A costume party

Happy Monday, Friends!

Our family had some fun recently at a costume party.

These are just phone photos.  I did take my big camera, but it was dark and the flash just washed out everything.  

For me, a successful costume is when you meet someone at the party and they know exactly what or who you are supposed to be without having to explain yourself.  Apparently, I am costume challenged, because it was hard to come up with good ideas. 

I didn't want to have to wear a wig or spend a lot of money.  You should check here for the BEST Napoleon Dynamite costumes! 

Anyway,

The kids brainstormed about what they'd like to go as.  

Ellie is so smitten with her chickens that she decided to go as farm girl. 

(Perfect - she had the overalls, the plaid shirt, the rubber boots, the basket, and the plush chicks for inside the basket! 

Deciding on something for both Mary Anne and Abbie was harder.  Several options we thought about ended up being kind of spendy, but we decided on Mary going as a red M & M.  (Red long sleeve shirt, red ruffled skirt, red tights and a white piece of felt.)
Abbie went as Minnie Mouse.  (Red long sleeve shirt, 1 yard of red/white polka dot fabric, black leggings, a black headband, a black piece of felt for the ears.)  Hannah whipped up the skirt and ears for her.
Even though we had to buy the clothes, they can all be worn again, so I really didn't mind.

Daniel decided to go to the Mad Hatter.
Hat, sport coat and pants all from GoodWill (and he bought them) Hannah whipped up his crazy tie from 1/4 yard of fabric, and he borrowed my clock that he wore on his belt.

Hannah went as Tinkerbell.
She found the perfect dress along with the fairy wings at GoodWill.

Matthew and his girlfriend JoAnna went as Richard Castle and Kate Beckett.

Eric and I borrowed scrubs and stethoscopes.  

Dr. and Dr. 

Through the evening guests voted on best costume.

Daniel won 2nd place along with Robin Hood.
Matt and JoAnna won 1st place along with Officer Judy Hopps and Nicholas P. Wilde from Zootopia.

Isn't this just the cutest idea for a "photo booth".

and the bunting!  Just darling.

The host family is from Holland.  They hang bunting in their home for all their birthdays.  Why not? It's so happy and festive.  It's the perfect way to party-ize a barn too.

The other fun thing about this party was that it was a soup potluck.  I sort of have a love/hate relationship with potlucks.  Love the variety and all the yummy food, but hate that I have no idea about ingredients. (so especially for Hannah, it's safe to assume she can eat nothing there. 😭)
We brought this soup, which was safe for her.

Glow sticks made for happy kids and so did an intriguing game of "Find the Fox".  (Teams of kids searching for Robin Hood while avoiding getting caught by bad guys - or something like that.)

I liked that it wasn't a Halloween party.  I also liked that it was well before all the cookie exchanges and holiday parties that fill the calendar beginning in December.

Hope you are off to a good start to your week.

- Carol