Festivities vs. Relaxation... and the compromise

I am what some would call a Halloween Enthusiast. Actually, I am an enthusiast for all Holidays in general. I love being festive, decorating extravagantly, and celebrating in elaborate ways. I think a lot of it has to do with the way I was raised - As a family we always went above and beyond the norm because we enjoyed being creative and crazy together. So when Halloween rolls around I really get into the costumes, the food, and the parties. I'm just naturally drawn to the possibilities of splendor :)

Jake, on the other hand, usually prefers to use his holiday as a "day off" to relax. The cuddle-up-on-the-couch-with-a-blanket,-some-cider,-and-left-over-candy scenario. He works his hiney off and deserves this kind of a break! And who am I to decline such a cozy idea anyway? I love a day where he will just kick back and go with the flow... but why oh WHY does it have to be on Halloween? It was quite difficult, but I mustered all the willpower I had and let him off the hook this year.

There were several parties, including a masquerade, a ward party, and some trunk-or-treat events that we simply skipped. Flat out SKIPPED! whew, I almost died :) But Jake was grateful and it was a happy place.

Our plans consisted of watching a semi-creepy movie with some friends while having a few snacks. And I say semi-creepy because I do not handle scary. We contacted the other couple to set a time to meet. But while chatting the plans became a little more adventuresome. I tried folks... I really tried to have a boring (I mean calm and stressless) Halloween. My nature just won't allow it. But we all met a good compromise:

The four of us went to D.I. Each having a $5 allowance. We were to spend it on a costume for our spouse. I know what you're thinking - Whoah nelly, that's dangerous! We thought the same thing so we had to set some ground rules. Such as, we had to stay with the gender of the person wearing the costume. We couldn't dress the boys up as girls and they couldn't dress us up as boys - etc. Once that was straight we split up and searched the racks.

Us girls went off together and initially planned to find ridiculous super hero costumes. You know... tight spandex pants with underwear over top, maybe a cape, maybe a mask. We struck out with finding many of those things within budget and so we branched out to other possiblities. I thought I might create WALLE the robot with funny kitchen utensils and electronics - it got too expensive. She thought about covering her husband in greenery and making him a tree. hahaha. At one point we found amazing bright colored jester hats, but ultimately passed on those as well. This is what we ended up with for the men folk:

Discovering the hats was the source of our Spartan Warrior idea. They were just the perfect balance of masculine and humiliating :) Then the red and white robe with skirt were a set of curtains! Brilliant! Since there were two of everything we couldn't resist making them match.

I am not sure how the boys adventure at D.I. went. We caught glimpses of them at the store in passing, but did not glean much info from their wanderings. Ben had his wife try on a pair of pants toward the end of the hunt and peaked our curiosity. (It was a necessity, since his wife is quite pregnant and hard to fit.) Later we found out that some of their ideas were 1- hollowing out a giant stuffed animal to fit one of us in 2- making me a giant yellow rubber ducky 3-using a big prisoner image printed on fabric 4- and I think there was something about a big bra with grandma nightgown. hmmmm....

Once we purchased our items, the boys informed us that we had to take it all back to the house so they could make some "alterations." They deemed downstairs their headquarters for mischief and we were assigned to remain upstairs. Our costumes did not take much adjusting so we just waited in anticipation at what they were doing. They came up a few times to ask me for safety pins, yarn, and a saw!? Oh dear! We heard whacking! and jingling? for quite some time.
They finally made their grand entrance and here's what we ended up with:



Did you get it? I am a basket-case and Arianna is "Having a Cow" --- bahaha! Jake cut arm holes in a suitcase and made me wear a basket on my head. Arianna had to wear a very noisy bell around her neck and put on pants with a cow attached. We didn't get it at first, but once we understood what they were going for I was QUITE impressed. Very clever and resourceful boys! Well done! Jake confessed to going over by a dollar, but I guess we will forgive him.

So there we were all dressed up and ready for dinner. Yup, we went out to eat at Wingers to show off our serious fashion. My costume presented a slight problem as the suit case did not bend - When I tried to sit down the case would slide up and choke me! The boys skirts kept falling off, and they really hated their hats. Arianna was heard loud and clear whenever she would make the slightest movement. So there we were a bunch of misfits:

Do you think they will let us go to the island of misfits? That might have made the shame and embarrassment worth while - I think the island of misfits would be very whimsical and friendly. Anyway... where was I?

After a scrumptious dinner of Wings, Sticky Fingers, and Steak we made a quick stop at the grocery store for carameled apples and rootbeer. Can you believe they were almost completely sold out of rootbeer? Must be very popular on Hallows Eve. Then we returned to our humble abode to rediscover the mess the boys made downstairs. I had to laugh at the bits of suitcase and string strewn about in a "creative" manner.

We settled in to watch a discovery channel special called "Hauntings" - It was a documentary of some people who had claimed to have paranormal experiences. It was actually quite lame. So then the boys talked us into watching Signs. I had never seen this movie before and will not ever again be watching it. I told you before... I do not do scary! Sheesh! I pretty much hated it and was curled up in a fetal position the whole time. Jake and Ben had a good laugh at my expense and Arianna fell asleep. So, the date night came to an end and they headed home.

And this is the part where there is NO going to sleep for me. I just watched a suspenseful alien movie, and so I did the only thing a girl could do. Stayed up and watched The Swan Princess.


Happy Halloween Everyone :)