happy halloween!

I just needed a real Halloween.  I know not everyone shares my feelings, but I love Halloween.  As a child it was the time of year that I got to dress up legitimately (compared to my donning a ballet tutu during all other times of the year)  and not only was it acceptable, my whole family joined in!  My mother added to this holiday particularly, having a serious gift for homemade costumes.  Somehow the Halloween decorations made our house feel special in relation to the changing weather outside.   Celebrating my love of fall seems incomplete without the proper celebration of Halloween.  So when Ian and I were married and our first Halloween came around... I felt at a loss.  There were no parties to dress up for.  We obviously can't trick-or-treat.  So we stayed in and ate pizza and tried to watch a semi-scary movie.  It was sweet but, dare I say it, boring.  All other Halloweens since our first have been similar until now.  Beyond my decorating the house, Halloween has been pretty sad. But now... we have a kid.  And so I set to work.  

Originally I thought Peter could go as Chewbacca.  Then Ian and I could go as the classic Han Solo and Princess Leia with the cinnamon bun hairdo.  I looked up ideas online and realized that the only acceptable way (to me) would be for me to fashion a body suit out of faux fur fabric for the baby wookie.  A few weeks before Halloween however, as I was wandering around the Goodwill... I saw a teddy bear about Peter's size.  I then remembered this Ewok costume I'd seen on Pinterest.  So while I didn't have a teddy bear costume, I did find an actual teddy bear.  The best part about it being that it was only fifty cents.  So I came home, took the teddy bear apart, cut, sewed, hot glued and messed around until the suit was complete.  A cut up brown t-shirt and a spear made out of a stick and card stock later-- we had our Ewok.  And doesn't he make a pretty darling Ewok?

^^^ I love the timing on his being able to grab things.

I banked on that, and I was not disappointed as he clung to that spear with all his might.

With Peter's costume change, Han and Leia's costumes had to change as well.

 The reason we laughingly staged the photo below is because that photo is what we fashioned our costumes after.  

Google image search: han solo and leia return of the jedi.

 I think we did a pretty swell job.

 ^^^You can see where Peter gets his angry brows

No Ewok's were harmed in the making of this shot ^^^

And a thanks must go out to Uncle James who took our photos for us.  

It was a boost.  I don't know why??  But somehow, being able to put my energy into something that was cute and fun and allowed for my Halloween (and therefore Fall) to feel more real to me... it felt good.  Bless Ian for being so on board.  So on board in fact that he asked me what we were going to be next halloween.

Can't.  Wait.

gif credit