I am blown away by how popular Halloween costumes have become. They thankfully now make them in Plus Size
so all sizes, shapes and ages can become someone else if just for a few hours.

Its also surprising to me that people plan their Halloween costumes months in advance. Friends of mine are set by August. They've shopped online, they've discussed costumes and start assembling and buying so they can get down to the party plans. They practice and fine tune their makeup. They attend weekend parties, so they get a lot of use out of their costumes.

Who do you want to be this Halloween?

My all time favorite Halloween costume for a group:
Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. Snow White wore the traditional costume, the 7 dwarfs wore tights, shorts, green tees and elf shoes and hats. They carried picks and shovels. They stayed in a line formation all night long, with their right arm on the shoulder of the person in front of them. They sang "Hi,Ho, Hi Ho" all night long. Not only was it the hit of the party, it was unforgettable and made the newspaper.

And lets not forget that people are now dressing up their pets. I'm going to admit that I've dressed up my dogs. My bichon was an angel/princess and my schnauzer was a biker. They weren't real happy with the headgear, but my bichon loved her little dress and didn't want to take it off. She'd wear it everyday!Dog Costumes at Costume Craze

Coupon Code: FRANKEN5 -- Get 5% off orders $65 or more this Halloween only at BuyCostumes.com.

The top costumes for adult men this year are:

Jack Sparrow (oh, yeah!)
Superman
Robin, Superboy
Pirate
Fred Flinstone
Freddy Kruger & Jason
Frankenstein
Elvis
Spartacus
Roman hunks
Harry Potter
Batman
Elvis Presley
Pirates of the Caribbean

Star Wars Costumes

Shrek

The Top Adult Women's Costumes for this year are:

Elvira
Princess Fiona
Wicked Witch
Good Witch
Angel
Princess
Hairspray Girls
Marilyn Monroe
Pirate wench
Girl Pirate
Wilma Flintstone
Betty Rubble
Gretel, also can be used to be the beer girl
Go Go Girl
Flapper
Sexy Costumes
renaissance woman
Playboy bunny

This is a really fun costume and easy to make.
You will need:
The Wig!
White pancake makeup
Eyebrow pencil
An old white sheet or a really tacky old wedding dress, search Ebay or the internet for an A-line dress from the 60's.
A dead bouquet of flowers
Frankenstein as your escort.

Sources for the wig:

Club Transylvania Bride Wig Adult


Monster Bride Costume Wig - Adult Costume Wigs


WIG MONSTER BRIDE

The best makeup for your costume.

Universal Studios Monsters Dlx Makeup Kit

Makeup tips:

Use a basic white makeup base.
Eyebrows raise up like wings. Cover your eyebrows with white makeup base and draw your eyebrows on using an upward stroke.
Very very red lipstick.
Draw on scars under the neck using a straight line and adding cross strokes to simulate stitches.

The costume
You can make the costume out of a basic white sheet by draping it around your body. If you have basic sewing skills, you can easily turn the sheet into caftan. The arms are strips of torn sheets wrapped around the arms or duct tape. (Ouch!)
Or search Ebay for a vintage wedding dress. The tackier, the better.

Your Bouquet
Buy a bouquet of flowers and wrap them with black ribbon. Do not put them in water. Hang them upside down and allow them time to air dry, at least a week. Spray them with hairspray or dry flower fixative to keep them from crumbling. Mrs. Frankie would NEVER have live flowers. ;)

# 10 I get to wear my "Just give me the d*#@! candy" Tee shirt

#9 Decorating the house inside and out.

#8 My singing and dancing skeleton.

#7 My singing and head dropping vampire who sings "I think I'm going out of my head".

#6 My creepy singing motion activating hanging bat that makes haunted house sounds.

#5 Halloween parties! Bonfires, hot cider, carmel apples, yum.

#4 Planning my costume and wearing it to work. I'm the boss, I can do what I want. ;)

#3 Dressing up and face painting the kids for trick or treat....and sometimes even the dog.

#2 Handing out treats dressed in costume and playing haunted house sounds in the background.

#1 CANDY! Its all about the candy.

A smoking cauldron of punch made with grapes and orange peel masquerading as eyeballs and worms.

Eerie Witch's Brew

4 cups cranberry juice cocktail, divided use
1 cup chopped candied ginger
3 medium oranges
1 (12-ounce) container frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 (6-ounce) container frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
2 cups seedless grapes
4 cups water
2 (32-ounce) bottles ginger ale
1 to 2 pounds dry ice (CAUTION: never touch dry ice; use tongs to handle)

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, bring 1 cup of cranberry juice and candied ginger to a boil over high heat. Boil, uncovered, about 2 minutes, set aside.
2. With a vegetable peeler, pare peel (colored part only) from oranges; cut peel into thin 2-inch-long worms; or use an Oriental shredder to make long shreds.
3. Add orange peel to cranberry/ginger mixture. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.
4. Juice oranges; put juice in a 6 to 8 quart pan or heavy bowl. Stir in cranberry/ginger mixture, the remaining 3 cups cranberry juice, apple concentrate, limeade, grapes and water. If made ahead, cover and chill up to 2 hours.
5. Add ginger ale and about a 1 pound piece of dry ice (DO NOT put small pieces of dry ice in punch or cups); ice should smolder at least 30 minutes. Ladle into cups. Add any remaining ice when bubbling ceases.

Makes 5 quarts; allow about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

Miserable Halloween

My first memory of Halloween was when I was 5 years old. I feeling awful and really didn't want to go trick or treating. Mom made my sister and me matching gypsy costumes and I couldn't wait to wear mine. Mom was home handing out candy, we were sent out with the neighbor. I kept feeling worse and ended up getting sick all over the sidewalk. Standing there crying the neighbor lady said "Keep going, you'll thank me for this when you feel better."

My next memory is having to dress up as my patron saint at Halloween. I went to a Catholic school, my patron saint was a Dominican nun. I couldn't get anything as cool as Joan of Arc. My mother made me a costume and I looked like a mini penguin. Of course, everyone loved it but me. I hated it. Mom made me go trick or treating wearing that costume. I was mortified. Ironically, my little sister loved it and begged to wear it the next year.

Fun Times!

We woke up to find that the town square had an Amish buggy on the roof along with a flat bed trailer filled with hay. They had stuffed scarecrows scattered about and a live horse tied to a post. Adults did it and never did tell how they got the buggy and trailer on the second story roof without being seen.

It was a tradition when I was in high school to go out "toilet papering" and finish off the evening on a walk through a haunted cemetery. Of course, it wasn't haunted, but it was creepy with overgrown bushes and in a very remote isolated area. The group of us silently crept through the cemetery with flashlights, our hearts were beating so loudly. We stepped carefully so we wouldn't trip or fall or disturb the tombstones. The moon was full, dogs were barking in the distance and all of a sudden a bat flew over us. It was a Halloween nightmare! At the same time, a creature ran out of the bushes. We all freaked out and ran towards the car, scared out of our minds. The worst ones? The football players! They screamed like girls!

Another tradition was the bonfire. We had a pond near us and the owners would set up a bonfire in the island. We'd all gather on the island via a rickety bridge, toast marshmallows, drink hot chocolate and roast hot dogs. We told ghost stories and stayed out until sunrise.

Halloween Is Coming, Are You Ready?
By Polina Alley

Halloween bats :

They are everywhere this time of year. Halloween bats are seen on windows, doors, and sometimes hanging from porches. But here are a few facts about Halloween bats that you may not have known.

* Bats are the only mammals that can fly.

* There are over a thousand different types of bats.

Halloween cats :

Halloween is a time to be someone else. To have fun watching the kids go trick or treating, or to dance at costume parties what may not be known is that Halloween cats have more to do with this holiday than cursing you while it crosses your path.

These days Halloween cats are everywhere. There are plenty of Halloween cat graphics to put up as wallpaper on your computer, to stick on the glass of your windows, Halloween cat costumes and Halloween cat costumes for your cat.

Halloween Treats :

The Halloween season has many ways to celebrate. Often one that seems to fly lower than the plastic bats out on the front porch is the Halloween treats. All sorts of goodies can be found on the internet. This season have your family help make some gory and ghoulish Halloween treats.

Ever heard of kitty litter cake? Here the ingredients. This is a favorite Halloween treat for the kids, once they realize it is actually cake.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 German Chocolate Cake Mix

* 1 White Cake Mix

* 1 package White Sandwich Cookies

* 1 Large package Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

* Green food coloring

* 12 Small Tootsie Rolls

* 1 *NEW* kitty litter box

* 1 *NEW* kitty litter box plastic liner

* 1 *NEW* pooper scooper

Polina Alley (http://www.besthalloween-costumes.com )raise 4 kids and has written several ebooks on Halloween. Those ebooks are free and You can get them on her Halloween Costumes Site : http://www.besthalloween-costumes.com

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