Hallowe'en 2021

Hallowe'en was on a Sunday this year, which complicated matters, and the older girls weren't sure they wanted to trick or treat, which complicated them further. But, look! What light through yonder window breaks? It is Hallowe'en! And Millie is Rose Red!

We had a fairytale theme this year, except for Aidan, me, and Lucinda, who dressed close-but-no-cigar with a Pinocchio theme, entirely because Aidan was begging to be Pinocchio.

October was busy, and I didn't start costume making until Saturday. Millie saved my tail by making tutus for the two little girls, a waist cincher for Susannah, and a pea charm for Piper while I ignored everyone all afternoon, evening, and aaaaall night long while I gathered and sewed the rest of the costumes.

Grand total for all the costumes was  a satisfying one dollar because we bought a headband for Lucinda.
Onward, ho!

Susannah and Mildred went as Snow White and Rose Red. Rose Red is one of my nicknames for Millie, and it's one of her and my all-time favorite fairy tales. They looked gorgeous and perfectly suited for the parts.

Nixie was Puss-in-Boots, of course. Her costume came together pretty easily, but I wasn't sure what to do about a sword. I ended up making one from a dowel and part of an old flexible cutting board.

I was laughing at her because every time she tried to pose with a fierce expression, it just looked like she was smiling. 

Piper was the Princess and the Pea. Remember ages ago when she asked for this cake? Somehow it just seemed right. Her costume was a breeze! I just added a quick cape to a costume that Grandma Owen gave the girls several years ago.

And, of course, Millie made the perfect pea charm.

Zeke, Cadence, Skylark, and Ransom were the Big Bad Wolf and the three little pigs. After Millie made the tutus, the rest of the costumes were pretty easy to make. Felt and wire tails, felt ears, and felt/toilet paper tubes for noses.  Zeke's was especially easy because he used the mask I made Annika a while back, and I made the smart decision to hot glue a sloppy tail instead of making something more fancy.

The little pigs were Very, Very Scared, especially the one on the right.

And I am posting way too many pictures because Cadence's unintentionally girly poses always make me laugh. How does she do it?!

Next...and last...are the Pinocchio folks.  

Lucinda was the perfect Blue Fairy. I wanted to make a dress as close in design as possible to the dress in the movie and winged (harhar) her dress entirely. It's full of flaws, but we were both relieved she had something to wear on Hallowe'en night.

I made Aidan's costume in the middle of the night. It was....um......terribly fun.  Or comically terrible? I can't remember.  I re-used the collar from Zeke's costume last year, but I had nothing else, so everything, including the yellow t-shirt, had to be sewn from scratch., I panicked about the shorts until I remembered that he had a pair of red church shorts in the basement. Once I found them, I was able to hem them up and sew on all the embellishments, which made it possible to finish the costume in time. I painted so many things this year, it was laughable. Wings, sword, wand...   Those yellow buttons on Aidan's suspenders? They're white buttons that I painted yellow at two in the morning. That red feather in his cap? A white feather I painted at three in the morning. I even painted the elastic for his nose tan so it wouldn't stand out against his face so much!

The all-nighter was definitely worth it, though. When he woke up on Sunday morning, he was overcome with delight and disbelief. And he wore it for a couple of weeks straight (except for the dowel nose, which isn't easy to breathe through, surprisingly enough).

Here are pictures that showcase Aidan's wonderful face. Oh, I love this little goof.

I devoted about 20 minutes to Geppetto's costume on Sunday evening right before we left. A sloppy vest of sorts, eyebrows and moustache cut out and glued on, glasses hastily fashioned from soldering wire, and the theft of John's groomsman shirt, and I was set. The hair, obviously, is my own.

I know the state of the house after these quiche-head, costume-making bouts of lunacy is a highlight, so here's the cleanest part of our house the next morning.