Ah, Halloween has come and gone. That's a bit sad for me because I love it so.

Anyway, we had a very lovely day -- Daddy had the day off from work, and we headed to our historic downtown's annual trick-or-treat street 15 minutes early -- we were the first ones there (hee hee!), had some dinner, trick-or-treated for a few minutes around our new neighborhood, and then collapsed into bed for an early bedtime. It was a lot of fun, and very simple and small-scale (which is exactly the way I like it!).

My wee ones chose to be bears this year, which was the easiest and cheapest costume I've ever made. My mom had the great idea of picking up these cheap fleece blankets at a discount store, so the fabric ended up only costing about $10. The pattern, McCall's 8953, was purchased for $1.99 at JoAnn during a pattern sale. Two zippers, some elastic, contrast flannel and buttons from the stash, and we were all set.

I bought the pattern in the 3-5 size, and traced and lengthened it -- after lots of calculation -- for Elisabeth, who is thin enough to wear a 4 or 5 in a standard pattern, but needs the length of a 7. Really, that was the hardest part of the whole thing -- and despite my careful calculations, I think it ended up being a bit too long, though Elisabeth thought it looked more "authentic" that way. (The one thing I did not like about this pattern was that the hood was one size, and ended up being too big for James.)

It was a great Halloween -- just our speed. I hope yours was full of fun and merriment, as well!

uncommon grace