I remember how exciting it was to see the simple decorations appear - at home and at school. The long walk home from school gave us time to discuss costumes. The possibilities seemed endless: a simple store bought mask, a boxed costume, or an elaborate home made concoction?
I remember my favorite costumes were the ones that were crafted from our imaginations, and my parents creativity.
In the second grade I wanted to be Pocahontas. No, not the Disney character, but the real Pocahontas, the one I had read about in a biography. My mom used old stockings pinned to my head to create two braids. She tore up an old sheet and fashioned an Indian Maiden's dress. I had to wear a turtleneck underneath, and she wouldn't buy me a pair of moccasins, but I still felt like my literary hero.
In first grade I was bound and determined to be a "daisy." It was my favorite flower and although my mom tried to talk me out of it, I was going to be a beautiful flower. In the end, I think it was my parent's best effort at costume creation. My Dad cut a piece of a poster-like board (only slightly stiffer and thicker), into petals and made a hole for my face in the middle. A sturdy piece of elastic kept it on my head.
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| Unfortunately, there are no pictures of my daisy costume, so I used this one to illustrate. |
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| This is not me, but a great homemade Pocahontas costume |
I wore green corduroy pants and a green turtleneck. My mom created two leaves to fit over my hands with poster board and green crepe paper. I won a prize that year for most creative costume at the school Halloween parade. That same year one brother was a mummy and another dressed up in my Mom's clothes: stockings, girdle, high heels, and all.
I think that was the last year my parents created handmade costumes. Soon there were boxed costume hand me downs from the cousins, cheap masks from the 5 and 10, and more kids to keep track of while trick-or-treating Halloween night.
I think the homespun costumes were the best.
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