11.01.2017

Hallowe'en 2017: The Best Yet**





Not because the costumes were the best yet-- nope.  Not because the candy haul was the bulkiest yet-- nope. Not because the neighbors were the chattiest yet-- nope (even though they were the chattiest yet, when a few houses can easily equal over an hour of chatting). Not because Debbie came with us, which makes everything better (though she did!).  Not even because once we visited the most important Nanticoke-neighbor houses, we kept driving to the nearest town for a trunk-or-treat and a bit of walking around (even though we did). Nope, nope, nope, nope, but BECAUSE COSTUMES WERE COMPLETED IN ONE AFTERNOON THE DAY BEFORE HALLOWE'EN, AND I WAS NOT A CRAZED, COSTUME LUNATIC.  The children were so happy.  So, so happy.

The day of Hallowe'en, the children played board games with John while I took Skylark to a doctor's appointment and ran errands.  The sole hectic part was applying makeup before leaving and then a few minutes spent snapping grainy pictures before hopping into the van.

Zeke's costume was the only thing I spent any money on--  50 cents worth of spray paint to cover his axe, and that was that.  Everything else we pulled from dress-up bins and made from materials we had on hand.  So stinking easy.  We've decided that we'll do this every year.  Low-key costumes and board games are the wave of the future!





Aidan was the Big Bad Wolf, Cadence was Little Red, I just went as myself (or the Grandmother), and Zeke was the brave, wolf-splitting woodcutter.




Lucinda was Jemima Puddleduck (a personal hero), and Susannah was the crafty fox.






Lucinda was head-over-(webbed)heels in love with the duck feet and mask we made.  "Take a picture of my FEET!" she said, so I did; the girls were delighted by the man who commented that her bill was almost as big as his electric bill and have retold the joke several times.  Harhar.





Susannah's costume (like Aidan's) was pulled together from last year's woodland party costumes.









Sly fox.  Scrawny duck.





 Piper wanted to be an Indian.  Honest Ab-- I made and painted the headband the day of Hallowe'en, so I guess the costumes weren't completely done the day before.  Millie did her face paint (the blue eyeshadow was a concession to Piper's love of inappropriate lids).  Sweet little Nut Berry.




Just pretend she's closing her eyes to show off her eyeshadow here...






 Annika was Legolas from the Lord of the Rings books.  She was thrilled that half a dozen people in town guessed who she was.  She painted a red bow from my childhood brown, and we scrounged everything else from past costumes and around the house, including a leaf pin for her cloak that was just like Legolas'.





 Even though she hasn't seen the movies, we looked at pictures of the movie version of Legolas to pull together her costume, and she nailed it.  That hair!  That face!  Good thing Orlando Bloom is pretty enough to be a girl.





 Mildred was Arwen, and her costume was the easiest of all, thanks to clothes from my closet, her long, dark hair (so handy!), and the cape Titi made for her 13th birthday.  Look, Titi!  It still flows beautifully in the wind!








And the hood still fits.







Oops. I forgot to get individual pictures of Zeke, Aidan, and Cadence.  Sorry, children.  I'm not crazy enough this year to even care.

**Putting up one timely post in 2 months is the best I can do. Pictures from September and October to come someday.  Maybe.

The End.  Over and Out.  Vamoose.

8 comments :

heidiann(e) said...

Oh my lands!
These costumes are great!

Hooray for dress-up bins. They saved our Halloween too.

Nanno said...

Too much fun!! If you ever need to cover a battleaxe in silver again and you don't want to (or have time to) buy paint, you can always cover it in tinfoil. This battleaxe still has the same tinfoil we taped to it in 2005:
http://www.packgoatcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?aid=4284

Abigail said...

Tinfoil! I've covered stuff in tin foil before, but I must not do it right, because it always looks sloppy...and then falls off, anyway. If you lived closer, I'd have you give me a lesson. :) (TWELVE years! That's pretty impressive.)

Ye Olde Battleaxe.

sarah said...

Love them to bits. This is definitely the way to do costumes.

cadie said...

I'm always amazed and impressed at the costumes you pull together. I can't believe you say these were such low-stress, easy costumes (even though I know you re-used some parts from earlier costumes) because to me they look like such fancy, elaborate costumes!!

I LOVE Luci's Jemima Puddleduck costume! She looks so cute, and yes, duck-like, even if a skinny duck! Susannah looks too sweet to be a crafty, evil fox. ;-) Piper looks like she really could be an Indian! Annika does look just like Legolas in the movies. And Millie is perfect as Arwen. Arwen was called the Evening Star, right?- with dark hair and eyes. I love the last two photo of Millie in the cloak; she looks very elegant and striking, and the cloak definitely looks like an Elven-cloak. ;-) The little boys are cute too, and Little Red Riding Hood is so cute. (I bet she's a feisty Red Riding Hood!)

Kate said...

It's been so long since I stopped by that I thought Annika was you in that first picture. It wasn't until I saw you as Grandmother than I realized my mistake. Oh, how they've grown!

Rebecca said...

Wow. These are all fabulous! And that they were the 'low stress' Halloween costumes- no one would ever guess. I particularly love those sparkly, very pleased Jemima eyes behind that adorable mask!

I'll have to get the run-down on that quiver because that right there would be a pretty great gift for one (or both of the two) boys in this house sometime.

You know how you said Adele just was perfect for Bo Peep? Annika is the quintessential Legolas!!!

Here's to low stress Halloweens from henceforth!

Abigail said...

Cadie,

Feisty? HA! ;)

Kate,
Annika was elated to hear that. She's been called "shorty-pants" for so many years now that her new height is something to crow over. Hope you're well!

Rebecca,
"Hear, hear" to that! Low-stress it is. I cobbled the quivers together from weird stuff, but I can give you a circuitous explanation anytime you'd like!