I was needing a project to give me something to live for after learning we'd be distance learning until at least January, so Halloween costumes were a welcome distraction! As soon as I offered to make Lincoln a garbage man costume, he was dead set on it. I had a lot of fun bringing it to life, and Lincoln was satisfied with the finished product, so smiles all around!
The smiles didn't end with Lincoln and me. I finished his costume in time for garbage day. The garbage man got such a kick out of his costume that he stopped his truck so he could take pictures of his biggest fan. He even let Lincoln and Carson honk the horn! It was a great way to kick off Halloween week!
Carson created this spooky picture of his name in art class. His creativity and artistic ability always tickle me.
Halloween on a Saturday is how it should always be done! We spent the afternoon carving pumpkins while listening to spooky music to help get us in the spirit of the holiday.
During a Come, Follow Me lesson clear back in April, we were talking about some of our fears, worries, and concerns. One by one the boys talked about things that made them feel nervous. Eli went last and explained he's not afraid of much, but he was worried Halloween would be canceled with Coronavirus. We assured him that wouldn't be the case, and even if they couldn't go trick-or-treating, we would make sure to have a big Halloween party with lots of candy to make up for it.
Well, people got talking on our neighborhood Facebook page over the last couple of weeks and many people said they were still up for trick-or-treating, so those who were comfortable with it put their porch light on and sent the kids door to door. Eli was one happy boy (among four)!
Eli hit the town dressed as a zombie.
Lincoln went out candy "collecting." It should be noted that little garbage can functioned as a candy collector. You could put candy in the can, and then Lincoln could lift the can so that it dumped into a hole at the top of the truck that would put it into his candy bag. He also had functioning headlights and red taillights. He looked so cute and he was literally the talk of the town.
Jeff passed out candy from our driveway and he kept hearing people passing by talking about "the little boy in the garbage truck." We would pass people as we were out that said, "Oh! There's the garbage man! We heard about him!" And we had two people stop us to take his picture. Lincoln hit celebrity status. As if that wasn't enough, this morning someone on the Facebook page said his costume was their favorite of the night. Ha! I knew it was cute, but I didn't think we'd be winning any unofficial neighborhood costume contests over it! Since words of affirmation are my love language, all this verbal attention had my garbage truck love tank topped off.
Also looking adorable in another homemade creation was Jonah. Who I kept calling Lincoln all night because he was dressed as Link from Zelda. They were a walking Stroop Test.
Eli recently beat the game Zelda. In the process, we gained a Zelda mega-fan. Jonah knows all of Link's moves, all the sounds he makes, and he can't eat a skewer of meat without pounding on his belly afterward.
He was often mistaken for Peter Pan, an elf, Robin Hood, and my favorite, a Leprechaun, but he made sure to straighten everyone out and tell them he was LINK from Zelda Breath of the Wild...Hiyah!
Carson made my life super easy. He wanted a costume we already had in our costume tote and simply requested a shield to go along with it. He did specify he didn't want his shield homemade, so that hurt a little bit. *sniffle* Does this mean he's growing up? *sniffle*
Jonah and Jeff carved that ghost pumpkin together. I also loved how Jonah started hooking his sword to his belt. He was in full character!
Then it was time to head out! We started with masks, but quickly saw we were the only ones donning them so we ditched those and ended up having an evening completely Covid carefree. No, a lot of the houses set up tables on the end of their driveway with candy bags socially distanced and easy to grab. Others used tongs to hand out their candy. And one person had a candy chute to launch at the kids. It was fun to see how people got creative to make sure the holiday wasn't another casualty of Covid.
In fact, it almost felt like there were more people handing candy out than usual this year! And the houses that were handing out were giving big bags stuffed with candy to each kid, so the boys scored big time! Eli and Carson dubbed it their best Halloween yet!
I always forget how much I love Halloween until the day hits. It's a kid's dream come true! I'm so glad we were able to celebrate it almost like normal this year.
