Board games and a life of ease is where it's at.
We divvied up Mother Goose characters at the beginning of the week, and I spent a couple of days pulling costumes together and making accessories. On Hallowe'en Day, John took the oldest five girls to a book sale for most of the day, while the Littles rotted their brains with a long movie at home and I made an early supper. Yeah, baby.
For the small amount of work, the costumes turned out great! Perhaps it helped that Mildred made her elaborate Mexican outfit herself, leaving me the easier crumbs. Bringing her up right...
And, just like last year, the grand total for all the costumes was under ten dollars, thanks to my hoarding of fabric and sewing notions that people pass along. Halloween becomes my justification each year for the mountains of excess fabric I own. This is probably definitely not a good thing.
Poor Jack's a bit woozy.
JACK AND JILL:
That bloody bandage was the highlight for Aidan, and he wore it for hours the day before Hallowe'en, citing how "comfortable" it was. He was chortling while he watched me paint it.
LITTLE BOY BLUE:
In Zeke's personal lullabye, I call him Little Boy Blue, so this was the only choice for him. Total cost of outfit was fifty cents (for the socks!), and thanks to church friends loaning us that fabulous trumpet, his costume was one of my favorites.
You'd never know the trumpet has no mouthpiece, from the way Zeke played air tunes on it all day. The trumpet may have been his favorite part, too. Just maybe.
LITTLE MISS MUFFET:
Susannah got a last chance to showcase one of the gems of our dress-up bin, and she looked so grown-up and lovely that I felt all melancholic.
Bowl, spoon, tuffet...all from our house. Lamentably, we had neither curds nor whey.
But we did not neglect the spider!
THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL WHO HAD A LITTLE CURL:
...right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good, she was very, VERY good.
But when she was bad, she was HORRID.
Thank you, dear Lark, for so perfectly epitomizing that classic poem. ;) We love you, outrageous bow and all!
MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY:
How does your garden grow?
Pip's costume was one of my favorites and one of hers, too. She had originally thought it would be fun to be a gardener for Hallowe'en this year, so when we went with the Mother Goose theme, Mary was the only choice for her.
Total cost of costume was only two dollars but was more time-consuming than the other costumes because I had to make a bit more of it. I made the poofy skirt and bonnet and then decorated the basket, but since I've owed her that skirt for two years now, I really shouldn't count it. It was to be a birthday gift long before now!
Happy belated birthday, Pip! I am so glad to see you so happy. :)
I sewed bells onto the pansies so we could remove them later, and the cockleshells are leftover hair clips that Millie made to put in her mermaid hair last Hallowe'en.
Keeping with the "silver bells and cockle shells" theme, we glued some onto her basket, as well. Pippi and the rest of the girls provided the line of pretty maids all in a row...
THREE BLIND MICE:
Our mice were unified by the letter "M."
First up is Movie Star Mouse, dripping with glamour and jewels.
Lucinda was originally going to be a scrawny Jack Sprat to my robust and ready-for-dinner-any-time-of-day Mrs. Sprat, but as the week progressed, it became clear that she might prefer something more fancy and fun, instead. Her costume was easy to pull together. I made a tail, ears, and walking stick, bedazzled a pair of sunglasses, and then draped her with all the sparklies in the house. (Incidentally, I used my old bathrobe for the ears and tails. Who cuts up an old bathrobe and keeps it for years with plans to reuse the microfleece?
NOT ME, that's who.)
Mouse #2: MOTORCYCLE MOUSE
(Annika said that the three mice represented beauty, brains, and brawn. She brought the brawn.)
Stoic motorcycle mouse did not crack a grin on Hallowe'en evening.
...or a few days later in better lighting and different glasses. (Aponi! Are those your glasses she's wearing in this picture? They were on Grandma's microwave. :) )
So, so tough. She did not squeak even ONCE.
Mouse #3 MEXICAN MOUSE: (I think she qualifies for beauty and brains, both.)
Millie is president of Spanish club for her online Spanish class, which has been a wonderful blessing and a chance for her to flourish in somewhat more traditional educational waters, albeit online. One of Spanish club's recent activities was to make a Spanish-themed costume of any sort. Millie chose a Mexican
jalisco dress, altered a bit due to what materials we had on hand. She had to buy some extra ribbon when we ran out, but the only other thing I bought was a bunch of dollar store flowers for her hair.
What a lovely Mouse. She was so pleased with how her costume turned out, and I was SO PLEASED that I didn't have to make a stitch of that jalisco costume! :)
You know what's coming next, right? If three blind mice are running boldly around a farmhouse, what's a girl gonna do except...
pull a "farmer's wife with a carving knife" and cut off all of their tails?!
FARMER'S WIFE WITH CARVING KNIFE:
No need to mention that the knife is made from a stick, cardboard, and duct tape. The mice are blind, anyway.
Cost of outfit: not one red cent
OPERATION CUT-OFF-TAILS: Successful. (That cardboard knife was SHARP.)
