In hindsight, I think our last-minute Halloween decorating may have had something to do with the extra crowds:
Spoopy dragon!
I'm telling you, put a giant dragon skeleton on your roof, and you'll have a Field of Dreams situation on your hands real fast. (It also moves and shrieks, but we turned that off so it wouldn't scare the littles.)
(Oh, and it's from Big Lots, but we got it several months ago.)
But back to your costumes.
Again, you should go see everything for yourself, since photos are still coming in, but here are a few of the ones that grabbed me so far:
Because every character is better with a little Wonder Woman thrown in, am I right?
And speaking of Ms. Prince:
Aaa! If only every princess dress was this lovely... and came with a sword down the back. :D
The car! The Weasley wig! The dad who probably got called Groot all night! Hee! Love this.
INCONCEIVABLE. The dog is an ROUS!
And another great family cosplay:
Look at little Smee!
Jamie (of the MegaCon Cospital fame) gave me my biggest laugh:
Check out his blog post here for more (hilarious) pics & a downloadable file so you can make your own for next year!
Then Katrina went all MacGyver on her sons' Inspector Gadget costumes:
SO FUN. There's a little video of the helicopter blades spinning in her comment thread on the post.
A patronus! And she has twinkle lights in her skirt!
And finally, I think this has to be my favorite:
MELTING. She even has his guitar to play Space Oddity!
Please tell me Chris Hadfield has seen this, Jennifer. If not, we need to MOBILIZE THE INTERNET.
I hope you had a great Halloween, gang! Here at the Yates house my night peaked when a little girl in sparkly wings lagged behind her mom and brother after collecting their candy, looked up at me, announced "I WANT A HUG" and tackled my knees. That's followed closely by the older girl and her dad who were both SO HAPPY I knew she was Link, telling me I was only the 2nd one that night to know, and the fully costumed family with dad in the background taping the whole thing on his phone and asking me to pose while handing out the candy (ha!), and the huge group of littles who stood outside my door arguing over who got to ring the bell for like 5 minutes while I stood inside, hand on the handle, laughing my fool head off.
I hope you had a great Halloween, gang! Here at the Yates house my night peaked when a little girl in sparkly wings lagged behind her mom and brother after collecting their candy, looked up at me, announced "I WANT A HUG" and tackled my knees. That's followed closely by the older girl and her dad who were both SO HAPPY I knew she was Link, telling me I was only the 2nd one that night to know, and the fully costumed family with dad in the background taping the whole thing on his phone and asking me to pose while handing out the candy (ha!), and the huge group of littles who stood outside my door arguing over who got to ring the bell for like 5 minutes while I stood inside, hand on the handle, laughing my fool head off.
After reading all the comments online from folks who didn't have a single trick-or-treater, I'm realizing how lucky I am to be able to do this. I even wonder how much longer trick-or-treating will last outside of "safe zones" like malls and gated communities. So, yeah, despite the mosquitoes and bother and occasional groups of non-costumed teens, totally worth it. Can't wait to do it all again next year. :)
We had about 100, most not from our neighborhood, and I'm ok with that (although if we were getting 300+ I doubt I would be as mellow about it). I did not get any hugs, but we did have a little boy who insisted on knowing my name and then introducing himself and everyone with him. And it was freezing here (like literally below 32 deg.) so mosquitoes sound way better :).
ReplyDeleteI agree. Here in Wyoming it was one of those Halloweens where kids had to wear their coats over their costumes. I got about 55. My favorite was a kid swirled in plastic wrap. He said he was sharknado. He was too surly for me to ask where the sharks were, but I liked the idea nonetheless. I'm a lawyer and think that, if I swirl myself in plastic wrap next year, I've got the shark thing covered!
DeleteThese are all so awesome! I am blown away! The girl who dressed as a Patronus - that is an AMAZING idea! So well done! And little Chris Hadfield - I think I might cry! I hope he sees this.
ReplyDelete<3 I'm always so impressed with people's ideas! The Wonder Princesses are amazing!
ReplyDeleteI was at Ithaca's Wizarding Weekend and saw the Whomping Willow group in person - they were awesome!
ReplyDelete(Of course I didn't strike up a conversation with them... maybe next year.)
We only had like 25 trick or treaters (at most) - did I mention it was snowing that morning and was super cold at night?! My favorite was a VERY polite ninja, but your sweet story makes my Halloween!
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhhhh! The little Chris Hadfield is ADORABLE!!
ReplyDeleteThere was a little group doing the rounds at my place - about 5 kids but I wasn't home, I passed them on my way home.
ReplyDeleteHalloween isn't a big thing here although the candy companies are pushing it!
We didn't get any this year, but I didn't get home until 7:30. Plus there aren't many of our neighbors who give out candy any more.
ReplyDeleteWe got TWO groups of trick or treaters, which was an enormous increase from the zero we always got before. The neighbor kid came with his buddy, and our friends' 3 kids stopped by. We gave them All The Candy, to encourage them to come again next year. 😉
ReplyDeleteI usually have a bunch of kiddy ghosts dancing on the front lawn, but maybe I'll try a roof dragon next year, that can be seen from the road! *wink*
These are so great! Love them! My boys were the Blue Power Ranger and Mario. Mario got the most comments. :-) I was surprised at how many people were NOT handing out candy. It felt like three quarters of the neighborhood was dark. When I was little EVERY house handed out candy. I even felt like there were a lot less kids out trick or treating too. Sad...
ReplyDeleteAnother year with zero trick or treaters at our house. I think the 'rents are taking kids to subdivisions where the houses are closer together and they have street lighting. Every year I say I'm not buying candy next year and next year, hubby guilts me into buying it. Then he takes the candy to work with him because I buy stuff we don't like so I don't have to buy it eleventy gozillion times before Halloween gets here. So this year, the guys at his job got a bag a Snickers and a bag of Twix. Maybe THAT is the true reason why he guilts me into buying it!!
ReplyDeleteWe had almost 200 kids this year. I live in a town with a huge population of kids who can't afford/don't know how to make costumes and frequently don't have bags for their candy, so we handed out masks and bags, and also glow bracelets(for safety) and small toys, and of course the candy. Even with limiting it to two pieces each we went through 30 pounds. It was very exciting. Some of the kids acted like it was Christmas.
ReplyDeleteHow awesome that you hand out the masks and bags! Your kindness is inspiring!
DeleteWhat a wonderful and generous idea!
DeleteSame here on the glow bracelets and toys. Kiddos with serious allergies (i.e. peanut) are always bummed over Halloween since they usually can't accept candy - even the wrapped stuff, in case it got cross-contaminated. That's why I have a teal pumpkin witch on my porch, so parents will know they can safely trick or treat at my house. Those kiddos are usually the most excited. :) I can't remember if I've ever gotten a kid without a costume or bag, but I might grab a few at Dollar Tree next year just in case. What a wonderful idea!
DeleteNot sure what our exact count was, but the winter-like weather definitely put a damper on trick-or-treat in my town this year. However our decorations were a hit. Everyone liked the little inflatable Happy Grim Reaper with his tombstones and skeleton yard flamingos. :)
ReplyDeleteLong time reader, first time commenter. ;) I'm a children's author and I'm currently writing some books for a publisher that's working with Chris Hadfield. I've passed along that fabulous photo to my editor and she's going to send it to Chris' editor to forward to him.
ReplyDeletePerfect!
DeleteMy husband conducted a professional choir in Edmonton for a dozen years and one of our favorite concerts with them was a Space-centric program. Somebody in the choir's administration got Col. Hadfield to record a video introduction for the concert, and it was a great hit. So now I have *three* astronautical heroes, Col. Hadfield, this fabulous little girl (who truly rocks the 'stache!), and her artful and supportive mom.
What a great delight! Thanks for sharing!!
We live on a quiet street in a small subdivision, but this year we actually had 12 kids in 5-6 groups come by, which was a big increase from our previous record of 7. I think most of them go to the mall nearby, but I am always happy to see kids in costume, and my favorites were a little dinosaur and Buzz Lightyear, and our next door neighbor girl who was The Doctor.
ReplyDeleteSoCal trick-or-treating was competing with the World Series this time, so we didn't have as many kids as last year. We had our usual decor of the skeleton walking his dog with some lights, but my next door neighbors went all out with decor, sound effects, and a light show.
ReplyDeleteAll the kids were super-polite and the parents seemed to appreciate the game updates. :) My favorites were my teenage neighbors and their friends from middle school and high school who dressed in very creative costumes and were hilarious! (They were concerned that they were too old for trick-or-treating and we reassured them that they were welcome any time.)
-Zippy
I love trick-or-treaters and, like some of you, note that fewer houses hand out candy in my neighborhood and fewer kids come by every year, which bums me out. I had a lot of very polite kids, but many rude ones this year too. With parents watching (to their defense, the sidewalk is a ways from my front door and maybe they can't hear what's going on), I had many other kids who merely thrust their bags toward me without a word. They also didn't say thank-you. I bit my tongue so that I didn't yell after them, "You're welcome!" because I don't think teaching in anger really helps anyone. I did start asking some of them if they were trick-or-treating before I gave out the candy. I wish I'd had one like the girl who hugged Jen's legs! What was Jen for Halloween?
ReplyDeleteWe live in an area with a mix of incomes, and I also try to remember that some kids may not be able to afford costumes, and that the handful of candy I give them means WAY more to them than it does to me. I'd rather give out candy to a slew of spoiled, rude children if it means I get to make even a single grateful kid's night. And at least a solid chunk of the kids are SO POLITE that it just warms my heart.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Toni!
DeleteAlso, while we typically only hit townhomes with lights on and/or decorations, our daughter understandably wants to knock on all of her friend's homes, even if they don't have lights on. Last year a few of them answered, but sadly shook their heads that they weren't handing out candy. This year we came prepared with goodie bags so if we accidentally disturbed anyone not handing out candy, then we gave THEM a goodie bag. My daughter loved it!
ReplyDeleteWe don't get any in our apartment, and I miss it! Especially the tiny ones! At least by this time next year we'll have our own lil pumpkin to dress up. :-D Loving those Inspector Gadgets, amazing!!
ReplyDeleteAs I said on your Instagram post, we got six kids. Well, five single little kids and four young teens on their own. Told the teens that I had king size candy bars but they had to sing "I'm a Little Teapot" for them. Three of the four did, one of the girls was a party pooper.
ReplyDeleteWe always do stuff like that if they don't have costumes, though if they come to the door and yell Trick or Treat or even Happy Halloween I will usually hand over the goods.
DeleteI just wanted to share that last year we had a boy come up in regular clothes and just stared at us, and I said "so what are you?" and he looked around nervously, threw his shirt over his head and yelled "a headless teenager!!!" while waving his arms around frantically. My husband and I laughed so hard, we gave him two handfuls of candy. It was great to see a teenager who thought he was too cool to say Trick or Treat, end up being so silly!
Loving all these reader costumes! We had a good trick-or-treater turnout this year. We live on a cul-de-sac, and for the first time in 6 or 7 years, parents were driving to our street and letting their kids make the circuit. We have some new neighbors who get into the spirit a lot more, so I think all of the yard decor helped attract more people. I was so happy to have a steady stream of kids come by!
ReplyDeleteYeah, no trick or treaters here. We live on a small block which for some reason has no sidewalks and no street lights. Still, we used to get a lot of kids years ago, but now we get zero. My husband usually buys about 46 pounds of candy, the kids laugh about it every year, but this year he didn't realize it was Halloween and didn't buy any. Of course I was worried we'd get kids since we didn't have a thing to give them. We had meatballs for supper so I considered putting them in baggies to give out. No one came.
ReplyDeleteOur dogs didn't even dress up this year, we have a St Bernard and a golden retriever, but they love to dress up. It's pretty comical to see huge dogs wearing costumes! And they love to put clothes on for some reason. Strange animals.
My 6 year old grandson Thor was Captain America and his Dad was the Red Skull
ReplyDeleteThis was the first year my son went out on his own, without a friend along (he's 12). He only did our street, but came home with almost as much candy as we handed out!
ReplyDeleteWe set up the fire pit in the driveway, and let the hordes come to us. As it was getting chilly (in Maryland), parents appreciated the chance to warm up. We hand out candy, a glow necklace, and whatever goodies we get from Oriental Trading Company that year. (every year someone declares our house their favorite--win!) I've handed out glow necklaces for almost twenty years from this place. We either match it with their costume, or let them pick their favorite. It means they're visible, and I can see which of them have stopped by already!
They're also how I count. I bought a pack of 50 this year, and we ran out right at the end. I think there was a small pack of teenagers after that--I compensated by giving each of them handfuls of candy. They were cool with that.