However, as Es gets older and more and more into dress up/make believe/superheroes/costumes in general, Halloween has become as much a part of the family tradition for us as anything else.
However, we still don't dress up. Or decorate. Or...anything. I know, I know, very boring people are we. But it just takes so much effort, and long gone are the days when it was fun to come up with a clever costume and go to some wild party with a bunch of other 20-somethings and guess each others' punny outfits.
Little miss Esther Louise, however, is just beginning. This was really the first year that she got super into dressing up, and she
She decided to go as Batman, and let's just be honest here: The costumer was awesome. We started things off with a purchased mask and cape, which were surprisingly excellent. Then, we (well, Colleen) had the bright idea to make sure that rest of the costume parts were articles of clothing that we'd actually use later on.
Thus, we finished things off with a cool Batman hoodie (with that yellow utility belt printed on it), black pants, and black winter boots. She loved it. We loved it. Perfect.
For as dead set on being Batman as she was, though, Es already has the next several years of costumes planned out. Next year will be Wolverine, followed by a ghost, and then a princess.
On the big night, we got rolling early--too early, actually, so after knocking on doors of empty houses for 30 minutes we were still candy-less. However, as the sun went down the coffers opened, and the candy started flowing.
We hit the neighborhood across the street from us, as we did last year, and bumped into several friends here and there. After a lengthy trek around the 'hood, we made it back home in time to hand over candy to the teenagers that always seem to hit us up way too late every year. (Like, the same teenagers. And their little sibs. Same crew every year.)
And, like every year, we ended up with most of our candy un-handed out, so we were forced to consume most of it on our own. Sacrifices.
Es loved trick or treating, and she felt confident enough to walk up to most houses solo, ring the doorbell, and ask for candy.
We also ended up dressing her up and going to two or three other Halloween-related events, which begs the question of how much Halloween is too much?
Not enough, according to Es--er, Batman.
Ding-dong,
Seth