Halloween pasts

You know how there are a lot of things that you don't appreciate as a kid but later learn to as an adult?

This post is about one of those things.

A few nights ago I went on a tirade against modern day Halloween. I was spouting off about how it's such a shame that costumes all seem to be store bought, and it's to the point that kids are embarrassed to wear homemade costumes.

"What happened to the good old days of just gathering whatever crap you had lying around your house and throwing it together into a costume?" I spouted to Jeremy.

The irony of my tirade will probably become apparent in the following pictures. I too, as a child, was sometimes embarrassed to wear a homemade costume. Sorry to say it Mom, though I'm sure you aren't surprised.

Here I am, 5 years old, dressed as a pumpkin. Some butcher paper and a stapler. And whatever that thing is on my head. My younger brother there in the middle is a devil--this is a recurring theme. My older brother--well, what is that?

Here's the next year, 1988. My older brother is a tourist, I especially love the sunblock on his nose. We've got a little Super girl down there, and again the Devil. I'm pretty sure he's the only one that ever got to pick what he wanted to be for Halloween. And then there's me--this costume is recycled from the previous year. Tic-tac-toe drawn on my face, fuzzy dice earrings, a deck of playing cards glued to a headband, a checkerboard in front and who even knows what was in back. Do we have a name for this costume? I'm pretty sure this falls under the "gathering whatever crap you had lying around your house and throwing it together into a costume" category.

Here's an example of some store bought costumes, frankly I don't think they're any better than the ones my mom made us. Notice my younger brother as a devil, again.

This time he's a ninja. That's a little better I guess. My sister is a witch and I'm the Queen of Hearts. This is 1991, I think my mom gave up trying to make costumes because she couldn't top the previous year. Keep on reading, you don't want to miss the previous year.

1990--the picture below. My older brother was 9, I was 8, my younger brother was 6, and my sister was 4.

Obviously we have a well wrapped mummy and two ninja turtles--Donatello and Raphael. I can clearly see kids asking to be those three things. What I can't see, and I'm pretty sure didn't happen, was me asking to be what I was dressed as that year. I'll give you a minute to guess. I'm wearing a skirt, an over sized sweater, and gigantic red rimmed glasses. Oh, and I'm carrying a log. A LOG! As in, a piece of wood that you put in your fireplace.


You can't guess? In 1990 there was a show called Twin Peaks that my parents watched. I never did because I think I saw a minute of it once and thought it was scary. But on the show there was a character that I only know of as the "Log Lady". As far as I know she was a creepy lady that carried around logs. That is what I dressed as for Halloween when I was 8 years old. And for Christmas that year I probably asked for a foot bath. Just so you know, I did carry that log with me while trick-or-treating. I figured it explained the costume and without it I just looked like a grandma. I'm not positive, but I think dressing up like a grandma for Halloween is even worse than dressing up as the Log Lady.

So, what do I now appreciate that I didn't as a kid?
1. All the effort my mom put into making creative costumes, something different than other kids were wearing.
2. The fact that a few short years after these pictures were taken my mom called it quits and just started buying us candy the day after Halloween when it was on clearance, so that she wouldn't have to make costumes and take us trick-or-treating. How many years until I'm allowed to do that?
3.The Log Lady costume. Yes, I think I actually appreciate it now. Though that log really was heavy!

And at the same time, I do appreciate store bought costumes. It makes all of our lives easier--and a little less embarrassing.