I’m just not a fan of Halloween. I say it every year. I think it’s the pressure of finding a costume, spending money, being creative, and overpaying for drinks. And I don’t really like to dress up. But, this year, Kiley and I actually planned our costumes ahead of time. I was still shopping the day of the Halloween party, but that will never change.
Given our recent obsession with Hunger Games, we got creative with DIY costumes of Katniss Everdeen, Effie Trinket, and – despite Tom’s protests – Peeta Mellark. (I mean, he looks JUST like him.)
It was one of the easiest costumes I’ve had and didn’t involve me spending much money to throw it together. The only things I actually purchased were new pants and boots, which I could potentially wear again, so no big loss. Plus, I was much more comfortable than those girls in high heels and no clothes.
Katniss: black t-shirt, green pants, black windbreaker, and lace-up boots (Target: $35). For accessories: Bow & arrow (directions below), mockingjay pin, red rope ($1 at dollar store). Makeup: red lipstick “cut” above the eye, brown eye shadow “dirt” on the rest of the face.
Peeta: black t-shirt, green pants, black windbreaker, and lace-up boots. Accessories: plastic dagger (Rickys: $3). Makeup: brown eye shadow “dirt”.
Effie: pink dress (H&M: $50) with stuffed shoulders, yellow shirt cut into a scarf (H&M: $5). Accessories: pink hair chalk, hair flower. Makeup: green eye liner, pink eye shadow, light lipstick, and fake eyelashes (not pictured).
I couldn’t find a bow and arrow anywhere, so I used a silver sharpie to color wooden skewers from the dollar store. I then drew the ends and cut them out, taping them to the wooden skewers. For the case, I used a Pringles can wrapped in tinfoil and added some string. I put some styrofoam on the bottom to keep the arrows secure. I didn’t have a bow when I went to the party, but someone INSISTED I have one and made me a bow in about 5 minutes with a wire hanger wrapped in tinfoil and ribbon as the string. Very DIY.
Believe it or not, Kiley actually had a little bird pin which I used as my mockingjay. It’s still on my jacket.
I wanted to have Tom carry a loaf of bread in his backpack, but he wouldn’t do it. Oh well…
At the party, it seemed every girl knew exactly who we were. Only a few boys had read the books… But, I have to admit we had friends that were pretty creative. Although Mario, Luigi & Co. is a little cliche, they decided to be Mario Kart, karts with balloons and all. I’m not completely sure if any of the balloons made it to the bar.
And finally, the one part of Halloween that I do love, is baking festive desserts. So, I leave you with Graveyard Brownies, courtesy of my sister. The recipe is too simple – boxed brownies (I used 2 boxes for thicker brownies), with chocolate icing and crushed Oreos on top for the dirt. To add gravestones, use extra icing in a Ziploc to pipe RIP onto Vienna fingers. And voila! If you can find them, add candy corn pumpkins – it seems Hoboken was all out.
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