What was your favorite childhood Halloween costume?

I have been celebrating Halloween in one fashion or another for, well, too many years to share. Looking back to my childhood, Halloween is hazy. It makes sense as so much time has passed. The only thing I am certain of is that the weather was always cold, wet, and blustery. It was never a pleasant night to be out. I have vague memories of a huge box of candy outside of a home with a simple sign : Take what you think is fair. No one was ever home, and rarely did I see a child take more than 1 or 2 pieces of candy. I certainly wouldn’t have. I carried a pillow case with me instead of the designated holiday bucket for collecting candy. But other than these kinds of things, I don’t remember much about Halloween. I don’t know any costume that I dressed up in, with the exception of when I was three. I have pictures, several of them, depicting me dressed in a T-shirt which read Little Devil and matching shorts. (I lived in Hawaii at the time.)Accompanying this outfit was a child-sized mask of a charming little devil’s face.

The first Halloween costume I remember putting on was about 7 years ago. A friend of mine’s birthday is in early November and he always has a costume party the weekend between Halloween and his birthday. I went as a ballerina and my husband went as Bob the Builder. I have also attended his party as a high school graduate and a momma-to-be. The year following that, I became a real momma and started skipping his party in favor of handing out candy with my little guy, eventually expanding to that traditional Halloween walk through the neighborhood’s, escorting my son and daughter in their homemade costumes to the doors of stranger’s home and prompting them to yell, “Trick-or-treat” and then “thank you”.

This year, I am planning on dressing up. The whole family will be dressing up as the Star Wars Skywalker Clan, assuming things had happened differently. And although little Eva- Leia, Master Xander-Luke, and Daddy Anakin are set to go, I am on my third attempt at making my costume. Regardless of how much blood is spilled, how many tears are poured out, or how many hours I work, it will be my favorite costume.