I often tell the boyz bedtime stories as they’re tucked in snug in their beds. They typically ask (read: beg and plead) for stories from when I was a “yiddle girl”. Depending on my mood, how tired I am and how long past bedtime we are, I sometimes give in and indulge them with stories I can recall from my childhood…
One such story was about when I was a “yiddle” girl and I LOVED Snoopy the Dog. They giggle and look at each other partly because they, too, have become fond of the four-legged Peanuts character and partly because they’ve heard this one before and they know how its going to go… but nevertheless, like any good storyteller, I continue and draw them in with waves of enthusiasm, vocal intonations and vivid descriptions….”When I was a “yiddle girl”, my mother made me a Halloween costume so I could be Snoopy the dog. It was a white costume with a hood that cinched around my neck, loooong black velvet ears that were soooo soft and I wore black shoes as my feet and make up on my nose to make it look like I was a real dog.” I continue, “That same Halloween, my sister was a box of chewing gum. It must have been a water heater box or something like that because it was a really big box! But my mom wrapped it with paper and lined the top with shiny aluminum foil so it looked like the metallic gum wrappers and she made a cut out for her face and arms so she could wear the box to go Trick-or-Treating. Except one thing my mother didn’t plan on was my sister got reeeeally HOT walking around in that big box so the further away from home we walked, the more holes I remember my dad was carving into the gum package with his pocket knife so my sister didn’t pass out on the sidewalk! We made our rounds around to all our neighbors and returned with heavy Trick or Treat bags and Sarah survived without severe asphyxia. BUT, the whole night I wasn’t just dressed up like Snoopy the dog – I WAS Snoopy the Dog! All because my mother went to all the effort to make my costume.”
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Here I am as Snoopy the Dog and my sister was the best box of gum you’ve ever seen! Thanks, Mom!
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Fast forward 30+ years and I had to point out to my mom this year that my sister and I have both carried on her tradition of hand making our children’s Halloween costumes. I know now the amount of time it takes to hand sew, glue, and assemble costumes. I literally spent most my spare time the month of October working on costumes! Sure, it would save time to go to the costume shop (but certainly not money, that’s for sure!) But I enjoy the challenge of hand making my boyz costumes and using a little creativity, ingenuity and a lot of imagination. (And I had a lot of help from Papa this year who bought every single pretzel jar on the market to help me find “THE ONE” that would work as a space helmet! Thanks, Papa!!) I try to help transform my boyz into who they want to dress up as… an astronaut, a football player, Charlie Brown and – yep, you guessed it, his four-legged friend, Snoopy! And Fletcher carried on the tradition and actually wore THE Snoopy hood my mom had made for me. I’ve kept it all these years!! Maybe on future Halloweens my boyz will tuck their children in at night and recount their own memories of their Halloween adventures. I can only hope!
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| Here’s the crew, in the car (spaceship, team bus, dog house) on the way to go over the river and through the woods to go Trick or Treating at Grandmother’s houses… |
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| Charlie Brown and his loyal dog, Snoopy |
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| Kiefer – just might get recruited this year! The Colts need him! |
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| Charlie Brown – who continues to refer to himself as “Charlie Brown” in the third person – such as “Charlie Brown wants a cookie” or “Charlie Brown wants to read a book” |
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| Taking the bold first steps to get treats can be scary at first, but then you get the hang of it. |
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| Especially when treats are involved!! |
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| Charlie Brown didn’t get a rock like he does in the movie! |
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| Halloween is out of this world! |
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| Even Fletcher enjoyed his snacks! (He threw up afterwards, but all in the name of fun!) |
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| Counting and Sorting – all an important task of Halloween |
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| That’s a bucket full of treats |
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| Great expression on his face!! (maybe it’s a mouth full of candy?) |
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| Kiefer’s candy line up |
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| Carter sorted his into categories and put each into ziplock bags- a MILLION ziplock bags |
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| Good thing his helmet is a useful for storing candy too! |
Astronaut Jay, pictured here in his serious astronaut face |
The Jay Boyz Trick or Treating Gigi & Papa’s : Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Colts Player and Astronaut |
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| Waiting for the neighborhood parade to start…. watching the firetrucks |
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| Kiefer was so excited he got to wear his costume to school. Here he is pictured with his teacher, Mrs. Huber, whom he asked “Are you a unicorn?!” when he saw her! She laughed and explained she was a princess! 🙂 |
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| Carter wore his costume to a class Halloween party. They said he came prepared that the atmosphere was a bit thin in their house. He won the best costume that was out of this world. |
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| Charlie Brown and Snoopy!! Charlie Brown wore his costume for TWO Weeks leading up to Halloween. It was SOOOO grimey and sticky but I was afraid to wash it! He continues to refer to himself in the third person as Charlie Brown. |
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| Finally got Astronaut Jay to smile!! |
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| “But Mom! Astronauts are supposed to be serious!” |
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| Trick or Treat!! |
