Halloween in Brookside

Halloween at last! I have been prepping for this like it was Christmas or something. Trying to think of costumes since before Clara was even born. Looking forward to pumpkin-ing the front steps at our new house. Getting Halloween books to explain it all to Julia. I have been so excited. Sergio had been indifferent. Once I found the consignment sale bee costume for Julia and a lady bug costume for Clara, I suggested he be a flower and he agreed with indifference. I bought pumpkins which I intended to carve with Julia and Sergio was sort of meh about it. But then last weekend he wanted to join in the pumpkin carving and all of a sudden he was hooked. He might now be Halloween's biggest fan. 

pumpkin carving last weekend - Sergio, the proud pumpkin carver and Julia, the assistant to the pumpkin carver

"Clara bug"

"Juju-bee"

I had been worried about Julia not understanding what was going on at Halloween and had gotten books to help demonstrate the holiday for her. It was no problem at all. By the time this week rolled around she could successfully answer the question, "What are you going to be for Halloween?" without being prompted and she was well versed in the idea of costumes and disguises, thanks to a lovely book by Marianne Dubruc called Animal Masquerade. And in fact she had taken to pretending around the house and saying, "Bye-bye, Mommy, I'm going to a toss-tume party!"

As for our "toss-tumes" - the girls and I were beneficial insects. I had started out just calling us bugs, but a fellow CSA member at the potluck last weekend pointed out that lady bugs and bees are beneficial insects and I'm pretty sure butterflies are too, so that's what I am going with now. And Sergio was our flower. Joining our garden party were Chef Emilio, Sorcerer Nina, Almost-Pirate Christy, Uncle Dan in a hat that could have been a costume but that he wears all the time, Puck from a Midsummer Night's Dream, his dad Dumbledore/PhD, and his mom who was disguised as a 34-week pregnant woman. Because that's what she is.  

 Everybody say "nandy!"

Our beneficial insects were store-bought; the only costume I made this year was Sergio's very funny-looking flower crown. I never did get to the fabric store to buy felt so I made it out of construction paper. At 11:30 pm. On October 30. It was not my best work. But it worked!

Although now that I think of it, I did make Nina's costume. It was her birthday present back in March. Glad to see that she can get some Halloween mileage out of it. It was fun to make. 

 spooky blurry pic

The evening turned out lovely. In our new neighborhood, Halloween is a pretty big deal - from the neighborhood shops handing out candy in the early evening to the long string of trick or treaters that lasted well past sundown, it was nonstop festivities. Afterwards we all enjoyed a hodgepodge dinner at our house featuring lots of great squash courtesy of Christy, including the famous Calabaza En Tacha and a superb pumpkin pie. 

We had such a very happy Halloween.