Halloween used to be one of my favorite holidays, in part because of the free candy. My friends and I always went to the rich neighborhood in town in hopes of getting king-sized candy bars, and it usually worked. I “saved” my candy and hid it under my bed for when I really wanted it. But, by the time I was ready to finally eat it, the candy had either already melted or turned white and discolored. I guess it’s better to enjoy what you have in the moment.
Even more exciting than the candy were the costumes. October presented a crafty challenge to think of a costume that would top the previous year’s get-up. Check out this costume contest. The costume categories are “Green,” “Pet,” “Kid and Baby,” “T-shirt,” “Sci-Fi,” and my favorite, “General Awesomeness.” Here are some of the contestants’ costumes.
Growing up, my mom made what I like to think were “generally awesome” costumes. I once dressed up as:
— A singing California Raisin. I wore a big, black, stuffed garbage bag and black-tinted glasses, and held a microphone.
–A very scary looking troll with blue hair. (I was once mentioned in my hometown newspaper for having 365 trolls … yes, I had an affinity for these so-ugly-they’re-cute creatures.)
–A tube of toothpaste. I wore a felt costume that said “Crest” down the front of it, and topped it off with a lampshade on my head for the cap.
–A hot pink Crayola crayon with a felt cone on my head.
–A strip of dot candy. (I cut out two large pieces of cardboard and then cut Styrofoam balls in half and spray painted them. I glued the Styrofoam to the cardboard, then tied some string to the cardboard so I could wear one piece in the front and one on the back.)
–Other years I dressed up as a flapper, a 50s girl, a doctor, and Alice in Wonderland. This year I’m joining some friends and dressing up as Madonna throughout the ages. A dozen people could dress up as Madonna and all have completely different costumes …
Have any fun costume ideas/stories? Share, share, share!
Word on the Street 
