Spooky Night of Fun

Recently I posted the start of a comprehensive guide on how to have an eco-holiday season and last night officially kicked off the fun!


Our twin nephews are just about to turn six, the youngest is just over two, and they all are big lovers of Halloween. The youngest is just starting to learn what it is all about but ran around all night proclaiming “Happy Halloween!” and “Trick or Treat! Smell my feet!” with an enormous smile. The older boys each have their own attraction to the holiday -- for the first born it is all about the dressing up, locating that perfect costume, for the younger twin it is all about the candy.

Before Matt got home from work yesterday I got ready to go in, what would surely be warm, khaki cargo pants and a fuzzy baby blue sweater. When I pulled out some earrings and put them on they were far too glam to go preppy so at the last minute I decided to throw together a costume. The earrings were screaming rock star so I rifled through the closet and came up with this completely free costume. The shirt is a silk, leopard print, halter that I have had for about eleven years and I carried the drum sticks all night.

When Matt got home and saw that I was dressed he knew the joke of dressing up as an out of work banker was about to come to fruition. He too pulled the closet apart to locate his most wrinkled shirt, pants that were too small, dirty shoes (from pounding the pavement of course) and a tie that he quickly threw on. The disheveled hair was just a lucky bonus that he had not been to get a cut in far too long. I told him to look distraught and he did not disappoint. Another free costume, score!

Because there are some crazy individuals out there I never share the names or faces of my nephews on any blog so the helmet on the Astronaut is an add-on that I used to conceal his identity. Captain Hook concealed his own through his goofy expression and the Little Pirate luckily has a head down. Some notable green facts about their costumes:

The astronaut costume is recycled from last year although the paper mâché helmet did not make it.
The jacket on Captain Hook is mom’s coat, the belt is Dad’s.
The shoes are their rain boots.

We walked the neighborhood with a rechargeable LED lantern to guide our way and even though it was cold (and we all thought the parents following their children in cars were warmer), we were certainly greener and getting our exercise to boot. Speaking of, it was at that moment I was wishing my boots did not have a three inch heel. Oh the price those rockers pay for fashion.

The end of our night became evident when the haunted house set up near the end of the cul-de-sac freaked the older boys out so much that screaming and crying ensued. They managed to hold it together long enough to walk down to their friend’s house and then it was back inside to a nice warm kitchen where the adults sifted through the candy, making sure everything was sealed, over a nice glass of fall home brew. A wonderful night indeed.