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!