Halloween at the Mall

Bloomington's mall hosts a Safe Trick or Treat sponsored by WTIU (the PBS station here) where children can go to the various stores and get candy, stickers, or other treats.  It's also just about the only place children around here can wear their costumes without coats and mittens!

Benjamin wanted to be a bat.  A black bat.  A blackest, blackest, black bat.  Since I was making his bat wings, I had tried to encourage him to choose a sparkly black fabric so that it would increase his visibility for Trick or Treating (our neighborhood does it at night), but he wasn't going to have it.  So I made a simple black cape out of fleece fabric so that I didn't have to worry about hemming and made it a little large so that it can be used in play for years to come.

Miriam wanted to be a whale, but I just couldn't wrap my head around how to create a whale costume! However, she's pretty easy to sway to an easier costume, as long as it involves a dress and glitter.  So, I put together this tutu for her.  She couldn't wait for me to finish it, so when I'm not so exhausted one night after bedtime, I'll add some more tulle strips to make it fuller.  The butterfly wings are from last year's Halloween when she was too little to walk our route and I put her in a back carry in our Boba 3G.  When I asked her what she was, she said, "I'm a butterfly! I'm a princess! I'm a Miriam!"

As I mentioned above, WTIU was a sponsor for the Safe Trick or Treating.  Super Why and Princess Pea were there!  Benjamin was so afraid of them that he disappeared behind my back, and if I hadn't felt the death grip of a 3 year old on my pants legs, I probably would have thought I lost him!  Miriam, however, was so excited to meet a princess!!

We had to tear her away.  You could tell Princess Pea was starting to get a little uncomfortable. ;-)