I’ve been busy for the last few days making a costume. I don’t know how I get trapped in these things. Two years ago we went to a small local amusement park on the Sunday before Halloween. The park had advertised a half off day for anyone in costume. They even let the children trick or treat in the gift shops and we got to ride all the rides we wanted. The park had a costume parade and invited all the children to participate. My oldest, dressed as a zombie, won $25 for the scariest costume. The next year we went back and to our surprise one of the twins, dressed as a werewolf, won $35 for best costume. So this year, the pressure was on.
The twin that had not won anything was so very much counting on winning something this year. He picked out what looked like a fairly complicated costume. I searched online and saw a few pictures of people who had made the costume and even won prizes with it. No one mentioned it being hard to make. So I said sure. The costume is of a gorilla carrying a cage with a child in it. Or at least that’s how it appears. In reality, the gorilla is just an empty costume stuffed with newspaper. Except for the legs. The real child’s legs are the gorilla’s legs. The cage has a hole in it, so the child fits in from waist up. Also inside the cage are stuffed pants and shoes so it looks like the child is sitting in the cage. It’s a great illusion.
We got lots of laughs today. But it wasn’t an easy costume to make. It took about $15 worth of pvc pipe and a couple of hours for my husband and I to build it. We were lucky to come across a clearance priced gorilla costume or it really would have been too expensive. Stuffing the gorilla, sewing the hands and head onto the costume and wiring the gorilla onto the cage took most of yesterday. It’s also not a lightweight costume. Even with hidden straps under his shirt, my son would not be able to hold up the cage for a long time period.
The good news is that he won best costume today! The best news is that since they’ve all won now I can retire from the best costume business!
Also See:
Halloween Costumes for Pregnant Moms
Costumes and Clothes – Extending the Life of a Child’s Wardrobe
Out of the Box Halloween Costumes