Halloween Pictures and Costume Ideas

Choosing a costume is never a smooth process around here.  There is a lot of back and forth between completely unreasonable ideas or easy ideas that they give up on the day before Halloween. 

Every once in a while I get a little win though.  I bought this H&M dress years ago, unfortunately the only one left was a few sizes too big.  I scooped it up anyway and have been waiting for her to fit into it.  

Of course, when planning our costumes this year she only wanted to be Pikachu. I even went so far as to buy a set of ears and a tail on Amazon.  They looked way better than the weird onesie from Target. 

(Sorry, Target.  I love you for everything else.  Like the stuffed busts of cute woodland creatures I bought on a whim last night.  So good.)

I decided to give the dress one last shot. 

"Ok Mommy, as long as I get to hold the apple."

"Umm...yes?"

I guess this is her idea of a snow white dress?  

I didn't want to share the bloody truth with her in case it made her change her mind. 

Avinash and I did tell her about Marie Antoinette eventually.  He knows a lot about it from watching Animaniacs.  I do what I can to keep my kids cultured.  Like watching tons of 90s cartoons together.  IT'S BRAIN FOOD! 

Speaking of 90s cartoon shows.  I apparently inadvertently named my son after the protagonist of one.  avinASH!  He was psyched to dress up as him for Halloween.  We got the blue vest in the mail minutes before heading out to trick or treat.  Love how psyched it made him! 

Lakshman's costume wasn't really a costume at all.  Being Pikachu is more of a statement of who he feels he really is on the inside.

His teacher literally begs me everyday to teach him to say something other than "Pika pika!" It may or may not be scaring the other kids in class.

Putting on the outfit wasn't a big deal like putting on his giraffe pajamas.  Usually a cause for exuberantly discussing things like running away to giraffe school to learn about eating leaves.

No, this costume had a more subduing effect.  His own real sense of Pikachu didn't need ears or the tail beyond the ones he already has.  So the costumes ones were quickly doffed.

He didn't scream and ask for candy loudly over and over.  That is something he reserves for, say, prayer time at the temple. Instead, he could barely let out a sub-audible "trick or treat".  Squeaking like a mouse perhaps?

He meekly placed his candy in the bucket we held for him.  He didn't demand to eat it on the spot but realized he would do better to take matters in his own hands.  So he quietly held on to a fun size snickers bar until trick or treating was all over.  At the table he handed it over to me for help unwrapping it.  Thoroughly melted, he was only able to take one lick before the texture got to him.  He choose some nerds and swedish fish for himself after that which went down fine.  He didn't even fuss at bedtime.

Hiding from revolutionaries. 

The executioner found her eventually.  Sorry Marie!

You can see more of our fabulous costume ideas here. 

Trick or Treating!

Trick or treating has everything I really want in an evening - dressing up, taking pictures, being silly together, getting candy, and occasionally getting scared. 

And, if you head out at dusk (which we tend to do, since trick or treating in the dark is not the safest thing with the little ones), the lighting is just perfect. 

My SLR is on the fritz but I did my best with the iphone. 

I love this costume, but I think I went too big with the oversized tuxedo shirt.  Audrey's is more impeccably tailored to herself, than something she just threw on. 

I can't believe she popped her leg.  That is the best.  She wanted to be Elsa, but when I gave her the chance to pick out anything at all from her closet, she picked Snow White.  Which I let her wear to a shopping trip before putting her costume on.  After she got this on, she didn't want to switch back to Elsa after all.  

I'm just glad because I had to buy so many different accessories on Amazon that I didn't want to go to waste.  She got a ton of compliments too!  People were very surprised by the "erudite" choice of Holly Golightly.  

We carried Lakshman most of the way, but every few houses he would get down and grab some candy with great delight.  He was also ecstatic to see all his friends in costume.  He was totally pointing and gesturing at them but I'm not sure they understood. 

All that was left was to head home and to barter for candy with each other.  Mommy and Daddy get dibs.

More details I want to remember:

Nandini was very concerned with getting the big candy bars for her own personal stash.  Avinash too, but Nandini was focused on it.  She sits very quietly now with her tiny pair of scissors and doesn't even ask for my help opening the wrapper anymore.  Clever and focused.   Lakshman on the other hand took one or two licks of everything he could get the next morning and had at least four lollipops opened at once.

Avinash and Nandini singing the trick or treat taunt over and over.  They were delighted with that little ditty and found it very novel and amusing.  I loved hearing them all in unison.

I'm so glad they are still not embarrassed by us yet.  Avinash was very eager though and went to most houses first in the group while we followed up in the rear with Nandini and the baby.

That they were all brave enough to check out the little haunted house in the neighborhood, though Avinash sat out the chainsaw house when I wanted to go through again.

Avinash eagerly and always at the last minute wanting to join our group costume photos.  As Sally Tomato for Breakfast of Tiffany's, with red clothes and a little water pistol.  This led to a lot of contention over the tiny water gun between the two boys.  It's hilarious to me how they compete already and how their preferences come out.  In most of the pictures then Lakshman ended up looking like a gun-toting Fred/Paul instead.

I had the hardest time finding a boy's trench coat for Lakshman and ended up cutting the ruffle off the bottom of a girl's one.

I'm so glad I saw those old school plastic masks at Target and got the idea for a Breakfast at Tiffany's theme in the first place.  I'm also really glad that Ryan independently looked up Fred and dressed accordingly.  It was so cute that he wanted to be involved, even if not in the pictures.

It was also very sweet of K and F to ask me for face paint so excitedly.  I'm not the best but I like doing it anyway.

It was so fun to see Nandini behaving like a social butterfly, just like Avinash always has been, for a change.  She spent time with Katie, Olivia and William and alternately made them hold hands with her while walking in the street.  It's such a relief to me to see that since she can be painfully shy at times.

Hope you had a safe and fun holiday! Who is ready for Christmas stuff everywhere tomorrow?!

13+ Great Costume Ideas for Halloween

I was just bursting with costume ideas this year.  Then we had another round of torrential downpours and a lot of plans got cancelled.  That's okay, we still got dressed up at home and had fun watching lots of movies and Elmo.

The kids aren't supposed to dress up at school (this basically happened at our preschool a few years ago, only in a more dramatic fashion) , but my friend and I decided to let the girls Disney Bound all week.



We even made them buttons with fun hipster sayings and everything.  Turns out, they all HATED the princesses wearing glasses.   We are raising some first class feminists indeed.

Glass slippers are so before midnight. 

I don't know why she didn't like them.  I found it funny.  She was pretty happy that I finally let her wear her glass slippers to school though.

We dressed up as Annie, Miss Hannigan, Daddy Warbucks and Punjab for the school party that got cancelled.  Really because I didn't leave the house all day, so the robe was more than appropriate.  I also was dying to dress Lakshman up as Punjab.  I mean, we might as well own the absurd depictions of Indians in popular culture - especially given how few we have to choose from.  Plus, Nandini totally has the hair for Annie.

I'm the Before to Nandini's After Holly Golightly.  One can't go to Sing Sing with a green face after all. 

 Lakshman is Fred of course and Avinash is Sally Tomato(?).  It's possible he refused to change from the day before.

His real Halloween outfit was Harry Potter.  I love this picture because when Lakshman saw what we were doing, he got himself up the stairs and started jumping too.  Only, not quite as high.

Speaking of Harry Potter, I am on SheKnows/BlogHer today with an article all about butterbeer recipes!!  So delicious.  Click over and let me know what you think.