What are you folks dressing up for Halloween (for those dressing up)? We are having a costume contest at work and I need some ideas. I was never one to dress up my adulthood so I need something I can pull off and be original. I am currently thinking along the lines of Fred Flintstone (as I look more like John Goodman than I do Brad Pitt).
Looking for costume ideas, not a debate about the supposed “evilness” of participating in it (this means you, Cranberry ). I have read that it is popular in Ireland (where it said to have originated) as well as the UK.
Hallowe’en (or Samhain) is popular in Ireland, but there was not much dressing up in my neck of the woods. Unless you count those characters in balaclavas and the other ones with bowler hats.
t’s the FIREWORKS!
Yay, FIREWORKS!
Ahem! For driving off the evil spirits! Of course!
But I recommend dressing exactly as you normally do, but with a clerical collar. The shock factor is impressive, especially in those who try to take you to task for not dressing up. Depending on your normal mode of dress, it can be frightening too.
Can’t speak for Ireland, but this will be my fourth October in the UK and I have noticed a visible increase in Halloween decorations etc for sale each year. in 2004 it was really hard to find anything. This year there are already pumpkins, glowing ghosts and jumping witch thingys in the food stores, to say nothing of the card (and apparently party decoration) shops and other main street bricabrac stores.
The commercial side is one thing. In actuality we rarely see any decorations ON houses, hardly any jackolanterns (ours got smashed when we put them outside in 2004 - now they go outside on a higher floor’s windowsill) and the only trick or treaters we get are the kids from next door. Our house got egged a few years ago because we refused to give a kid candy on the 30th. I don’t know if he got the point of the holiday or not. I suspect he was just looking for an excuse to shake down strangers for candy.
An interesting side effect of the increase in halloween attention appears to be a sharp reduction of October Christmas displays. Martin says now all we need is some kind of “thanks giving” holiday in November or so to keep Christmas from starting too early.
if there is a contest and you want to lose, you’re welcome to my regular costume. with string, i tie the hands of a stuffed monkey then i put the monkey arms around my neck and wear the monkey behind me. get it? huh? do you get it?
He said he’s more John Goodmanesque so to get the right look he’s gonna need a skeleton suit, then put the monkey on his back, or he could get an old army jacket, draw a hole in his arm-be sure to make plenty of tracks , strap on the monkey and go as Sam Stone.
I doubt I’ll have time to think of a costume this year. Last year I dressed up as a Christmas tree. I wore a conical green hat and a green shirt and long skirt, then wound tinsel garlands all over myself and pinned ornaments all over me. It was fun.
This year I got an octopus costume for the baby, should be cute.
I recently learned “The Soul Cake Song” so I am now keen to put this into practice.
Since we are meant to be imitating ghosts of the dear departed, I plan on dressing as I normally do, but with dark glasses, and blood down one cheek from one eye. This is guaranteed to freak out both my children, who are sensitive about eyes.
It won’t work for long, I’m afraid. Here the Christmas displays have been up since mid-September…they just put them on a different aisle from the Halloween/harvest/Thanksgiving displays. Those merchants are going to squeeze each holiday for all they can get!
I’m going with a kind of “autumnal Mother Nature” thing this year. I have a beautiful dark green “renaissance”-style dress that I’m decorating with fake autumn leaves, and I’m wearing a harvest-style garland on my head that I picked up at the RennFaire earlier this month. I’m not sure what to do about shoes, though…the costume would seem to call for going barefoot, but it’s a little nippy around here for that. Maybe I’ll just wear the boots I wore to the Highland Games. The dress is a tiny bit short for them, but they may be better than nothing.
). I have read that it is popular in Ireland (where it said to have originated) as well as the UK.
