Hopefully by my next post I’ll have Exciting Book News to share, but today I have a seasonal question for you:
Are you ready for Halloween?
For practically the first time since Miss Fraser was born in 2004, I can answer that question with a yes, and before October 30, too. After some discussion, Miss Fraser has elected to go as the goddess Athena this year, so we found a generic Greek goddess costume, which we’re accessorizing with a helmet, a toy spear, and a stuffed owl. And just in case she backs out of being Athena at the last minute because she has to wear a dress, I ordered a mockingjay pin, which, along with her bow and arrow set and carefully chosen clothes from her everyday wardrobe, would make a credible Katniss Everdeen costume.
Her first choice was actually Avatar Korra from The Legend of Korra, but I couldn’t figure out how to bring the costume together given my utter lack of crafting or sewing skills. I have to say, I’m proud of having raised a daughter who’s so fond of strong women in myth and literature that her heroines are Korra, Athena, and Katniss.
I even have a costume of my own planned for the first time in over a decade! I’m part of a fantasy football league at work, and we’ve decided to all dress up as our teams. My team is the War Tigers, a riff on my favorite college football team, the Auburn Tigers, whose battle cry is, “War Eagle.” If you watch an Auburn game, you’ll see both an adorable mascot in a tiger suit and an actual eagle who swoops around the stadium before the game and then perches on his handler’s arm on the sidelines looking menacing during the game.
So I’m going to wear my Auburn shirt and baseball cap, and carry a stuffed tiger perched on my wrist like that eagle. Granted, maybe two of my Seattle coworkers watch enough college football to get the reference, but still.
One of these years I’m going to invest in a Regency dress–or maybe a redcoat officer’s uniform, so I can go in Napoleonic-era drag–and make that my costume.
What about you? Are you dressing up for Halloween this year, or do you have a kid to costume? If you dressed as a Regency and/or literary figure, who would you choose and why?
I like the Redcoat idea. A red wool tailcoat will hide the many female bumps and bulges I’ve grown over the years.
If I ever get my redcoat uniform, I know I’ll never look like anything but a woman in male drag–I’m way too big through the chest to really pull off the I-dressed-as-a-man-to-join-the-army-and-totally-fooled-everyone-but-the-hero look.
Oh no! An Auburn fan?? Sacrilege! 🙂 I am an Alabama fan. Have to be. My cousin Leroy Jordan played for Bear Bryant MANY years ago and went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys for a number of years as well. My nephew is a senior at ‘Bama this year and my mother is a RABID ‘Bama fan.
However, I am rather fond of Auburn’s Golden Eagle mascot as I was handler for the Golden Eagle at the University of Southern Mississippi for a couple of years. Awesome birds.
I’ll be working the evening shift at Walmart on Halloween this year. I think I want to be costumed as someone who survives the Halloween apocalypse with a minimum amount of wear and tear on my nerves!!
Golden eagles are magnificent birds, beyond question.
My oldest brother went to Auburn, so that’s where our family loyalties lie. (I went to Penn, which is not to be confused with Penn State and is not at all a football school, though we had some fun old traditions and school songs around our games.) I do have an aunt and uncle who are HUGE Bama fans, and their son was a trainer for the football team there when he was in college in the 80’s. Whenever there was an injured player, we’d be glued to the TV trying to spot Chad. 🙂
So cool about your daughter’s costume! My daughters went as Athena and Demeter one year. Percy Jackson influence.
This year we’re still getting our acts together. The girls are going to help our church Youth Group put together a Haunted House so that’s taking priority over figuring out what they’ll wear on the actual night.