All Dressed Up

I will totally admit to being a Halloween Scrooge.  I just cannot get into this holiday.  Last weekend the kids and I finally headed to the store to get a costume.  Maddie wanted to be some kind of crazy zombie (aren't they all...).  Jake originally wanted to be some scary clown, followed by a choice of some type of ninja followed by some other ninja.  I already had a headache.

30 minutes into the store visit I texted Mike, "This is killing me.  You are totally handling costumes next year."  He texted back, "Two ghosts...I'm done."  During our hour long time at the store Maddie tried on at least three costumes - none of which she liked.  Jake tried on one costume and realized it was too small.  I mentioned how in days of old we used to make most of our costumes (and by "we" I meant "my mom").  They actually scoffed at that; no one made costumes anymore.  But after looking things over for a fifth time, suddenly he asked if he could be a soldier - everything we already had at home.  Okay!  One down, one to go.  A couple more searches later for Maddie yielding nothing and I threw out a suggestion of how to make the costume she wanted at home and we headed out of the store having bought fake blood and some fake scars.

We brought an old "convict" costume of Mike's to my mom who consulted us on how to fix it up.  Maddie was having two friends over (also zombie wanna-be's) to hand out candy while Jake was heading out with Mike and a friend down the street.

A couple years ago Jake was a soldier.  I was surprised he wanted to do a repeat costume, but I think he seriously just likes two aspects: the camo, and the hat.

And just so everyone is clear...boys do NOT wear "makeup".  I mentioned that I thought his "makeup" looked great.  Mike and Jake were very clear that boys do not wear makeup they wear war paint.  My bad.

A full view shot...the bright yellow and orange gun really help hide him.  That's okay - they just match his shoes.  But, of course, I've been informed boys don't wear outfits either so I'm sure that was just an accident.

Maddie's two friends arrived and spent quite a bit of time putting together makeup and helping each other perfect their costumes.

Scary zombies:

Happy zombies:

Scary zombies:

Me, wasting an evening playing on the computer:

And as a final Halloween sort-of FAIL, I will present our "pumpkins"...

I have to say though - we had one neighbor boy that stopped me to stay he thought the bags were kind of clever.  His mom is a crafter so I'm pretty sure he's been taught to appreciate these types of efforts...

Halloween 2012 ended with three fake pumpkins and, against all odds, two home-made costumes.  The fake blood was used up and the scars remained in the packaging.  Hope Mike is ready for next year....I'll be watching from the sidelines.