Halloween 2020:
No, I did not dress up in some costume like I normally like to do for this holiday in 2020. Neither did my son, for that matter.
However, my girlfriend dressed up for work in a new witch's outfit, and she looked really good! So, I took some pictures of her.
Then, she put her blue wig and witch hat on me and took a picture. So here are the pictures of what passes for our Halloween costumes for 2020:
My son and I did not get costumes or go trick or treating for Halloween in 2020, but we did get pumpkins and we carved them.
Mine is the more conventional pumpkin, more traditional orange. His is a lighter color orange, and he was more experimental with his carving.
Here are the pictures:
Halloween 2019
Happy Halloween 2019!
My son was an original Star Wars character this year, and he deliberately made it vague whether or not he was a Jedi or a Sith. He actually has some real skills with the lightsaber, to boot! It was a fun Halloween, even if I did not actually dress up this year. Kind of snuck up on me this time around.
This year, my son decided to do something different. After a few years of wanting to be some of his favorite video game characters for Halloween, this year he wanted to be an original Star Wars character.
My son was an original Star Wars character this year, and he deliberately made it vague whether or not he was a Jedi or a Sith. He actually has some real skills with the lightsaber, to boot! It was a fun Halloween, even if I did not actually dress up this year. Kind of snuck up on me this time around.
This year, my son decided to do something different. After a few years of wanting to be some of his favorite video game characters for Halloween, this year he wanted to be an original Star Wars character.
He deliberately made it vague whether he was supposed to be a Jedi or a Sith. I could not tell which one he would be, either. But I think it is far to say that he deserves points for originality and ingenuity. And when I get a chance to put the videos up, you will find that he actually has some skills with the lightsaber, and looks like a natural!
Not sure how much longer he will be trick or treating, but he did this year. And that was great, because it is fun for me, as well! I enjoy walking around and watching him go door to door and get some candy, and enjoy dressing up. Halloween is supposed to be fun, and that is what it was!
Halloween 2018
Saying no to working today was not too difficult, because today is a special day, of course. Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays ever since childhood, and it is especially nice these days, when my son and I get to go trick or treating together. Usually, I try and dress up, and of course, he always dresses up for Halloween. That is, of course, one of the most fun and attractive things about this holiday, the opportunity to get all dressed up. And that is especially true when you are young, when you are a kid. And admittedly, I guess I am still just an immature kid at heart, because that is what I still love about it, after all these years.
Years ago, I got myself a Darth Vader costume, which I have donned at least a few times, for different Halloweens. It is an easy thing to be, because you just have to put it on. No make up, and no more expenses to pay.
However, this year I wanted to be something different. I always wanted to go as Indiana Jones, and decided that this year would be the year to make it happen.
As for my son, he chose to be a ninja. Of course, he wanted some real life weapons to go with it, and was bitterly disappointed when I told him that real weapons were actually not going to be part of his costume, that there as no way he was going to get real weapons on my watch. He is, after all, just 11 years old, at least for a few more days. No need for actual real ninja weapons when he goes door to door, asking people kindly for candy.
When I was a kid, I can remember donning some of the Ben Cooper costumes that were so famous and readily available back then. They were cheap (usually around $3), and they were exciting for us kids to look at back then. Of course they were of not surprisingly poor quality. You wore them once, and they would get ripped, more often than not. The masks were uncomfortable, and it would be difficult to breathe.
And still, they were a thrill!
I remember being Spiderman one year, and I am pretty sure I was the Incredible Hulk once, as well. Separate from those iconic Ben Cooper costumes, I was also a pirate once, with a kind of ridiculous beard to complete the outfit. One woman said that I looked just like a pirate, but it took me years to realize that she was being a bit patronizing.
As a young man, I got a Scream outfit, because it was cheap and easy and fun - all rather descriptions of me!
But now, as a father, I wanted to remember my son's Halloweens, to remember how he dressed up, and what he was really into each year.
In 2010, he was the Wolverine. In 2011, he was Darth Vader. In 2012, Halloween was cancelled, because of Hurricane Sandy, although I did set aside a day for him to dress up in a few costumes (see the pictures below). In 2014, he dressed as a cub scout (which he was). in 2015, he went trick or treating dressed as the Grim Reaper, and we went with a friend from his school.
Last year, he was the Blue Team leader from Halo.
Celebrating Halloween privately after it was cancelled in New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy, 2012:
Halloween 2014:
He dressed up as a cub scout for Halloween in 2014, and we went trick or treating together. Great memories!
Halloween 2015:
Halloween 2016:
Halloween 2017:
Halloween 2013 With My Son at Samuel Donald R. School
Halloween Class Picture in 2014. My son is dressed up as Wolverine, and is all the way to the right. He was in the 2nd grade at the time. These pictures are from the 2013-14 Samuel R. Donald School in Bloomingdale, New Jersey.
Bonus Halloween Pictures from the old school I used to work at:
This picture was of me and a student in my class. We were both dressed like hippies. From the Deron School 2005 Yearbook, picture from Halloween 2004.
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This was a picture of my son's first Halloween outfit. Originally, I wanted to be Dr. Evil, and for him to be dressed as Mini Me. But I ran out of time, and so got a baby Darth Vader outfit for my son, and used the Darth Vader outfit that I had from a year or so earlier, and we went as matching Darth Vaders. Picture taken from the Deron School 2007 Yearbook, Halloween, 2006.
Halloween Picture of My Brother and Me From Back in the 1980's:
From the 1980's, an old picture from some Halloween, probably around the middle of the decade.
I was supposed to be a pirate. My brother, on the other hand, I have no idea what he was supposed to be.
Funny to see this after all of these years, though. Thought that it would be worth sharing.
Very old Halloween picture (1993)
Yup, that's me back in teenagedom, the one with the white shirt and gray jeans, with a big wig and dressed as a woman. Halloween Party at Bergen Community College (BCC), 1993.
Halloween 1995. I'm one of the four dressed as Hillbillies, the one in the straight red and black flannel shirt.
Bonus: Wearing Traditional Polish Folk Outfits
Now, the following pictures were not on or for Halloween. In fact, they are of both my son and I wearing traditional Polish folk outfits from our trip to my girlfriend's hometown back in the summer of 2019. Her father wanted us to try these out, and so we did. But since this was not our typical get up, and also since we were wearing outfits that we had never worn before, or have worn since, it seemed fitting to add these to the Halloween collection, as well.
Enjoy!
