Back in Vermont, we would typically get about 100 or so kids during prime trick-or-treating time. Our first Halloween there, we ran out of candy very early and I had to make an emergency supply run, getting caught in the town Halloween parade on my way back home. The next year, we stocked up on extra sweets and made it through…barely.

Now that we live on a cozy Maine cul-de-sac, we figured on a slew of candy grabbers for Hazel’s first Halloween. We decorated, dusted off Megan’s gorilla suit (sized for a fifth grader but fitting so nicely), and readied ourselves for a costumed onslaught. We ended up getting one group of four teenagers in quasi-costumes whose attitudes ranged from politely snarky to downright surly. The example of the latter is a boy - about two weeks away from needing to shave daily - wearing a Superman t-shirt and jeans. Megan the Gorilla asks, “And what are you dressed up as?” to which he responds, “I don’t know.” I would have almost preferred a sarcastic gibe rather than an apathetic shrugging off.

But we still had fun. Hazel’s friend Scout came over to hang dressed up as Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web - complete with extra legs tied to her arms, additional eyes on her head, and an abdomen featuring lifelike spinnerets. Very crafty.

 

 

 

Hazel’s costume was inspired by our shower buddy: Cap’n Pirate Ducky. It clicked in Megan’s head one morning that Hazel already had a duck outfit and a pirate hat. It was almost too perfect. Score one for cheapskate Macgyver Mommies and Daddies everywhere! 

So as you can plainly see below, Hazel got all hopped up on candy and crashed hard afterward. She was still reeling from a nougat and caramel hangover this morning, but Gorilla and Cap’n Ducky commiserated.