Big Ideas, Big Storms and a Big Yellow Head - Halloween 2011

I had a lot of ideas for this year's Halloween costumes. I had one BIG idea for a family costume.  I've been working it out in my head for most of 2011. But I didn't have time to start working on it and it was a good thing, there were other big things on the way.  On August 27th, Hurricane Irene hit our town very hard. We were relatively lucky with minimal damage, but in it's aftermath there was a lot of clean up to do, the start of school was delayed and my husband was doing a lot of traveling for work - Halloween costumes were on the back burner. Besides, my six year old son was not entirely on board with my idea and it had to be a team effort, all of us or none of us. He does not always like to wear homemade costumes and that's okay, it's supposed to be fun for him. But he wanted to win a trophy in the town costume contest. His brother won 2nd place last year and he was distraught at not having a trophy like his big brother. I explained to him that if he wanted a chance to win, he had to work with me and let me make his costume. And I realized that I needed to to come up with an idea he could get excited about.
But life was a bit hectic at the moment anyway, and we decided that my ambitious idea would be to much to take on this year. Back to the drawing board. Angry birds was one idea that the kids liked, but it was popular in the stores, so I wasn't excited about it. Then one day the boys were in the front yard with one of their favorite comic books, Calvin and Hobbes. They were acting out the scenes frame by frame.
"Hey guys, do you want to be Calvin and Hobbes for Halloween?"  "Yeah!" It was an idea we were all excited about. They immediately decided who would be Calvin and who would be Hobbes. Now it was up to me to figure out how to make it a reality. I had some ideas for Hobbes, but for Calvin I wasn't sure. My son is a cute little boy with a mischievous side, not unlike the character himself. I could have just spiked his hair and called it done, but what fun would that be? We thought about trying papier mache, but cardboard is our favorite medium, we would make it happen.

Calvin and Hobbes

Two days before the big day a freak snowstorm hit our state and almost killed Halloween.  It did kill it for some towns that were forced to cancel or delay planned activities, including Trick or Treating.  Our town parade and costume contest were cancelled (so we will never know if we could have won that trophy). School was also cancelled for 2 days, but Trick or Treating was on and Calvin and Hobbes were off on a quest for candy and adventure. They looked great and I had no problem finding that big yellow head in the crowd.
Now that Halloween is over, I've got to get to work on next year's costumes, I've got some BIG ideas and a whole year to get the family excited about them!

How I Created A Costume For My Son And A Monster In Myself

This is how it all began, when the cardboard seeds were planted....

It was October 2004, Halloween was just a few weeks away and I was so excited to dress up my 2 1/2 year old son in costume. Oh, so many cute choices for a little boy!
"So, what do you want to be for Halloween?"
"I want to be myself."
"...um, well, yeah... that's great, but you are yourself everyday. You can be anything you want on Halloween AND you'll get candy!" (a still extremely rare and unusual treat at this age)
"I just want to be me."
"How about a vampire? a dragon? an animal? anything!....ANYTHING??!!
"No, I just want to be myself"
This kid was not going to budge and had no interest in pretending to be anything or anyone but who he was, himself.
Well, as much as I loved and adored "himself" this was just not going to cut with me. Creative minded mom + little kid + Halloween = this kid MUST wear a costume!!! How did I end up with a kid who doesn't like to dress up or pretend? And I wasn't about to spend money on a costume that he might refuse to wear. Inspiration struck while I was unpacking the grocery delivery. I'll make him a costume from a cardboard box! If he doesn't wear it I can always recycle.
He was really into cars and taxis at the time, every time he saw a taxi he would say "Where to Mac?"
So there is was, I'll make him a taxi.
I had a great time designing it with all the cute details (1 mile = 1 candy, 1 candy each additional mile). I created not only a fun costume for my son, but a cardboard monster in myself. Already I couldn't wait for next Halloween. My taxi driver wore his regular clothes and was happy to wear the taxi box over them. All that was left to do was pin the "On Duty" sign to his cap and we were off to drive around the neighborhood.  Trick or Treat!

Got Brains? A Zombie Dinner Party Menu

This summer I served my kids a brain made from a small watermelon, complete with worms!

It got me thinking how fun it would be to serve a whole dinner on that theme - brains and body parts!
Since Halloween is on my mind all year long I started researching and planning for a Zombie Dinner.

We set the date for the weekend before Halloween and let each of the kids invite a few friends for dinner and games. No costumes, just bring your brains!
Since watermelon is out of season in October, I was going to need some new ideas. There is a wealth of information on the Internet by some incredibly talented people, and it gets me thinking creatively about how I can put my own spin on things. I like to choose recipes that are fairly easy and do not involve too many ingredients and of course, kid friendly.  Here is what I served.

Hard boiled Eyeballs

Next time I'll serve the boogers with fingers for dipping

I thought these would go fast, but they were a little too realistic

We served the appetizers then played some games before dinner. I think some of the kids were hoping for some "normal" dinner food, but what fun would that be!

A giant werewolf hand chopped off at the bone!

Bat Wings

I served a few other things such as shrunken mummy head pizzas and mini mummies (wrapped hot dogs), but I didn't get photos.  For drinks there was Swamp Juice and Rotten Apple Cider. There were a few brave souls who tried a little of everything and a few scarety cats who probably went home hungry. ...and then there was dessert.

What kind of Zombie dinner would it be without BRAINS!!!!!!

Thank you to my friend Nancy who contributed this plate of rats.
Interesting that "rats" were one of the most appetizing things on the table.

There were a few things that didn't make it on the menu, I'll save those for next time.  Overall it was a fun time and most of the kids left here a little freaked out - just as I planned!

We had a lot of fun decorating too, but I'll save that for another blog. Here is a little preview of me, at the zombie dinner with the photo op created by my husband.  Happy Halloween and Bon Appetit!