A NERD'S GUIDE TO HALLOWEEN
by Sonja Stone
Homemade costumes? Yeah, I'm *THAT* mom.
Literary costumes? So much the better!
Miss Clavel (and Madelines!)
I loved Halloween as a kid. I'd spend weeks planning my costume, hours trudging through the neighborhood collecting sugary loot, then days lying to my parents about sneaking candy before dinner.
My parents, being creative educators, never purchased costumes for us. Each year my sister and I would create our own--my sister fashioning horse ears out of a headband and stuffing a knee-high sock with polyfill to make a tail, me scouring through my mother's costume jewelry to create my fortune-teller's outfit. Then the debate--would carrying a pillowcase for our candy make us look selfish and greedy? Could we take turns saying 'trick-or-treat' because I was so painfully shy?
THAT WAS THEN
When my kids were young, all their costumes were homemade. A ballerina, a fireman, Spiderman, a chef. As they got older, they'd hound us for purchased costumes (like their friends wore). We made a deal: every other year you get to buy a costume (or an element of a costume), and in between you make your own. Of course, by the time they were late teenagers, making one's own costume was back en vogue.
At some point--I think when my youngest reached middle school--I suffered an irrevocable case of halloween burnout. I sent my ex off to trick-or-treat with the kids, stuck a bowl of candy on the front porch with a sign reading "Please Take Just One!", and turned off all the interior lights, retiring to bed with my iPad and all the fun-sized Reese's peanut butter cups I could carry. (Yeah, I know the first unattended kid to hit the front porch cleans out the bowl. Don't care.)
AND THIS IS NOW
Now that my little chicks have flown the nest, I'm missing those sweet days--elementary school kids humming with excitement, adorable little faces with hand-drawn whiskers, seeing the thrill on a child's face as they realize they just scored a full-sized Snicker's bar.
In the spirit of my no-longer-a-Scrooge-at-Halloween, I'm including a few wonderful, creative costume ideas that brought a smile to my face. They feature characters from some of my favorite children's books. (Please see the end of the post for image links.)
Who knows, maybe this year I'll stay up past 9 and hand out some candy.
Max from Where the Wild Things Are
Charlotte's Web
Matilda
One fish two fish...
OLIVIAPHOTO CREDITS: Miss Clavel and Madelines: https://www.buzzfeed.com/crownpublishinggroup/17-awesome-literary-costumes-ex5r?utm_term=.fuB4b6npd#.vro5r9lGaMax: http://tellloveandparty.com/2014/09/tell-diy-where-the-wild-things-are-family-costume.htmlCharlotte’s Web: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/148196643965388793/Matilda: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/72268768997822930/One Fish Two Fish: http://homemadeforelle.com/one-fish-two-fish-costume/Olivia: http://www.iwanttobeasuperteacher.com/2014/03/olivia-costume-and-more-getting-ready.html
What's your favorite literary costume? Leave a comment below!
Homemade costumes? Yeah, I'm *THAT* mom.
Literary costumes? So much the better!
Miss Clavel (and Madelines!)I loved Halloween as a kid. I'd spend weeks planning my costume, hours trudging through the neighborhood collecting sugary loot, then days lying to my parents about sneaking candy before dinner.
My parents, being creative educators, never purchased costumes for us. Each year my sister and I would create our own--my sister fashioning horse ears out of a headband and stuffing a knee-high sock with polyfill to make a tail, me scouring through my mother's costume jewelry to create my fortune-teller's outfit. Then the debate--would carrying a pillowcase for our candy make us look selfish and greedy? Could we take turns saying 'trick-or-treat' because I was so painfully shy?
THAT WAS THEN
When my kids were young, all their costumes were homemade. A ballerina, a fireman, Spiderman, a chef. As they got older, they'd hound us for purchased costumes (like their friends wore). We made a deal: every other year you get to buy a costume (or an element of a costume), and in between you make your own. Of course, by the time they were late teenagers, making one's own costume was back en vogue.
At some point--I think when my youngest reached middle school--I suffered an irrevocable case of halloween burnout. I sent my ex off to trick-or-treat with the kids, stuck a bowl of candy on the front porch with a sign reading "Please Take Just One!", and turned off all the interior lights, retiring to bed with my iPad and all the fun-sized Reese's peanut butter cups I could carry. (Yeah, I know the first unattended kid to hit the front porch cleans out the bowl. Don't care.)
AND THIS IS NOW
Now that my little chicks have flown the nest, I'm missing those sweet days--elementary school kids humming with excitement, adorable little faces with hand-drawn whiskers, seeing the thrill on a child's face as they realize they just scored a full-sized Snicker's bar.
In the spirit of my no-longer-a-Scrooge-at-Halloween, I'm including a few wonderful, creative costume ideas that brought a smile to my face. They feature characters from some of my favorite children's books. (Please see the end of the post for image links.)
Who knows, maybe this year I'll stay up past 9 and hand out some candy.
Max from Where the Wild Things Are
Charlotte's Web
Matilda
One fish two fish...
OLIVIAPHOTO CREDITS: Miss Clavel and Madelines: https://www.buzzfeed.com/crownpublishinggroup/17-awesome-literary-costumes-ex5r?utm_term=.fuB4b6npd#.vro5r9lGaMax: http://tellloveandparty.com/2014/09/tell-diy-where-the-wild-things-are-family-costume.htmlCharlotte’s Web: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/148196643965388793/Matilda: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/72268768997822930/One Fish Two Fish: http://homemadeforelle.com/one-fish-two-fish-costume/Olivia: http://www.iwanttobeasuperteacher.com/2014/03/olivia-costume-and-more-getting-ready.htmlWhat's your favorite literary costume? Leave a comment below!
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