Trick-or-Treat, Smell My Feet
Friday, October 31, 2008
Prior to my days with children and my move from Wisconsin to California, my cousin Jenne and I threw an annual Halloween party, actually the Halloween party. Ours was among a select hot tickets on the costume party circuit. We had the scariest decorations, the most delicious food, the best beer and great prizes for the costume contest so people went all out.
I think that was the same year I went as the late Caroline Bessette-Kennedy, after her and John Jr. had died in the plane crash on their way to Hyannis. I wore a pencil skirt, soft blue cashmere sweater seat, a big fake watch and diamond ring and sewed plastic seaweed from the local fish shop all over my outfit. A sign saying Hyannis or bust adorned my back and I mixed blue eyeshadow into my foundation to give me a watery pallor. Yes, totally inappropriate but topical at the time no?
We had a friend that came in a beautiful roach costume that according to him had been used in a commercial, I think it was Orkin. I remember it was the hit of the party that year, a guy walking around with a cigar dressed as a giant roach. People kept making jokes about how dirty our house was.One year my cousin went as Courtney Love, even taping off a dead body silhouette on the floor of her room and adorning it with crime scene tape and photos of Kurt.
She and I lived together and those parties were a big bonding thing for us. We spent nights brainstorming invitations, constructed nearly by hand, our fingers stained red after putting 'bloody' fingerprints all over the envelopes one year. We stuffed dummies in our living room while we watched television and caught each other up on our day.We made trip after trip to the craft store for extras to make the house that much scarier, to buy foam board for the headstones that filled our lawn. We kept all the decorations each year adding to them for a more and more elaborate display. I remember the time I went into a back corner of our basement in the middle of summer looking for something, totally forgetting the giant Michael Myers-like dummies we had sacked there. I nearly fainted from the scare of unexpectedly seeing two large 'men' resting against the wall.
Our parties were great, fun, memorable but all of those nights spent with Jenne getting ready were the best part.
What's the best costume you ever wore for Halloween?
7 comments:
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I dressed as a cougar one year. I had big hair, cigarettes, fake nails, tight jeans, high heels- you name it, I was wearing it.
Hy-sterical.
I'm sick of this "Sexy nurse, sexy police officer, sexy lobster, sexy mustard" it's just ridiculous. I miss the creativity.
Does it make me one of the G.O.P.'s "fake Americans" if I don't like Halloween?
Teased hair to point of standing up in all directions from my head. Painted face blue. Wrapped a giant bath towel around my body and the cord of a hair drier around my neck.
Electrocution victim.
Lame? Maybe.
I had a friend who came to one Halloween party a few years back as Superman-AFTER the accident. He sat in his costume in a wheelchair and blew in a tube all night to get around. Sick, but hysterical.
great story, that sounds great living with your cousin. I miss hanging out with girls at the moment, I miss my friends.
I went out at harry potter one year, that was quite fun, but a great costume I saw was this muscly guy painted himself green and went as the incredible hulk. With teeny shorts. It rocked!!
As a kid, I went as a punk like 3 years in a row. I haven't had a costume I loved since.
I never got to have cool costumes growing up. My mom wrapped me in tin foil one year and told me I was a leftover.
Then there was that time she threw a comforter around me and said I was a bed.
She's not very creative.
This year I was a sexy clown. Usually I'm just a pirate though, lol