Halloween 2015

This Halloween we once again had everyone in costume, in part thanks to a halloween themed recital the older kids signed up for (before we knew it was halloween themed--but I'm not complaining, it was fun).

We capitalized on past costumes and serindipitous cartoon sequals.  When Nova was about six, she was Aang, from the Avatar; The Last Airbender series.  Since then Nickelodeon has come out with the sequal, Korra; The Legend Continues, which is set about 70 years later (a fictional 1920s).  As it turns out Aang's granddaugthers Ikki and Jenora wear the same traditional air bending outfit their Aang wore as a kid. Nova's Aang costume became a Jenora costume, and I made an Ikki costume for Ariadne, using the larger one as a pattern.

Solomon wanted to be Sauron from The Lord of the rings.  Sadly, we could not figure out how to make the mask and spikes compatible with playing the viola.  He settled for Robin Hood, which we purchased completed.  I have figured out I only have 1-2 costumes in me per Halloween.  The kids need to either rotate, do it themselves, thrift, or borrow from the dress-up box.

We had just read Coraline for book club in mid October and Nova seized on the idea of being the Other Mother.  To my surprise, this ended up being the hardest costume.  A key componant of this very creepy character are her button eyes.  While many have simply attached buttons to their faces.  However, I figured Nova would find it difficult to walk on stage and play a violin solo blind.  We found a tutorial that used eyeglass lenses, limo tint, and clay.  Since Nova has 20/20 vision, we got some fashion glasses from GoodWill and popped out the lenses.  Grandpa John helped grind them into to the right shape.  Some limo tint and clay later, we had see-through button eyes.  After trying everything imaginable, we discovered scotch tape is the best way to make the eyes stick.  For the hair we gave a long black wig a bob while it was on Nova's head.  Polkadots and red trim were the defining characterstics of the Other Mother's dress in the movie version.  Luckily we had a great dress for the Other Mother already in Nova's closet.


 




Mere blocks from our house is a Halloween wonderland. (It is so good, in fact, that virtually no one trick or treats on our block).  Ghosts, ghools, witches, and super heros throng the street. People camp out in their front yards with bonfires as they give away candy--there are so many trick-or-treators there is no point going back inside.  The scary house below was most likely the instigator of the extreme popularity.  Decorated to the nines, the boulevard has both statues and live
'actors' ready to terrify.  It is hard to tell the difference until the move or shout 'boo!' Some kids love it, others insist on crossing to the other side of the street.  Neighbors joined in, going so far as to screen kid friendly Halloween movies in the driveway, popping corn in a carnival cart to share.




Halloween night Solomon had a birthday sleepover, Nova went to trick-or-treat with a friend in a neighboring suburb, and Charlotte and Aria trick-or-treated with friends in our neighborhood.  The night finished off with hot apple cider and a little play back at our house.