Halloween part IV: A New Hope

How can I resist a family costume when we're so height appropriate? Here's our rebel forces:

I rushed home from work on Friday, glued R2's chin strap on and put the costume together over Small Person, then cut a hole in a large white sheet and belted it over my white under layer. It took me longer to bun up my hair than it did for the Young Fellow to casually peruse his closet for the Han Solo outfit. In fact, it was so easy for him, I think I'll have to officially change his blogonym to Han.

It rained most of the day, but tapered off just in time for us to hit the streets. We drove across town to meet friends and wander the good candy neighborhood. Small Person pooped out after barely an hour. She had a school day full of treats and Halloween fun, so I wasn't surprised. Then, trading and sorting and eating, oh my! I've since confiscated and hidden the rest of the candy, to slowly dole it out until she forgets about it. Or until Han empties the cache on the sly.

Now I can start planning for next Halloween. Any suggestions for a good trio?

Halloween, part III

I just finished the paint job on R2's dome. It took me all week to find the right combination of construction materials. I ended up with a plastic bowl and some silver foil paper, both from the dollar store (yay, cheap!). Put together with lots of double-stick tape, then painted. If it takes a long time to dry, I'll have to complete the chin strap tomorrow; hot glue and elastic. I'm not sure if I'll be able to attach some kind of light and/or 3-D accessories. I'm running out of time and energy, and still need a little time tomorrow to put myself together. Fortunately, I have a nearly full bottle of hairspray, so that should get done without too much swearing.

More pictures and the trick-or-treat report tomorrow. Happy Halloween!

P.S. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for clear skies, so the paint doesn't run!

Halloween, part II

Did you guess which presidential candidate I voted for, yet? If not, here's another clue:

I confess: not my idea. There's a lovely site devoted to the barack-o-lantern, with photos and free templates to download. Fun!

We all carved our pumpkins yesterday, and may yet do more. I forgot (again!) to save and roast the seeds, but we do have two uncut pumpkins awaiting us, so I'll get those ones. Since we live on a busy road with no sidewalks, I'm not expecting any trick-or-treaters; we're enjoying the lanterns on the back patio right now. We'll go to a friend's open house and canvass her neighborhood on Halloween. It's nice to have a place to duck into to warm up, grab a non-candy snack, and examine the loot before either heading home or out for round two.

This is only the second year we've taken Small Person trick-or-treating. I thought it was a bit much for her to do until she could manage it without being carried. Not to mention, it wouldn't be very fair to make her work so hard for all that sugar I wouldn't let her eat. Now we do the standard Halloween evening gluttony and ration it out until all that's left are Tootsie Rolls and SweeTarts. For some reason, the chocolate seems to disappear so quickly...

Halloween, part I

This is the beginning stage of Small Person's Halloween costume. The remainder involves some shoulder straps, a helmet/mask made of a foil roasting pan and some more blue paint. The costume was her idea, no coaching by the Young Fellow, I swear.

I'm thrilled; at last I get to dress as Princess Leia! Not bronze bikini Leia, unfortunately. Even around here it's too chilly for that. I think it would stretch even my ingenuity for the use of unusual materials. I'll stick to Episode IV Leia, since it's not much more involved than a white sheet and a belt. That's a relief, as I'm sure I'll be working until the wee hours the rest of the week getting R2 finished. More photos as we go along.