Costume Fun on Halloween

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved Halloween.  As a kid, of course, everyone seems to love Halloween.  You dress up in fun costumes, go around the neighborhood, and get tons of candy.  What’s not to love?  I still remember my mother putting makeup on my face to complete my hobo costume as I couldn’t wait to fill my sack with sweets.

In college, I still loved Halloween, but my love of dressing up was diminished because all of the costume shops seemed to only stock costumes for thin people.  Any costume I tried on, I would have trouble squeezing into.  Finding a costume that fit meant that this would be my costume for years to come.

In my adult years, costume makers seemed to have accepted that people came in sizes other than Medium and Small.  Large and XL costumes began to be more common.  Furthermore, with the birth of my kids, getting dressed up for Halloween became even more fun as I experienced the wonders of Halloween as a child through their eyes.

My costuming wasn’t all store-bought, though.  One year, when NHL was little, he dressed as a monkey.  I decided to complement his outfit by dressing as The Man In The Yellow Hat.  I did some shopping and got a yellow shirt and yellow tie, but couldn’t find yellow pants or, more importantly, a tall yellow hat.  I wound up compromising the pants by wearing tan (as close to yellow as I could get).  For the hat, I took a cheap hat and added foam blocks and yellow felt until it was a yellow hat.  Quite honestly, the outfit looked ridiculous.  Still, I made it myself and NHL loved seeing me in it.

Last year, I decided to dress as Matt Smith’s Doctor from Doctor Who.  I had the pants, shoes (well, as close as I was going to get to them), and shirt.  I bought a pair of red suspenders.  As for the bow tie and fez, well, I made those.  I liked it so much that it has been my Twitter avatar ever since.

This year, I’ll be breaking out my Doctor outfit for another year.  I’ll scan people with my sonic as the boys go trick or treating.  Then, as people ring our doorbell.  I’ll greet them with my small TARDIS and a bowl of candy.

No matter the occasion, I love dressing up and pretending that I’m someone else.  Someone who has grand adventures and doesn’t need to worry about such mundane matters like jobs and bills.  It’s like putting on a costume helps awaken the kid in me.

Who are you dressing up as for Halloween?