Ah, Halloween–a time that tries the souls of Martha Stewart wannabes such as me. This is the one time I ignore my inner couch potato and just go for it. When our children were small, we moved to South America; a land of continuous warm weather interrupted only by short bursts of rain. We held Thanksgiving outside and the whole neighborhood of company personnel and their families shared.
Anyway, we lived in South America for eight years. Although it was nearly paradise, there were no big box stores, no dollar stores, and, more importantly, no sewing patterns. I had to get creative in crafting Halloween costumes for the kiddos. I'm semicompetent when it comes to sewing but how in the heck is someone expected to make a costume without a pattern? I remember one year our daughter wanted to be a genie so I found some gauzy fabric and some silky fabric, laid her down on the floor, traced around her body and voila, with the help of a borrowed sewing machine, I managed to make a genie costume. It's a good thing it was meant to be loose and billowy. Heman was really popular among grade school boys that year so Heman it had to be. I found some brown felt and made boots and a vest, added a few other pieces of clothing and let me tell you, he made a pretty good He-man. Other costumes for our son were Superman, Pac-Man made from yellow cardboard and a baseball player. Our daughter was also a hot dog, and a witch complete with green hair. I achieved this by using a dandruff shampoo that turns blond hair green if you don't rinse it out. Her birthday is just a few weeks from Halloween and piñatas are traditional in South America. One year I bought her one that looked like a giant basket of flowers. She refused to let anyone break it so for Halloween that year I cut a head and arm holes, and she wore it to trickor- treat. She'd squat down inside and pop out when someone answered the door. Sooner or later, we had to move back to Oklahoma and what do you think the kids wanted for their Halloween costumes? One of those cheesy plastic costumes with masks with little elastic straps that snap the first time you put it on, that's what they wanted.
But despite all the hassle here are a few reasons I still love Halloween: It's a time when we adults can dress like people who don't own a mirror or a comb and blend in with the other shoppers at the big box stores. It gives me an excuse to buy a boxcar full of candy and nobody would dare ask me to explain. I can eat candy all day long without anyone judging me. After all, October through December is the season to stuff our faces. I can decorate the house with fake spiders, mostly fake spider webs, jack o'lanterns and skeletons. I can also claim the dust lightly coating everything is part of the decor. I love seeing all the children who come to the door dressed in the cutest costumes, begging for candy. I lost count last year of all the superheroes, mermaids, witches and dinosaurs that came to our door. We can commandeer their bags of candy which David and I promptly ransack...I mean, inspect for any signs of 'bad' candy. I don't care if a three-month sugar high will keep me awake until New Year's Eve. If you don't hear from me for the next couple of months it's because I'll be on a sugar high. Happy Halloween, y'all!