where is the halloween spirit?
Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. Growing up in Brazil, I did not celebrate halloween for most of my childhood, only discovering the joys of trick or treating when I was 12. But you bet I got mileage out of this holiday...I continued trick or treating well into college. I have even thought about borrowing someone's child so that I could continue to do so today.
Every year, Rob and I dress up. We don't typically go in for the couple themed costumes, mostly because we wear the same costume with some slight revisions every year. Last year Rob was fat spideman, and I was a crazy cat. This year Rob was regular spiderman, but I decided to switch things up and try to coordinate outfits. Plus, I was sick and tired of wearing the dress that I bought in a thrift shop when I was in college (I do not know if said dress has ever actually been washed either...). My good friend Martha Stewart gave me a great idea to be a giant spiderweb. A homemade spiderweb. The directions seemed simple enough...but don't they always with Martha? Picture this: Friday, October 29, midnight. A long black skirt, 50 safety pins, and a ball of white yarn. Needless to say, the making of this particular costume was a bit frustrating, but that is what you get when you procrastinate and wait until the last minute to make a spiderweb skirt. It's also what you get for believing anything Martha Stewart has to say (except for how to fold a fitted sheet).
This year, our friend Ali's daughter Elle was celebrating her 2nd birthday with a halloween themed party. Which to me indicates that guests should dress up. In costume. Which Rob, Cuca and I did. We drove the 3 hours to LA in character. Rob drove with his spiderman outfit only half zipped up along with a wife beater. My face was painted and I was wearing ridiculously long eyelashes, which made it impossible to wear sunglasses for the whole drive. I don't think we have ever gotten so many weird looks at a rest area before. Rob was convinced he was going to get beat up in the restroom (he didn't. Plus, I told him: "Who is going to mess with spiderman?!").
We arrived at our destination, West Hollywood, to discover that only the kids were dressed up in costume. Yep, we were the only people over 5 that had a halloween costume on. If you watch the show Modern Family, Rob felt like Mitchell when he shows up to work in a spiderman costume and no one else is dressed up.
While at the party, I texted my friend Scott, and our conversation went something like this:
Julie to Scott: Shit. Rob and I are the only adults in costume.
Scott to Julie: Too damn funny! You need to own it!
Julie to Scott: You know it.
And Rob and I did own it. We proudly wore our costumes at that party. Although, we were both really happy when another couple showed up and the guy was dressed in lederhosen. At least we found some other adults with some halloween spirit.
There must be something about 2010 that has killed the halloween spirit. Last year, when we went to the dog park on halloween, most of the dogs were in costume. So, this year, I dressed Cuca up in her shark outfit and proudly walked over to the dog park. Cuca was already pissed at me for putting this stupid outfit on her, but she was even more pissed at me when she saw that NO OTHER dogs were dressed up. I struck out this year on halloween. I think maybe it's because I changed my outfit after wearing the same thing for 10 years.
Oh well, we still had a great time dressing up, and will continue to do so, even if everyone else that is wearing a costume is less than 2ft tall. Rob is already dreaming up costumes for next year: Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san anyone?!
Every year, Rob and I dress up. We don't typically go in for the couple themed costumes, mostly because we wear the same costume with some slight revisions every year. Last year Rob was fat spideman, and I was a crazy cat. This year Rob was regular spiderman, but I decided to switch things up and try to coordinate outfits. Plus, I was sick and tired of wearing the dress that I bought in a thrift shop when I was in college (I do not know if said dress has ever actually been washed either...). My good friend Martha Stewart gave me a great idea to be a giant spiderweb. A homemade spiderweb. The directions seemed simple enough...but don't they always with Martha? Picture this: Friday, October 29, midnight. A long black skirt, 50 safety pins, and a ball of white yarn. Needless to say, the making of this particular costume was a bit frustrating, but that is what you get when you procrastinate and wait until the last minute to make a spiderweb skirt. It's also what you get for believing anything Martha Stewart has to say (except for how to fold a fitted sheet).
This year, our friend Ali's daughter Elle was celebrating her 2nd birthday with a halloween themed party. Which to me indicates that guests should dress up. In costume. Which Rob, Cuca and I did. We drove the 3 hours to LA in character. Rob drove with his spiderman outfit only half zipped up along with a wife beater. My face was painted and I was wearing ridiculously long eyelashes, which made it impossible to wear sunglasses for the whole drive. I don't think we have ever gotten so many weird looks at a rest area before. Rob was convinced he was going to get beat up in the restroom (he didn't. Plus, I told him: "Who is going to mess with spiderman?!").
We arrived at our destination, West Hollywood, to discover that only the kids were dressed up in costume. Yep, we were the only people over 5 that had a halloween costume on. If you watch the show Modern Family, Rob felt like Mitchell when he shows up to work in a spiderman costume and no one else is dressed up.
While at the party, I texted my friend Scott, and our conversation went something like this:
Julie to Scott: Shit. Rob and I are the only adults in costume.
Scott to Julie: Too damn funny! You need to own it!
Julie to Scott: You know it.
And Rob and I did own it. We proudly wore our costumes at that party. Although, we were both really happy when another couple showed up and the guy was dressed in lederhosen. At least we found some other adults with some halloween spirit.
There must be something about 2010 that has killed the halloween spirit. Last year, when we went to the dog park on halloween, most of the dogs were in costume. So, this year, I dressed Cuca up in her shark outfit and proudly walked over to the dog park. Cuca was already pissed at me for putting this stupid outfit on her, but she was even more pissed at me when she saw that NO OTHER dogs were dressed up. I struck out this year on halloween. I think maybe it's because I changed my outfit after wearing the same thing for 10 years.
Oh well, we still had a great time dressing up, and will continue to do so, even if everyone else that is wearing a costume is less than 2ft tall. Rob is already dreaming up costumes for next year: Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san anyone?!
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