Halloween 2018

It's getting to be that time of year again: Halloween. 

I've always liked Halloween. 

When I was a kid, my mom made my costumes every year. The store-bought ones were plastic and cheesy and way too expensive anyway. And even worse, they weren't original. LOL....NO ONE wanted to be THAT kid, e.g., the one who had the same costume as one or more other kids. 

That's why I loved that my mom made mine because they were unique. One of my favorite costumes was Batgirl (see picture below). Another year, I was an angel in a white dress with white wings (wings plastered in colorful Crayola polka dots) and a ring of silver garland as a halo. There were so many fun Halloweens...

I went to a private Christian elementary school where every Halloween all the kids would dress up and get to play games and have a safe Halloween. My favorite event was the cake walk (a musical game). A very kind man named Fred Frank who adored all us kids as we adored him used to lead that activity. One year I even won a cake! Actually, it was a pie. Coconut creme pie. Yummy.

Back in the day, neighbors knew each other, so trick o' treating was additionally fun. The older ladies ALWAYS pinched my cheeks because I had a round doll face (insert eyeroll here) but they were very sweet and most of them had the primo candy. Primo candy = anything chocolate. 

As I aged, Halloween wasn't a big deal anymore. I stopped dressing up...and perhaps that was for the better because my costumes had evolved from innocent and sweet to sexy vampires and other outfits that could've landed me in a lot of trouble if I wasn't careful. There were parties, but it still wasn't as fun as my childhood. Being a grown up is sad sometimes.

After a long lull of inactivity on Halloween, this year I decided to reinstate the costume tradition and give candy to the neighborhood kids. I bought an adult onesie cosplay costume (way oversized but comfy)...see picture below. Basically, a cool pair of pajamas that make me look like a small black and orange whale. But I guess the size part doesn't matter. Having fun with it is.

​If you can't tell, it's a Red Panda. Fun (and not scary for kids), right?

​Why a Red Panda? Because I love the little animals. There was one that escaped from the local zoo a few years ago and ran through the city. I really cheered him on hoping he wouldn't get caught and that he'd enjoy being out of captivity. I think he zipped in and out of a few bars and Starbucks and crowds before the zookeepers nabbed him. I hope he had a lot of fun on his city-wide expedition. 

Goal for next year? I'd love to dress up like a princess and attend a Halloween Ball. That would be so awesome.

Stay amazing,

Jen

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