Boo humbug

Halloween is a big deal around here.  My husband loves Halloween.  My seven year old loves Halloween.  My in-laws love Halloween.  My side of the family is more of the Scrooge persuasion.  I remember my mom hating Halloween...primarily the trouble involved in coordinating costumes for four kids.  My brothers and I have always managed to get our kids in costume and take them trick-or-treating, but the holiday has always seemed like more work than magic.

A sister-in-law and her family channelling GI Joe.

I knew what I was getting into when I married this man.  As long as I've known him, he's thrown a big family Halloween party.  When we were first dating, he and his sister lived next door to each other and coordinated an elaborate (and creepy!) haunted house set up in and between their houses. 

Friends

While that particular tradition went away when he moved in with me and we no longer had space (or time, or in my case the willingness) to set up gory scenes in the dining room, but one custom that has remained is the family costumes. 

My sister-in-law's family as Willy Wonka characters...their costumes are always AMAZING.

Everyone dresses up.  Kids and adults.  Usually families try to coordinate costumes.  While I could never really get behind the decorations and such, this was one area I embraced.  I'm not much of a seamstress, but I can sew well enough to make a costume.  There were years when I was sewing 3 or 4 costumes.

Sister-in-law's family and a good friend

Last year I posted a sampling of past costumes I've made, so I won't go there again, but suffice it to say that making your own costumes is neither time-saving nor cost-effective.  And it's a bit stressful when you leave all the work until the last week.

??, Heat Miser, Cold Miser (from the movie The Year Without a Santa Claus (I think)

Every year I swear off making costumes.  This year I really meant it.  Between work and N's club volleyball schedule and trying to fit in some training, I just didn't want to put in the time.  Failing in my anti-costume campaign, I then cast my vote for one of our lamer (in my opinion) costumes, simply because it would be relatively easy to make. 

D (the Invisible Man) and N (a statue) opted not to participate in the Pac-Man theme

Turned out it was fairly easy, relatively cheap, and I was finished making them before our guests rang our bell (a first). If I can make that a tradition, maybe next year I'll even help decorate.

Yeah...probably not.