I've Brought You... A GIFT: All Our Guests' Labyrinth Christmas Costumes!

John and I are working hard to get the final party video ready for you guys, but I at least have fun costumes to show you! One of the best parts of throwing elaborately themed parties is seeing what our friends wear, since most of them keep their costumes secret 'til they walk through the door. This year's theme was especially tricky to dress for, so I think you're going to love how creative they got!

Let's start with the glory that is John as Sir Didymus:

NONE SHALL PASS.

(Now I want to see a Didymus/Black Knight mashup from Monty Python, ha.)

Here's a look at the real Didymus for reference:

John's jingle bell socks really tied the ensemble together. :D He made the tunic shirt with sleeves himself, and the hat, and even made his own resin buttons when the ones at the craft store were too expensive. His gloves are from Amazon, along with the facial hair & eye patch, and he already owned the rest.

My turn!

 John made my sleeveless long vest/cape, and then I stapled strips of tulle all over it to look slightly feathery and shredded.

Sorry for the blur on this next one, but I look better blurry anyway. :p

I'm wearing a shorter flared skirt underneath, but I like it better with the cape/vest closed in front.

Now let's get to our friends.

Christie's costume (which is actually her wedding dress!) looked like it was MADE for our Ballroom photo opp:

 I checked, and there IS a dancer wearing a unicorn horn in the ballroom scene. I had no idea!

And then... John:

LOL

I don't know what's happening here, I just take the pictures.

Karen was also masquerade ready - though I forgot to take a picture of her in the matching mask:

 

 She made this herself out of two or three thrifted dresses, and the white train is from a wedding gown!

Rest assured, not everyone came in formal wear:

 

 It's Toby and one of his kidnapping goblins!  This was Stephanie's first time working with EVA foam, and she made her helmet and shoulder pauldron herself. She also had painted-on tusks and a goblin nose, which were adorable:

 

Also in painted-on tusks: Kari, 'bounding as Ludo:

I don't have my own photo of Kari (whoops), but here's her selfie in a fluffy orange cardigan, curly horns, and a giant necklace ring for the time Ludo put the knocker ring in his mouth. Brilliant and so' cute!

Then the winners of Largest And Most Impractical Costumes are...

 

Thom and Jess! They dressed as Henson puppeteers behind their False Alarms:

 

 They really could puppet the mouths, too, and boomed out a few dire warnings to the crowd as they shuffled inside.

AHHH-mazing.

Dennis and Bonnie came as the riddling door guards:

 

Originally they planned to have Dennis hold Bonnie upside down for a photo, but since we have hard floors I'm glad they decided to err on the side of safety. How great are those shields?? You can definitely tell that most of our friends are artists and makers.

Charlie also went the creative-but-comfortable route:

His wife Tanya was wearing a matching pin that said "The Power." COME ON. Genius. He even shaved his head for this!

Now let's talk about this group:

 

 Because ohhhhhh migosh.

Those are brothers Kevin and Tim in the back, with their wives Katie & Bianca up front. (A lot of you already know Bianca from her art, but all four of them are insanely talented!)

 First there's Bianca, who dressed AS THE LABYRINTH WALL:

She has eyeball moss in her hair and is wearing a Blue Worm pin on the front she painted herself. Also she made all of this - ALL OF IT - 3 hours before the party. I can't.

Her hubby Tim sculpted his own Helping Hands masks, which is as fantastic as it is terrifying:

 It was my idea for him to give "heart hands" for the photo, I'm taking credit for that.

Kevin came as the Blue Worm, and sculpted the most phenomenal mask for it:

 

 His wife Katie was a Firey, and also rocked the most gorgeous hand-sculpted mask and feather collar:

 

They said she was a floating head Firey - that's why the ears are up to flap! Isn't her dress swoon-worthy? She said she's had it since college, just embellished with the sheer cape & feathers for this.

How cute is this: two blue worms on two walls!

Actually that's THREE Blue Worms. Even better!

We also had two Sir Didymuses: John, and then Matt here:

You can't see it very well, but Rachel's holding a lacy fox mask, to tie in with her foxy date.

 Traci giving us Thumbelina vibes in her ballroom gown:

Her skirt almost perfectly matched the backdrop!

Two more super creative friends:

 THEY'RE THE KNOCKERS! Warren even has the ring in his mouth! I'm loving how my own knocker is glaring at his doppelganger Jamie, hee.

Here's Robyn in her goblin fairy mashup:

And many of you know Melody here as one of the newer FOE mods. This is her with her hubby Rob:

They travel from out of state just for this party! Talk about humbling. They're also THE sweetest couple, and Rob is one of John's favorite people ever - which is about the highest compliment I can give. If you ever get the chance to be friends with these two, take it.

And last but not least, our guests of honor for the night:

 

 Sarah and Jareth!

Also known as Dana and Alexie, who many of you know from my posts here over the years. Alexie made some gorgeous berry and holly sprigs for her hair and dress to give it a Christmas touch, and Dana used silver glitter in his makeup for extra sparkle.

 

"No helping young girls through the Labyrinth, got it?!"

We also had our dear Agnes the Junk Lady in attendance, the better to glare at everyone. Here's Alexie sharing a drink and a chat with her:

 Agnes really hates it when people walk in on her conversations. (Sorry, Agnes.)

 "Do you MIND? We're having a moment here."

"Harrumph."

Later in the night John and I were able to get out the real camera and flashes for a few beauty shots out on the deck:

I love Arielle as Sarah here; her expression is priceless. :D  

Then there's this shot of Jess! Ermergersh! She's channeling Jareth something fierce.

A glowy Karen with our purple tree behind her:

 (Not flash, sorry for the blur. These photos are convincing me I need to upgrade my phone camera again!)

 One of my favorites of the night:

Queen Sarah!!

You can see I put my white owl statue to good use here beside the throne.

Lots of our friends had pics with Sarah & Jareth out here.

 And finally, here's something fun: I looked over at one point and watched Traci - in a corset and long skirt - climbing the tree just off the deck.

So of course we followed her over and took some pictures:

Then, while John and I fretted about our home owner's insurance, Karen had to try:

 How she looks this relaxed balancing on a branch I'll never know.

And finally, unable to resist, up went Alexie in that enormous dress:

  She looks like she's floating!

Had to get Dana over there too, of course:

 

 This was around midnight, btw, that we were all in the backyard climbing trees and taking pictures. Do we know how to show people a good time, or what? ;) 

Well gang, I reeeeeally hope you aren't sick of this party yet, because I have one final post coming, where it all comes together! I'll wrap up the whole shebang with a video tour and beauty shots of everything John and I built, all the punny food dishes ("You Have No Power Over CHEESE!"), plus our party games in hilarious action.

And then - THEN - I can finally collapse. ;) 

Thank you so much to all our friends for playing along and bringing the Dance Magic. John and I met every one of these incredible people through Epbot, and many are active members in FOE (Fans of Epbot), so if you're jealous of all the cool people we know, remember they came from this community!

In fact, let me give some shout-outs so you can follow some of these folks on Instagram. Stalk away, and be sure to tell them I sent you!

Dana (Jareth): @ElliotsCosplay

Alexie (ballroom Sarah): @AlexieStarrCosplay

Christie (unicorn headdress): @ChristieCoxArt

 Charlie (the Babe): @TheArtofCharlesThurston

The door guards: @SuperBonnie & @DennisHansbury (Both artists)

Warren (Right knocker): @FamousAfterDeath art

Bianca (The Wall): @ArtOfBianca

Tim (Helping Hands): @TaintedEagle (tattoo art)

Kevin & Katie (Blue Worm & Firey) @TheRogueBiscuit (cookie art)

Arielle (casual Sarah): @LemestoArt (alcohol ink jewelry & ceramics)

Also watch for them over on FOE, since many like Karen & Traci are regular posters there.

'Til next time!

******

Here's a beauty from my personal wish list:

Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History

This hardcover gift book is full of behind the scenes photos, interviews, and concept sketches. DROOL. Perfect for the Labyrinth fan in your life! (Hint hint, John.)

You can also browse all my idea lists over on Amazon, and anything you purchase will give a little back to help support this site!