids have a blast, and We've always enjoyed doing this rather than the house to house trick or treating. Especially when the kids were little. 

However this year we were really disappointed by Hillsville's  Halloween fest. There were very few businesses handing out candy. The street was pretty empty. There were only a couple carnival games, and there just didn't seem to be any one there. We were there when it started at 5pm, and made the rounds in less than 1/2 hour, so we left while it was still light out and ended up doing the house to house thing. It was actually pretty fun, and now that the kids are older we may start doing this instead.


Even Kenan and i got in on the fun.  i couldn't let my awesome wolf mask go unused. i also made a matching tail. My mom had picked up the vampire outfit from a garage sale. i don't think Kenan was that excited to ear it, but the kids insisted. :)  Happy Halloween!!

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