Halloween Highlights: Creepy & Creative

Halloween is quickly becoming my favorite holiday. All the decorating, crafts, food and fun of Christmas crammed into a shorter period of time and without having to log all that extra church time. PLUS COSTUMES!

We had multiple events, all of which were an opportunity to put on my Designer Daddy hat (or horn, as it were) and we had a blast! Here are a few Halloween highlights…

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The first event was the Saturday before Halloween – a fundraiser/fair at JJ’s preschool, the “TODDLER BOOOOGIE!” For this occasion, JJ went as Batman. Yes, there were multiple costumes. You were expecting different from a super-hero obsessed toddler with two gay dads?
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On Halloween day, JJ’s class had a party, and I volunteered to bring some snacks. I retreated to my laboratory and mixed up a new concoction… SPOOKY S’MORES! Mwaaa-ha-ha-haaaa!

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There’s not much of a recipe, though I had a few people ask. Graham crackers, topped with either peanut butter or Nutella, then add marshmallows, candy corn, M&M’s (regular sized and minis) and Hershey bar pieces to create the faces. I cut the big marshmallows in half to make the eyes, and originally used peanut butter to stick the “pupils” on. But if you turn the marshmallows sticky side up, the M&Ms stick on their own!

My least favorite was my attempt at a mummy (bottom middle). Cutting marshmallows into thin strips is not an easy task…

At the party, a mom of one of the other kids saw these and said something like, “Wow, overachieving parent!” I thanked her and took pride that my first foray into classroom snacks had been successful… at inciting jealousy in another parent! Mwaaa-ha-ha-haaaa!

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After the party it was home to get geared up for trick-or-treating! While we dressed as a family JJ’s first two Halloweens, we weren’t able to make it happen last year. So the pressure was on this year to do something AMAZING.

JJ’s original choice was Spider-Man, so I already had planned out in my head mine and Papa’s costumes. But when we went to Target to get JJ’s outfit, they were sold out. So we compromised by him throwing a fit and begging for Batman until I couldn’t take it any longer and caved.

Evil genius that I am, I convinced JJ to wear Batman to the BOOOGIE, then found a good Spidey costume online for H-Day, and we were set. I was NOT looking forward to being the world’s fattest Joker.

My Rhino get up is made up of gray sweats, motorcycle boots, some borrowed leather goods, industrial knee pads, and the horn from a Viking helmet.
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Doctor Octopus is sporting some Steampunk goggles from the costume store and his arms made from aluminum duct pipe, duct taped to death to a pair of suspenders and reinforced by a couple of paint stirrers. And one very cut-up sweatshirt.
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For a larger gallery of photos (i.e. lots more pics of JJ) check out (and Like!) the Designer Daddy Facebook page!