It's the most wonderful time of the year . . .

(Equestrian, 2005)

(Honeybear and Queen Bee (tiara behind antennae, staff not pictured), 2007)

. . . That's right, Halloween! I personally think buying your complete costume readymade is cheating, but it's better than not wearing one at all.

My major Halloween pet peeves:

1) overly scary/creepy costumes (in which you really think the person behind the mask might be taking advantage of his disguise to do some real evil),

2) "sexy" policeman/firefighter/librarian/nurse/ghost costumes (you know what I'm talking about—and isn't it telling that this is often the only time women dress in the uniform of typically male roles, and yet they do it in a degradingly "feminine" way?),

&

3) disgusting costumes (which often encompasses one or both of the first two).

My Halloween stars:

1) creative, out-of-the-ordinary costumes (Like the year my friend went as a skunk. I went as an equestrian and people thought she was my horse, but that was okay, her costume was still great, and all homemade.),

2) tied-in group and/or couple costumes,

3) allusions to current events, movies, and TV shows.

This year I'm going as a stylish witch, and a certain someone will be my familiar. I know this is not the most creative option, but I haven't been a witch since I was really little, and I found this great hat in Salem, Massachusetts, that I just had to buy. (It is perfectly acceptable, in my eyes, to base a costume and/or theme party on something you want to wear.)

But last year I was Lucky the Leprechaun (and, interestingly, my quasi-gender-bending was confusing to some—one guy guessed that I was Lucky's girlfriend), and while I stuck to plain old cereal, my sisters and their friends were "cereal killers."

So basically you just dress up like all the great cereal characters—the Trix rabbit, Count Chocula, Toucan Sam, Buzz (using my Queen Bee costume), etc.—grab a fake knife or other weapon (though even fake weapons creep me out, so this is not for me), and you have a cute and witty costume. Bonus points if you turn a box of your cereal into a purse.

Happy Haunting!

Ginger