Halloween follows a typical trajectory in our house. It starts with a month of costume discussion and decision making, includes some pumpkin carving and school parties, and culminates in a night of candy gathering. It is still one that my kids look forward to and enjoy planning for throughout the year.
Briggs decided early on that he wanted to be Harry Potter for Halloween and never really wavered. The Gryffindor robe that Staley wore as Hermione and Adelie wore as Ginny was too big for Briggs, so we borrowed his costume from another friend. A little hair gel and a lightning scar completed the look.
Adelie had a few different ideas that she tossed around, but I encouraged her to make use of the bumblebee costume we already had and she agreed. It was always one of my favorites. What a cute little bumblebee!!
Staley was the trickiest as she wasn't sure if she wanted to dress up or what she would want to be. When Google helped me come up with this idea for apple pi, Staley thought it was a good idea. It was easy to make this happen.
Staley also dressed up like an M & M to match her partner Maggie for the Penguin Project Halloween rehearsal. Maggie's parents made the shirts and tutus.
I had tried to talk Staley into being a ceiling fan as I thought it was a very clever idea, but she was not interested. Not wanting a good idea to go to waste, I made the costume for myself instead.
Zach dressed up like his friend, Chris, for Halloween. And there were at least a handful of people that immediately knew what his costume was...including Chris.
We made our last minute trip to Ackerman Farm to pick out our pumpkins the week before Halloween, and then carved them the week-end before the big day.
Briggs made his pumpkin into Harry Potter.
Adelie's was a cat.
And Staley's was a cannibal.
Zach always enjoys doing a more intricate pumpkin, and this year he went with Captain America.
I attended the school parties for both Briggs's and Adelie's classes.
Games, crafts, and treats always make school parties fun.
Next year, I will be down to one kid at the grade school that gets to celebrate with school parties. I'm not sure whether to be excited or sad about that.
Either way, I love that my kids always want me to be there for any activity they have at school.
At the middle school, I do miss the opportunities to be in the classrooms, getting to know the teachers and the other kids.
Adelie and Briggs wanted to follow up their day of classroom parties with the opportunity to attend the Boo Bash at their school in the evening. It was crowded and loud, but they enjoyed seeing friends, doing crafts, and playing games.
And the culmination? A fun night of trick or treating with friends. Stella and Olivia and their parents joined us for a trip around our neighborhood, and then Zach and the kids went to their neighborhood to make the rounds there as well. The weather was beautiful and the candy was plentiful.
It was a happy Halloween!!
