When Halloween rolled around this year, I was so busy and worn out that I had no idea what I was going to do about costumes. I don't love Halloween, but it is always a big deal for my kids. They love doing family themes and having cool costumes, so I have tried to make it a priority. In the weeks leading up to Halloween, the boys couldn't really decide what they wanted to be and kept changing their minds. With only four days left until our Ward Halloween Party (which I was in charge of!), I was almost ready to just let them wear last year's costumes and be done. Then the boys thought of the idea of doing Phineas and Ferb. My kids love that show and have seen every episode on Netflix. It is kind of an intelligent cartoon where the main characters build out-of-this-world inventions. Christian and Andrew remind me a bit of Phineas and Ferb, so I thought it fit our family.
I liked the idea, but it was super tricky because the identifying characteristics of the characters are their strange head shapes. I was worried that without the triangle-shaped head etc., nobody would know what the costumes were. Then I came up with the idea of doing "masks." Since I only had four days to put it all together, I immediately went to work. I am not a great artist, so I was worried about trying to draw and paint the faces. I feel like it was a tender mercy that I was able to quickly free-hand and then paint all of the masks, and they looked almost perfect. My kids were super impressed, and I kept telling them that it was a mini miracle because I just didn't have any time to spare. When we went to D.I. to find the costumes, we found great things that would work perfectly. Again... blessed.
The hardest thing to figure out was Hyrum's Perry the Platypus costume. I finally just went to the store and bought some fleece and decided to attempt sewing my own. Last year, my sister-in-law, Kym taught me how to make my own pattern out of clothes that the boys already had. I used this technique (and a helpful Youtube video), and had Perry sewn in less than 2 hours. I am shocked that it turned out, and Hyrum was absolutely thrilled with it! I don't know that I have ever been more proud of a sewing accomplishment. He was so cute with his little tail, feet, and beak.
Here is an actual picture of the characters, along with our interpretations:
Sarah: Linda (the mom), Christian: Ferb, Andrew: Phineas, Hyrum: Perry,
Jonathon: Dr. Doofenshmirtz
In the end, the costumes got finished in time, and everyone was happy. Christian and Andrew felt very special because no one else had their same costumes, and they were quite popular with their classmates and friends. Their excitement made me feel that it was all worth it, even though it was a huge stress.
The kids got to wear them several times and had a fun time trick or treating. As usual, we confiscated all of the candy with peanuts, and then we let them choose 10 pieces of candy to keep. I am such a mean mom, but I have learned that none of us has the self-control to eat candy sparingly, and we just don't need the temptation in our house. Halloween is also a particularly scary time with an allergic kid, so I was happy that we got through it without any mishaps. After all the stress was passed, I realized that my kids won't be dressing up and trick or treating for very many more years, so these memories are precious for me and for them. I'm grateful for the opportunity to help my kids feel loved and excited. I am also grateful that it is over, and I don't have to worry about it again for another year :)
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