I probably asked Claire about 50 times what she wanted to be for Halloween this year, and everytime she answered "Cinderella!" And, everytime I sighed. I really didn't want her to be Cinderella, not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just that she is Cinderella every other day of the year because her dress up box is full of princess stuff. Late in September I received a parenting magazine in the mail and we were looking through it counting the babies we saw. One of the feature articles was on Halloween costumes for kids. There were witches, cats, dragons, lions, bears, etc., and a magician and his bunny. I tried to talk Claire into being any one of the characters in the article instead of Cinderella, but she still insisted on being a princess. As I read on, Claire became a little more interested in the costumes and surprisingly enough, a little more interested in the magician. After a little more explanation about the magician, she proudly declared she wanted to be "that hat and cape thing." I didn't need any more convincing. I was so happy that she picked something other than Cinderella. Now, with Claire being a magician, Charlie could be her magical bunny rabbit!
I got to work right away and found an old black skirt in my sewing stash and started cutting it up to make the cape. Claire picked out the red fabric for the inside and the ribbon for the bow tie. I sewed the whole cape and then realized it wasn't right so I had to start over. It was a mess, but I think it turned out fine. I made the top hat out of black posterboard... not the best, but she didn't care, she loved it. I painted a wooden dowel black and white for her wand, found her tights at our local grocery store and already had the black dress. I taught her some "magician lingo" in which she has now perfected and is turning everyone into frogs and such. My mom sent a Halloween package shortly after with a beanie for Charlie that had a rabbit's face and ears sewn on. Perfect! I figured he would stay warm and comfortable without having to wear some ridiculous rabbit outfit as a 2-month old.
It poured rain here on Halloween night, so we didn't go trick-or-treating. But earlier in the day I took the kids to our little downtown where all the businesses were passing out candy. It was perfect for Claire, easy and quick. All in all it was a great holiday weekend, especially because Claire really loved her costume.
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