Our October costuming began in September when Kiki informed me that she needed a full costume by October 9th when she and her friends planned to attend an Anime convention. So I sacrificed three days on the altar of costuming. The result was worn and much appreciated. Unfortunately the outfit still left Kiki feeling a bit exposed (like wearing pajamas in public) and failed to be stunningly cool. So that costume was shelved and will probably only be worn again if the outfit appeals to Gleek in a few years.
At that point, my costuming energy was all used up, which is not a great state for the beginning of October. However I did realize that had I not sacrificed my time and money, Kiki would have applied her own creativity and probably found a costume she liked much better. So I took a laissez faire approach to costuming. When Link said he wanted to be Master Chief from Halo. I said “Great! Make it yourself or save up the money.” In the end he decided to buy the costume for next year and just wear his Legend of Zelda Link costume for another year.
I expected to be assailed by Gleek and/or Patch at some point during the month. I thought for sure that they would have a grand idea and be begging me to make it. Instead, they raided our copious supply of costume bits and put together their own outfits.
Patch did so methodically. His first conception was a Master Chief outfit and he started with some olive green shin guards and a helmet left over from a costume Link wore several years ago. We wore that for a few days, then added some bright blue knee pads. He discovered the belt from last year’s ninja outfit and used it to hold his toy guns. This outfit was fairly standard for a couple of days, but then he decided to add the shoulder piece from his ninja costume while ditching the guns and the helmet. He was completely satisfied with the result. He wore it all over his regular clothes to both the Halloween Carnival last week and today’s school parties.
Gleek was much more haphazard. She conceived the idea at the beginning of the month as an excuse to wear a flowing red cloak. Her ideas shifted and changed as she discussed the possibility of matching costumes with Bestfriend. When it finally came time to dress for the carnival, she grabbed the cloak and Kiki painted her eyes for her. Kiki did not attend the carnival because she didn’t know what to wear.
This morning was the big costume day at school. Link did not wear a costume at all. Gleek decided she wanted streaks of color in her hair which resulted in globs of red and black hair gel, tangles, tears, and a declaration that this was the worst Halloween ever. We combed through it and made it work. Gleek discovered to her delight that bright red lipgloss can also be applied as fake blood to the corners of her mouth. So she got ever more creepy as her black eyeshadow smeared and the glossy blood trails lengthened.
Kiki found a good costume compromise by dressing goth, which is not at all her usual style. The last minute costuming required me to make a quick run for hairspray so we could do something spiky with her hair, but a 15 minute run to the grocery store is a much more acceptable donation of my time than three days of sewing. Kiki claims she intends to make a Samus suit for next year’s costume. I’ve told her if she wants to do the research and effort, I will support her, but it is her project not mine.
In the end they are all happy with what they put together. All of the costumes had compromises, but since the kids made all the decisions, they were happy with the results. I need to remember this for next year.