Halloween 2017 recap
When my toddlers choose costumes that I either can’t buy (hello, amazon...failing me, here) or they don’t come “infant” sized (im talking about you, moana) then what happens is that I'm stuck improvising with a glue gun, grommet trimmings, buckles, kitchen towels, felt, and crochet ribbon... But seriously, with these "costumes" it was hard NOT to indulge because a) it was pretty left-field for a 3 year old to be michael jackson from specifically the "bad" video and then b) Moana - which I THOUGHT would be an easy find turns out - nope - disney had some drama with the whole moana costumes and decided to spend their marketing dollars on Elena of Avalor (really? whyy) so I was stuck making both.
Michael Jackson and Moana...making the weekend Halloween rounds
the end result looks pretty photo-ready! what you don't see is nyla's wardrobe malfunction that kicks in immediately after we left the front door lol. but I got the photo!
Yes, her "skirt" is two beige .99 felt squares I sewed together and glue gunned lace topped crochet ribbon trim I got at Michael's. her top and sash is a $5 kitchen towel I found in the housewares dept of Century 21. The orange geometric print was a no-brainer and that rooster on the end? I just said it was Hei-Hei. SOLD! Oh, and that necklace? yup made that too. jewelry department had a 50% off sale on beads and pendants. add some fishing wire and some clasps and wala, necklace of Te Fiti. someone pass that mom crafter of the week trophy over to me.
Brookfield Halloween Bash
Honestly thought this was such a letdown compared to the previous two years. Yes, last two years was bit of chaos but I did love that the stores opened up for trick or treating. This year the stores bowed out (which made it felt a little snobbish - really Gucci/Tori Burch/Bottega/Saks/etc?? can't give out candy to the kids?)
there was some long line with an activity center in the Winter Garden and then they tried to split things up throughout the mall but brookfield is no typical mall..so things not in the main center just seemed like afterthoughts. Also if you have anyone under the age of 5 with the shortest attention spans known to man then you can pretty much nix any "attraction" with a line (ex: photo booth, costume runway catwalk) All my girls did was run around and find the folks in the green shirts who were giving out candy.
Westfield Trick or Treating with Unicef
Westfield however saved the day when they partnered up with Unicef. this surprisingly hidden secret of an event was so laid back and had NO LINES and consisted of pumpkin decorating, face painting, pumpkin bowling, photo booth, and a selection of stores participating in trick or treating.
See Moana having a janet jackson moment? lol.. thank goodness i put her in a swimsuit top!
Harvard Club Halloween Family Brunch
This was a last minute decision but it was a nice way to get into the spirit of halloween—the history of the club's architecture and decor along with the thunderstorms outside just added a nice touch. The halloween buffet was beautiful and plentiful and was almost a prelude to a thanksgiving spread. It's club policy to not use your cell phones but we snuck a few in (plus i just think you get a pass when it comes to kids events..). There was a magician and a professional photographer taking portraits but we haven't gotten the photos yet! It didn't feel crazy and maybe something we'll do again next year.
Oh by the way, here's Winter's costume inspiration. She's obsessed with the "kids video" of bad and I admit, so am I. It's hilarious yet so good.
Winter's costume consisted of a black tshirt and black leggings, Red pleather ribbon, leather grommet ribbon, and .99 buckles from the bargain bin in the trimmings store. Throw in a hot glue gun (and burnt fingers), knee high socks with cut holes in the foot and additional buckles and we have a good semblance of an MJ outfit. She already had a leather jacket so i safety pinned the grommet ribbon to it to accessorize it even more. her hair is tied back with the front gelled down as much as i can get it "down". And finally, we finished off her look with sparkly pleather black sneakers. Who's bad?!
We capped off the halloween festivities with actual trick or treating in our building. Much different from my usual house to house rounds in the suburbs when I grew up but at some point we will trek out to a brownstone area of the village or neighboring brooklyn when I know they'll have the energy and adrenalin to do it up.
