I truly enjoyed the imagination and cooperation it took from everyone to come up with the themes. At first the kids were young enough that they went along with anything easily. And Tom was so agreeable, he would even put on tights as Prince Charming!
But as the kids grew, they developed their own ideas of just how far they would go to be part of our crowd. So some of my ideas were scorned (like the circus theme, the NE Husker theme, and the set of crayons idea.) Then I resisted their Shrek idea because my time was getting too short to do that much creating (a dragon, really?)
We haven't gone to that annual Halloween dance in several years because our kids are in high school and college. But I think we all have fond memories of those days, and lots of pictures! Here are a few of our favorites. :)
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| Cast of Scooby Doo in 2002: The Ghost, Shaggy holding Scrappy Doo, Daphne Velma, Scooby, and Fred This was the most popular one we did! |
As a child I enjoyed
a simple costume
and a quick, dark walk
through the neighborhood
for the grand prize: candy!
 |
| Little Bo Peep & Little Red Riding Hood - 1992 |
I don't recall being
scared by gory masks
or creepy costumes.
Back then they were tame,
not like the costumes now.
As a parent I want
Halloween to be
less about scaring
and more about fun...
with imagination!
So I set out to make
costumes with great care
from nursery rhymes
and family movies
and classic storybooks.
 |
| Cast of Peter Pan in 1996: Peter Pan and Captain Hook Tinkerbell, John, and Wendy holding Michael |
a new tradition
that lasted ten years,
at an annual
Halloween costume dance.
We dressed up together
in makeup and tights,
in beautiful gowns,
in wigs and fancy hats,
and padding sometimes.
On a shoestring budget
we managed to make
each costume in time
to spend a great night
dancing and eating treats.
I cherish those old days,
such good memories
when we'd all have fun
as a family
and dance the night away.
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| The Cheese found a pint-sized Cinderella |
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| The Farmer in the Dell (computer) in 1999: Farmer, Wife, Nurse holding doll Child, Cat, Rat, and the Cheese The Farmer won a prize! The computer part was Tom's last-minute inspiration on the day of the dance and it was a hit! |
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| Cast of Wizard of Oz in 2000: Wizard, Scarecrow, Glenda Lion, tiny Tin Man, and Dorothy The 3 in front all won prizes! |
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| Cast of Cinderella in 2001: Wicked Stepmother holding Pumpkin, Cinderella, Prince Charming Footman, Fairy Godmother, and a Mouse This was my personal favorite, :) |
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| Cast of Holes in 2003: Kissing Kate Barlow, the Warden, Mr. Sir, Madame Zeroni Stanley Yelnats, Hector Zeroni, and a Yellow-Spotted Lizard This book was made into a movie that we all love, but few people at the dance knew about it. Not so much fun when people can't guess who you are. :( |
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| Cast of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in 2005: Willie Wonka, Veruka Salt, Violet, Augustus Gloop Mike TV, an Oompa Loompa, and Charlie We based this on the newer version with J. Depp as Willie because he was creepier. |
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| Willie Wonka dancing with an Oompa Loompa |
2 comments:
Love the costumes through the years. Great ideas!
Thanks, Claire! It was always a group effort of brainstorming and compromising. We'd talk about it for several months before deciding on an idea.
I always thought it would be fun to all be crayons, but they nixed that idea. Or a NE Big Red theme with the boys as football players, girls as cheerleaders, and me as an announcer. That didn't fly either. :)
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