Halloween Hall of Fame

I love Halloween. It's so much fun dressing up and partying. Over the past few years, we've been a fixture at Aaron and Alisha's Halloween parties and we are usually front runners for prizes, whatever the categories are.

I can't tell you what we're dressing up as this year. We always keep it a secret until the day of the party. But I'd like to flip back to previous years and recall some great costume ideas. Plus, this gives me a chance to inventory my stuff. Feel free to call me if you need a costume.

French maid- this was back in college when me, Joanne, and Dan were all into Rocky Horror. I have the standard issue dress with apron and hair band. I bought a feather duster well afterwards to complete the outfit.

Catwoman- I bought a shiny black catsuit a few years ago for Catwoman the Julie Newmar years. I've actually worn it twice now. And it's best worn backwards, because the zipper in the back is just corny. Plus I have a cool retro belt, cat ear headband, and cat eye mask.

Oompa Loompa- A really fun and easy costume. I bought a red turtleneck shirt and white painters overalls. Paired with an old pair of mary janes and striped soccer socks. I had to do some creative sewing to really complete the look, big fun buttons and hemming the pant legs up. Green hair spray and orange makeup made this costume hilarious.

Willy Wonka- Joe of course, was Willy Wonka that year too. We made a purple jacket and vest one piece from a pattern. The purple coat is corduroy and the sea green vest attached is satin. We also made a brown top hat from a pattern too. We bought a brown bow tie and a cane to complete the costume. I reckon the jacket/vest piece could double for a Joker costume too.

Witch- I went as the Wicked Witch of the West once, but this costume can so easily be any generic witch. I have a long tiered black skirt and a black turtlneck. Topped with a cape, a hat, a broom, and green makeup and that's it!

Flying Monkey- We made this costume from a pattern to match my witch costume. This is a black/grey fur costume with brown trim. Joe also made black nylon wings to complete the look. This is a super hilarious costume and is sure to win awards.

Napoleon and Pedro- This is super easy to do and it was topical, so people loved it. If you don't already own a Vote for Pedro t-shirt, there's an iron-on decal available on the internet. Get some cheapo reading glasses from a pharmacy in the right shape, some old moon boots from Salvation Army and we had a simple costume. Finding cheap cowboy boots was difficult. So was finding a bolo tie. But I fashioned a bolo tie out of some shoestring and a brooch and found a cheap cowboy shirt and boots at Wal-Mart. A simple short shag wig and a drawn on moustache and that's all it took to become Pedro.

I have some random props: a magic lamp, a pair of handcuffs, an eyepatch, various gold medals, lab coats, a racing suit, a one piece sitting robe that looks a little outer space, various pieces of a school uniform.

Edward Scissorhands- This was a difficult costume to execute and I've seen it done so well on the internet. But we decided to go with the Edward-at-home look. A black turtle neck, a white oxford shirt overtop and some suspenders. Joe fashioned some scissorhands out of foam board attached to cheap black gloves. Don't forget to figure in a way to unzip pants so you can pee. A bunch of punk rock wristbands and belts and there you have it. You really need to concentrate on the makeup too, it can easily get botched up. I recommend watching the movie and printing pictures for reference.