What I've learned about Halloween Costumes

Trick-or-Treating on our teeny tiny island is a small but sweet event for kids.  With our steep hills and neighborhoods absent of paved roads and sidewalks, you won't see ghosts and goblins going door-to-door.  Instead island families convene for candy and treats shared by local businesses and shops at Moongoose Junction, an outdoor mall / social center of sorts.  By 6 o'clock it's chaos with a sea of kids in costume on sugar highs, while parents and onlookers catch up with friends and enjoy a few cocktail treats of their own.  But I'm off subject...


I've been thinking about Halloween costumes all month. Last year was Milan's first Halloween and as such I was prepared with not just one BUT two costumes.  The first a bumblebee sent by a dear friend who thought I might be too overwhelmed to think about a costume (thanks again Melis).  The second a sushi costume I made last minute, just in case.   Being a bee lover I went crazy over the cute bumblebee costume.  I went a little overboard and even found a matching bee top and shoes to go with the fluffy tutu and wings.  Milan, however, didn't feel quite the same about that costume.   Mid trick-or-treating we did a quick costume change, squashing the bug and slipping into the nigiri.    You can tell from the pictures which she preferred.

Wish I could take credit for thinking of the sushi, but the idea was Carolyn Caffelle's who was on a Martha Stewart episode a few days before Halloween.  It was super simple, comfortable and cool and I made it on a whim.  October is still unbelievable hot here and costumes made from heavy or synthetic fabrics are miserable, I thought a backup would be a good idea.  I substituted a few things for what I had on hand.  I used scrap fabric instead of felt and affixed each piece using double stick fusible interface (Pellon) instead of fusible adhesive. It took about an hour from start to finish, super easy!

So what did I learn?  Halloween is not about me but about Milan!  Yeah, yeah I know obvious right?   Oh but it is so easy to forget this simple concept and get carried away if you're a creative type A mami.  Or should I blame "first-time-crazy-mama-drama" disorder?  I still don't know.  Either way I got caught up in a fantasy of fluffy, tulle bumblebees while loosing sight that Milan was perfectly content living in a world of shapes and textures available to the touch on her shrimp onesie.  I told myself from now on: rein it back, slow it down, listen.  

No more! I'll never do that again, right?  Wrong! I almost made the same mistake this year.  I originally intended on making Flintstone costumes for all of us.  Cute but so not about Milan...me again!  After ordering fabric for Fred and buying a wig for Wilma, it occurred to me that Milan had no idea who Pebbles was, let alone the Flintstones.  What on earth was I thinking???  Although she barely gets the concept of Halloween and costumes, I do know she loves cats and would love to look like one.  So a kitty cat it is this year!  Reining it back, slowing it down, listening...

CC