October 22 - Pet Peeve Monday - Pre-Packaged Halloween Costumes

This week’s PET PEEVE MONDAY is PRE-PACKAGED HALLOWEEN COSTUMES.

This is where one of those “Well, when I was a kid we …” kind of stories is accurate and appropriate.

When I was a kid we made our own costumes. We scoured the house, the shed, and yes, the roadside to find the materials to make our unique outfits. We were ghosts with old bed sheets. We became mummies wrapped in toilet paper. We were the Michelin man with old, discarded tires.

If you had enough aluminum foil, you were the tin man from Wizard of Oz. There was a neighbor boy that liked to dress as a girl. It turns out it was an eerie indicator of things to come, but that is another story.

One Halloween I went as a bum. My late Uncle Jake gave me the inspiration. He also provided the wine cork that we heated. It was used to blacken my face for a five–o’clock shadow.

Nowadays everyone has store bought outfits. There are pre-packaged superheroes, witches, and princesses. And they are all priced mysteriously at $29.99. The profit margins are obscene because these stores only generate traffic a few weeks a year.

Also as a youth attending Catholic School, we dressed up as our favorite Saint on November 1st. It’s known as “All Saint’s Day.” Try finding a John the Baptist costume at one of these stores. The only Biblical figures represented today would be Sodom and Gomorrah or Mary Magdalene, the early years.

Even as an adult, two of my favorite Halloweens were when we made costumes.

In 1985, we were the America’s Cup. Our boat had a crew of six, compete with Aft and Bow coolers.

In 1986, we ventured into marketing and became of a six-pack of Lowenbrau.

Both costumes won local awards, including cash, accolades, a used car, and possibly some other gratification.

I could give more examples of Halloweens’ past, but I need to get to the store before the Venom Spiderman and Princess Sophia costumes are all gone.