Happy Halloween
Thu, Oct 30, 2008
It’s hard to believe, but tomorrow is Halloween. Is it just me, or am I the only one who sort-of dreads the holiday? Well, maybe dread is the wrong word.  ’Doesn’t care for,’ may be a nicer way of saying it.Â
I really have nothing against Halloween and dressing up as ghosts or goblins, I just don’t see the point. As a child I liked it for the first few years. And let’s be honest, what self-respecting kid doesn’t like coming home with a whole pot of candy? I loved the trick-or-treating part, that was always fun. But when I was too old to treat (and I was never into the tricking) Halloween lost its glamour for me. As the years went by, I found myself cringing whenever I received an invite to a Halloween party because it meant I would have to be creative. And costume creativity is something I just don’t do. I was never one of those sexy cats or mysterious women of the night. So I would end up wearing a garbage sack cinched around my waist or I would go dressed like a hippie. I remember spending many an afternoon on the day of the party, frantically picking through piles of discards at the local Goodwill, trying to find anything that resembled a costume.Â
With all of our recent talk of babies and having a family, I realized that I will eventually need to change my attitude because I don’t want to discourage our children from enjoying the holiday festivities.  I figure it’s an opportunity to let their imaginations run loose and they will probably want a bag full of candy just like I did as a child.  So here’s my question – what is a good “grown-up” costume that a) doesn’t look trashy (I mean that in the “come-hither” way, not the garbage sack way) and b) is easy to do (a.k.a. cheap)? Â
I did a quick search online and what I found was a lot of ‘devil’ or ‘French maid’ costumes. Not that there’s anything wrong with these, they’re just not what I want to wear when opening the door for a bunch of five-year-old trick-or-treaters.Â
(Side note: should I be concerned that the French maid costume comes in teen sizes?)
What I would prefer, is something like this. Classic, cute, fun. And definitely a little warmer.Â
Any ideas or suggestions? What costume will YOU be wearing on Halloween?
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October 30th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Oh, so many thoughts on this post!!!
First – The French Maid outfit in “teen sizes” refers to sizes for teenagers or in sizes 12, 14, 16+ – in other words “real” sizes?
Second – I love the bun in the oven chef costume. Who thinks of these things?
Third – When invited to a party tomorrow night I physically cringed. I am NOT one to dress in costume for a party. Only when my friend said costume optional did I commit to attending! We’ll go and have a good time!
Last – I love some of the cute costumes for babies and young children. My favorite was a lion costume on an infant so the face glowed out of a big fuzzy mane. Guess I missed that too by not having children. But my husband and I actually had a discussion about babies/children etc. the other night. Healthy as I am at 42, I don’t really see myself a 44-45 new mother (not good timing right now). He said why not adopt an 8 year old. Hmmm, that got the old brain grinding! Still doesn’t fill the perceived need of a lion costume on an infant!
Have fun tomorrow night!
October 30th, 2008 at 11:05 am
i second the bun in the oven chef. where can i get that?!
i agree with figuring out what to dress up as – i cringe at it too. i have a couple stand-bys that dh says are boring but i love. he likes to do couple costumes but he always wants to do random things like a priest and a pregnant nun which i nixed as sacreligious. i wanted to go as boris and natasha, but he killed that idea (and me!) when he said, “who are boris and natasha?”
i usually dress up as a princess, which can also transition pretty easily to a gypsy costume since it’s just accessories with a long skirt and fancy blouse. i also have a [tasteful] pirate wench costume that i love. if you sew, pattern companies usually have relatively g-rated costume patterns and they usually aren’t too complicated. i have a great greek toga pattern but dh never wants to do it with me so i haven’t made it yet, even though i told him he was a “god” in my eyes, and i could be his goddess…
October 30th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I am excited to actually have a party to go to tomorrow night. I actually have a costume idea I am excited about. I can’t tell anyone though! Check my blog on Monday for pics!
October 30th, 2008 at 11:49 am
I detest the “dressing up” also and once went to a Halloween Party in jeans and a white t-shirt. They started immediately – you didn’t dress up – I knew you wouldn’t – you never participate……..I turned around.
I had glued a quarter to the back of my shirt and I was a quarterback! Everyone there loved the idea and were going to use it themselves………..
Go ahead – it’s a great ice breaker at THE dreaded dress up party!
October 30th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Haha, I am definitely worried about those teen-sized costumes. You could dress up as…Tabitha from Bewitched. Fitting, no? I’m dressing up as a daughter-in-law as I meet the new in-laws FOR THE FIRST TIME tomorrow! SO excited to pick them up from the airport!
http://www.tracy-dewayne.com
October 30th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Hey Patty – I like that one. I heard of someone this year covering themselves in coins and going as “change we can believe in”! Guess you need to choose your party (pun intended) to make that one work!
October 30th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
All great comments and suggestions! Melody – good to know about the sizes, that makes me feel a little less concerned! And I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles with what to wear! Kristina – I’ve been waiting on your blog for the big unveiling – looking forward to seeing your costume! Patty – love the idea, so creative! And sis – I know you’re so excited to meet the new parents tomorrow night so the last thing on your mind is dressing up. can’t wait to hear how it goes!
October 31st, 2008 at 7:45 am
As much as I love this holiday, I’m probably not going to dress up tonight. I’ll be passing out candy in my regular clothes.. mostly b/c all the costumes at WalMart are so, um, hookerish.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:58 am
hi Liz – I hear you on that! I just hope we get trick or treaters, the number around here seems to decline every year.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Well, I’ve always wanted to be invited to a really cool costume party, so I could actually put some thought into a real costume, but haven’t been so lucky. Usually I’m not too big on the whole Halloween thing either.
One year, I dressed up in my dad’s old army fatigues and went as a soldier. My sister dressed up as a hippy chic complete with big earrings, big eyelashes, long straight hair and a hippy outfit. These should be fairly easy to find in a thrift store.
You could dress to the 9s in a very sophisticated suit (hair up and librarian glasses) and be a corporate business woman, if that’s not your normal thing. Dress really frumpy and be a bag lady or a bum. Or maybe capris and a bandana on your head and be a housewife from days gone bye (aka I love Lucy).
It doesn’t take a store-bought costume to be creative and non-slutty. Have fun with it!
November 1st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Tabitha,
I have the same feelings about Halloween as you do–it’s kind of a weird holiday, isn’t it? I can dig the “pretend” aspect of it; what child doesn’t want to be something make-believe for a day? But most of everything else surrounding it…doesn’t exactly get me going.
The chef costume is darling–I have a friend who’s about seven months along and asked for costume ideas. Some of the ideas I liked were: mummy (pun, of course) and oven + baker (husband as baker). Another friend recently came to a costume party as the later-in-life Elvis, with her pregnant belly serving as Elvis’s paunch. It was pretty good, especially with the accompanying bouffant wig.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Love the site, especially your photos!
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:07 am
Hello there, Did you have a happy haloween? !