Day Three--and Halloween Costumes

Sadly, the Bunny graduates from lower school this year, thus this was the last year for the Halloween Costume Parade. We've been going for eight years now, and it is still just as darling as ever. Although I think they are making kindergarteners tinier this season. Seriously, there is NO WAY my kidlets were ever that short.

Saleslady: Um. Ma'am? You might want to get a bigger size--kindergarteners tend to run small.

This might explain why Bunny went straight into first grade.

Anyway, the parade goes by so quickly, and the costumes are sometimes tough to "get" and the next thing you know, you've missed your child's best friend, who came as "Static Cling." This is a costume that consists of socks and underpants festively affixed about one's person--or so I'm told, because I missed it.

Harry Potter and his pals were seriously underrepresented this year--only one or two kids in Hogwarts robes this year, while in past years it's been a good 30% of the school. Lots of girls in "Pop Diva" costumes--shiny lame, platform shoes, feather boas, goofy hair. Very few of them were able to cop the appropriate attitude--they tended toward being giggly and a bit embarassed about it all.

"Goth" is not a look I would have expected to appeal to 5th grade and under, but there were a few. Back in the olden days, they would just have been vampires. New Math: vampire + punk clothing + black fingernail polish = Goth.

The boys are typical--just as boys don't care much about what they wear, they also don't care about costumes so much. Lots of faceless wraiths, devils, whatever was available in the Party America store. Not a lot of effort to be original...although one boy was a "Cat Burgler," wearing black clothes and stuffed cats all over. This is the same boy who was a "Cereal Killer" in 3rd grade, with cereal boxes and bowls and spoons attached to a sweat suit.

Teachers dress up each year, which requires a certain je ne sais quoi--treading the line of being clever and appropriate without sacrificing one's authority. One teacher, whose name is "Bob" has played on that over the years. By wearing a tool belt and hard hat, he was magically "Bob the Builder." (And yes, he can!) A few cleaning supplies made him "SpongeBob." This year he got decked out in St. Louis Cardinal gear and was the Assistant Coach. Is there really a Cards coach named Bob? (Yes, there is! #45 Bob Gibson, Special Instructor!)

Bunny's 4th grade teacher was Charlie Brown--with the holey sheet over his head and a bag of rocks. One teacher wore a black dress with white lines and Matchbox Cars all over. There were clowns, a gardener, an angel, and the new principal looked like she'd walked straight out of Williamsburg or Mount Vernon.

Several years ago the former principal and the vice principal were Charlie Brown and Lucy--complete with the football. What a great working relationship that promised!

I'm still holding my idea in reserve for the next adult party I'm invited to. I'm going to Ragstock and getting a white lab coat and a long skirt, and I'm going to line the coat with glow sticks and be Madame Curie.

Oooooooo! Spoooooooky!