Halloween Heaven

A day for creatives to indulge their passion.

I love dressing up, and when my sons were young, I loved making their Halloween costumes. This year, I got to make my 10-month-old grandson Miles his first costume—a Jack-o-lantern, per “his” request.

I prefer making my own patterns from scratch, problem-solving as I go, rather than following someone else’s step-by-step design. It involves ripping out seams and recutting pieces, but that's all part of the challenge, all part of the fun.

Here’s the final result. The teeth and smile match Miles’.

Here’s a close-up of the hat.

It melted my heart to be able to add this tag. ❤️

(If I were a real writer, I’d have used “sewn” instead of “sewed.” What do you think?)

Walking down memory lane…

At ten weeks old, Matthew ruled the roost, so for his first Halloween, I made him a king. I was still nursing, so I dressed as a cow.

Some of my faves of my kids:

Below was Halloween 1997, a Friday. Six days prior, Matthew was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Three days later, he had surgery.

Matthew came up with the idea of being an IRS agent. The sign hidden behind his trench coat says: “IRS. You owe me candy.”

In my memoir, I write:

That night, Matthew trick-or-treated with the neighbor-

hood kids. Surrounded by the usual ghosts and monsters and

punk rock cheerleaders, Matthew was his own person, his own

creation—an IRS agent. He wore his school uniform, Mike’s

trench coat, and a borrowed fedora. Like a character in a movie,

Matthew knocked on doors and flapped open his coat to reveal

his badge that said “IRS. You owe me candy.” Then he flashed

his smile and people paid him his due. That hallowed eve, my

heart burst with a sweet realization: the growth that had nearly

destroyed Matthew had not erased his essence.

Dressing up isn’t just for kids! Here are some of our best ideas.

The bottom right costumes were our take on the directive for a Halloween party: “Come as your scariest self.”

What could more scary than us, old?

Thanks for reading. Happy Halloween!

Guess who?