Hollow-een
Halloween sort of snuck up on me this year. Normally Jason and I carve pumpkins and string up scary lights and adorn our front step with leaf garlands and think up cool costumes, but this year, with the wedding and everything, Halloween kind of got the shaft.
I told Jason today (wearing my pajamas to work for my costume since I was too lazy to think of anything else; I went as “sleepy) that if our good friend Lynn doesn’t resume her Halloween parties, next year we’re having one at our house. I must start planning NOW because I’m all excited, even though this year I couldn’t be bothered.
Anyway, please tell me your best and worst Halloween costumes. If you’re like me, your mother made everything from scratch, even when it was easier and/or cheaper to buy something ready-made.
My best costume was around 6th grade when I went as an Indian. (Please don’t be offended. My school’s nickname at the time was the Indians. Also, I’m like 2% Native American, although that’s not enough to qualify for college scholarships.) My mom used an actual burlap sack for my dress; she had some kind of Native American jewelry for me to wear; she painted my face (in a completely non-offensive yet subtly Native American way); and she even found a braided wig. It was cool and all kinds of awesome and I won first place, which more than made up for the costume I had to wear the previous year, which was:
A cheerleader.
Oh, what’s wrong with that, you ask? EVERYTHING. Every part of this costume was handmade or found around the house. And while I can appreciate my mom’s creativity and fiscal responsibility now, 1985 wasn’t really the year to be rocking the homemade look.
Instead of spending a few bucks on real pom-poms (I know they’re technically called pom-pons, but I refuse to call them that) my mom painstakingly collected thin strips of plastic from our horse feed bags. I KNOW. I have no idea how long it took to collect enough strips to make a pom-pom, but I’m guessing that in that time she could’ve made at least one trip to the local Ben Franklin to buy real ones.
My “skirt” was actually a pair of black sweat pants because I didn’t own a pleated skirt, and my “monogrammed” sweater was a sweatshirt with our school’s initials pinned on it in orange construction paper.
S-U-C-K-Y! What’s that spell? How I felt when I went to school in that costume and one of the other girls in my class was also a cheerleader. A nice, store-bought pom-pom-brandishing, pleated-skirt-wearing cheerleader. Go, team!
OK, spill it. What’s your best and worst Halloween costumes?
Let’s see. One year I was an old lady in one of my grandmother’s dresses with flour in my hair and a black patent handbag. I loved that one. And one year I couldn’t think of anything so I borrowed one of my dad’s suit coats, wore it over jeans, slicked my hair in a ponytail, painted a mustache over my lip with mascara, and went as a man. That sucked. My parents always kind of made me do my own thing for Halloween. They weren’t really into it.
Comment by Jess — October 31, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
Worst: My mom painted little Pac Man characters and ghosts on a pillowcase and threw it over my head.
Best: I am so lame at this. Halloween ALWAYS sneaks up on me. So, I guess my best costume what the year I got to wear this crazy, sequined dress of my mom’s and be a “princess.”
Comment by Artemisia — October 31, 2007 @ 5:35 pm
Worst: I went as a “bum”–or something. I know so few bums who cut neck and arm holes in a trash bag.
Best: I went as a princess, which let me wear my mom’s best dress and high heels AND make-up, and my mom made a hat out of a cone of paper with a filmy scarf drifting out the top.
Ooo, or Best: A bumblebee costume made by coloring magic marker stripes on a yellow pillowcase, then wearing bobbly headband thing spray-painted black, black tights, black turtleneck.
Comment by Swistle — October 31, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
……………..I can barely catch my breath from laughing about the cheerleader costume. ORANGE CONSTRUCTION PAPER?!?! Oh God, Shauna, I am HOWLING over here! That is far sadder than the fact that I was a “hobo” like 12 years in a row.
My best costume was one I made for my boyfriend WAY before everyone was Britney for Halloween. He was Britney in 1999 circa “Baby One More Time” — complete with pigtails, sassy plaid skirt and thigh high tights. Oh yes. That year, I was a Beanie Baby leopard. Also cute, but so not as good as Brit Brit. (ps, he also had a goatee.)
Comment by stephanie — October 31, 2007 @ 7:42 pm
Best: How to choose, how to choose… My mom was quite the seamstress. Probably a toss up between the Jolly Green Giant complete with green tights and elf shoes and Tinkerbell complete with wings made out of a TV bunny ear antennae (retractable!!!)
Worst: The year my teenage friends and I all put on black lipstick and our fairly standard clothes and went as “more goth than usual.”
Comment by Gretchen — October 31, 2007 @ 10:05 pm
Okay, I didn’t know pom-poms are actually pom-pons. I was never a cheerleader.
There was a little girl that came to our place last night dressed up as a cheerleader. Her mom made her do a cheer and everything.
My best costume was a cowboy. My worst…a made up character. I painted my face white, red lips, and a silver wig. Oh, I have pictures. I must scan these tonight and post them.
Sorry, this comment is so long but I wanted to let you know I received the cards in the mail yesterday. They are awesome! My birthday is in a few weeks so people better buy me presents so I can use them!!
Comment by Sara — November 1, 2007 @ 7:18 am
My worst was the year I went as Little Bo Peep and brought my CAT along on a LEASH. That went well.
I haven’t had many awesome years, but one time in college I went as Josie from Josie and the Pussycats and I was pretty hot, if I do say so myself.
Comment by Tessie — November 1, 2007 @ 8:57 am
Best: I was all dolled-up as a woman in 6th grade. As a Senior I went as a cheerleader. And 5 years ago I went as a french maid with a beard.
Worst: Any time I wasn’t dressed up as a woman.
Comment by Jason — November 1, 2007 @ 9:23 am
The cheerleader story is classic.
The worst: I was a clothesline. Dressed in all black with a string between my hands with socks and underwear hanging from the line.
The best: I don’t know. I was a calculator one year. My dad made it with bristol board and painted boxes. It was pretty cool.
Comment by LoriD — November 1, 2007 @ 10:11 am
Oh my gosh, Jason, all of these readers are going to think you have a problem!
Signed,
Your mother
Comment by Becky — November 1, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
Oooh, I love the new header! Very fun. Worst costume ever: clown. Big red nose wearing, balloon pants sporting, CLOWN. Ugh. I hate clowns. How did that even happen? Best costume: I’m really not sure. Nothing stands out as, “oh wow that was the coolest” or anything. Mostly, I can’t remember what I wore. Except the vile clown. I’m vowing here and now never to make my kids wear clown costumes – or LET them, as the case may be.
Comment by amber — November 1, 2007 @ 9:53 pm
My best costume, one which I wish I could still wear today, was a Milky Way Bar. I swear to god. I wish I had a picture scanned so I could prove it to you, but I was a HUGE HUMAN SIZED CANDY BAR. YES!!
Comment by Parkingathome — April 7, 2008 @ 4:45 pm