Friday, October 23, 2009

Getting Ready for Halloween, Y'all!

(I'm going to apologize for this post - it's pretty rambly)

Can you smell it in the air? Can you feel it in your bones? It's that subtle atmospheric eeriness that can only mean one thing: It's HALLOWEEN.


The Cylon Jack-o-lantern says it is Halloween.


Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. For a week (or in some cases, like SyFy's), cable channels play horror movies back to back. Stores have these deliciously tempting Halloween cookies and treats. Theme parks transform at night into giant haunted festivals (for example, tonight I am going to Universal Studios' awesome Halloween Horror Nights event). What's not to love about Halloween?

It also can be an infuriating time of year though. One thing I both love and hate is the inevitable process of picking out a costume. When we were younger it was a whole lot easier to pick the perfect costume (or at least it was in my mind!). In elementary school, I was a ballerina princess, a vampire killer (inexplicably my "vampire killer" also happened to be a vampire. I don't know. I thought it was really cool at the time), Morticia Adams (because even though I was ten, I didn't want to be Wednesday), a devil lady, and Leonardo. From the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But now that we're older, things have become a whole lot more complicated. There are plenty of costumes out there and a plethora of specialty stores, but it's a challenge to get the PERFECT outfit (that hopefully no one else will be wearing). I have a long term boyfriend who is less enthusiastic about Halloween, and doing couple costumes has gotten increasingly tough over the years. Walking into a costume store is a nightmare - they are jammed full of frantic people, and overpriced, poorly made garb.

And then there's the question that every girl must face (at least out here in California for twenty-five year old me it's a big deal) - do you go with the Super!Slutty!Costume-in-a-bag? Or do you attempt to do something different, unique, and with a little more dignity?

I've always tried to shy away from the Super!Slutty!Costume-in-a-bag route (though I admit I've been a ridiculous ladybug before. It was my first year in college. I didn't know better!). You know what costumes I'm talking about, right? They're regular occupations or storybook characters or animals, just made Super!Slutty. Case in point:


Super!Slutty!Police Officer and Super!Slutty!Bumblebee


The thing is, you see a billion of these costumes - multiple people wearing the SAME. SLUTTY. COSTUMES. at any Halloween party. It's ridiculous. So the challenge then becomes, to come up with something that is fun, clever, current, and hopefully that no one else will be wearing at the event.

Unfortunately, as a book geek, my favorite costume ideas by and large get no love or recognition - for example, this year I wanted to do Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games/Catching Fire (some kind of variation on Cinna's costumes for them during the presentations during the books). I even have a mockingjay pin! But the boyfriend and everyone else shot down this idea (i.e. "What the heck is a Katniss? PETA like the organization?" etc, etc). So I resort to films. The year before Batman Begins came out, the boyfriend and I were Batman and Robin. We've also done Star Wars (Padme/Anakin), and a completely inappropriate but funny Full Metal Jacket style Army guy and South East Asian Woman (as I'm half caucasian and half Filipino, I feel like I can own this joke). Lately it's been rough trying to find a costume that fits the both of us well so we've done a few solo jobs (Snow White with Native American Indian, Lara Croft with Mr. Clean). But THIS year, I think we've found a great one.

For 2009, we've finally at long last come up with a costume idea that I think is pretty solid. After trying and discarding a number of ideas (Rufio and Peter Pan, Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog) we've settled on:



The Comedian and Sally Jupiter, the original, real Silk Spectre! (My dress isn't nearly that short though, thank goodness. And the boyfriend will be the Comedian from his death scene - bathrobe, cigar, bloody smiley face button and all)

Granted, a lot of folks probably won't know who we are, but it's more widely known than Katniss and Peeta. Sigh. Plus, the boyfriend agreed to it.

So my question to you, dear DIK-ers is: What are YOU going to be for Halloween? Any costume stories you want to share? I'm all ears!

And finally, I leave you with my contribution to the "Freaky Tunes" segment here on DIK. I give you....the BOLLYWOOD THRILLER!!!!!!!!!!! Beware. This WILL make you laugh uncontrollably.



Lyrics (These are NOT the real lyrics, but are based on what the lyrics sound like in English - transcribed by some clever soul):

I think I’m the evil of the people…

(Praise the glory of the evil!)

GIRLY MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Girly Man!
Girly man, man, man, man, man!

Gosh, my old calculator ain’t got no bow!
Nipply man I met, he ate my motorboat!
Calm down and park that comfy shin guard armor!
Welcome the dude who ain’t the buyer of mugs.

Girly Man!
Girly man, man, man, man, man!

RRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPYOURMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN

14 comments:

Tracy said...

I LOVE Halloween. So much fun.

lol Those lyrics are hilarious! And that's exactly what it sounds like too. Too funny.

Costumes are always so difficult in my house! Especially with the kids. My daughter's teen sized but she's only 11. The teen sized ones are slutty as well. It was frustrating this year to try and find something that wasn't super short.

My hubby's not a huge costume guy and hates doing the in-the-bag kind. He once did Laundry Man. He took a small laundry basket, cut a hole in the bottom, stepped in and filled it with clothes (clean). He then pinned a few socks to his shirt and called it a costume. I laughed at him but he actually won the contest for most original that night. :)

Couples costumes are always hard. When hubby and I were dating I actually got him to wear tights so he was Lancelot and I was Guinevere. That was the first and only time he was in tights. lol

Jill Sorenson said...

I hear you on the Slutty! Costumes. Lots of teen girls wear those to go trick or treating in SoCal. It's so odd, this mixture of children and candy and sex-ed up outfits.

I never dress up anymore. My husband was Osama Bin Laden one year. Hello, inappropriate!

Brooke Reviews said...

These are great costumes :D You guys will look awesome. I hate slutty costumes...blah. Prob b/c I could never pull one off if I wanted HA!

This year we're being Roman Goddess and her Gladiator :P

KT Grant said...

I have no clue what I'm doing for Halloween. :(

Aw but the memories of Halloween past...

Thea said...

Tracy - LOL (see I got it up in time!). I love Bollywood Thriller. It makes me happy. The yellow eyes and fangs! The obsessive head-jerking! I love it *grin*

I can only imagine the horror of trying to find a costume for a teen. I get freaked out when I see my younger sister's facebook pictures, etc... *shudders* And there's just something lacking with costume-in-a-bag clothes. Laundry Man sounds AWESOME :)

Couple costumes are really tough, especially since we've been together for...nearly 7 years now! Eek! Though, Lancelot and Guinevere sounds like it was wonderful. When the bf and I were batman and robin, he was in tights (Adam West style). It was wonderful! :p

Jill - exactly! So many slutty!Miss Muffets, etc. It definitely is jarring. Disturbing. Not that I have anything against getting dressed up in a risque costume, but there's an age limit.

Your hubby did WHAT? Ohmigosh LOL. A few years back, two of my friends went together as the World Trade Center, complete with model airplanes crashed in them. *facepalm*

Brooke - Oooo! Sounds like a fabulous costume! Roman Goddess is a good one. I'll have to remember that ;)

Thea said...

KB - Awww, you should treat yourself and go out. Get a pretty costume and go to a club with some friends :) Dressing up is all part of the fun!

Sarah said...

Halloween is not traditionally celebrated here in NZ. But, in the last couple of years we've started to get kids at the door asking for sweets and we occasionally have *big kid* parties and get into costume. :)

Ingrid said...

Nada, noppes, nothing, rien, ingenting. I can't even say which date it is.
But I have a good excuse being from Holland.

Carolyn Crane said...

Why could I not stop watching your girly man thing? It was so WEIRD and hilarious. Well, I think your costumes sound cool. Isn't half of the fun of halloween having to explain your costumes to people?

I don't think I'm doing much for Halloween, though I once did a really cool headless horseman costume.

Katie Reus said...

I love Halloween and I love your costume! Yay for not being a super slut, lol! I live in FL and it's ridiculous here too. It's like Halloween is an excuse to run around practically naked. I always try to do something a bit more clever than the the costume in a bag (though I am thinking of buying a French maid outfit for other stuff) ;)

Lea said...

Happy Halloween Thea!

It's so much fun. I don't have young kids to dress up anymore but I love seeing them come to the door.

Your Cylon Jackolantern is super cool. lol

You enjoy

L

Unknown said...

Haha I think it would be awesome if you went as one of Cinna's costumes :D

http://themockingjay.vndv.com

Sarai said...

OMG that video was freakin funny LOL

I'm going as a ringleader although I have to say I haven't been able to find one that's not slutty so I made my own with pinstrip pants and a velvet jacket. Yes I will rock it!

Love your idead for costumes I would so get it and give you props!

Joanna Chambers said...

I remember by childhood scottish hallowe'ens with great fondness. We didn't call it trick or treating, we called it 'guising (short for disguising) and it was very amateur. We also made TURNIP lanterns. Much harder to do than pumpkins! Much harder flesh! But same idea - yellowy flesh so it gives out a glowy-fire thing.

This year. Not much. My children aren't bothered yet. When they are, we'll start celebrating it.

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