Halloween in the Harbor

I’m so happy it’s Halloween! Most people’s favorite holiday is Christmas, but mine is Halloween. I think it is because my mom used to make such a big deal about it. The sky was the limit and she would create whatever I wanted to be.

I used to get so excited to go trick or treating that I couldn’t eat my dinner and all I wanted to do was get dressed and go out in the neighborhood.

ET and the Witch

I loved this costume. Don’t I look the like the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz? My green skin was a mud mask that hardened and tightened on my face as time progressed. By the time I got home, my face looked wrinkly. As I remember it was very hard to get it off.

When I was little I idolized Michael Jackson. It was the time of Thriller and we used to pretend we were the King of Pop or we were marrying him in the neighborhood. I’m actually glad I ended up with Luke and not him, but I guess that is another story.

The King of Pop!

I told all my friends that I was going to have the jacket Michael wore in Beat It! You know, the red leather one with all the zippers. My mom had spent so much time on my costume and I clearly remember her pulling out the old navy blue blazer that she’d hand-embroidered with sequins and thinking, “But, that’s not the Beat It jacket!” At least, I had the glove and the silver socks.

I think my kids get just as excited about Halloween as I do and we’ve had so much fun. On Halloween, Front Street is closed off and Scituate harbor merchants open their doors for the kids to trick or treat. It is so sweet to see ghosts and goblins, witches, Harry Potters, dinosaurs, dragons and a whole host of other characters take to the streets.

John (with Luke) as a dragon (2008)

It is hard not to get in the Halloween spirit down on Front Street! Even the police are into it. One year they let my adorable dragon check out the cruiser. John loved it.

One of my absolute favorite costumes was John as Superman (our favorite superhero):

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Super John!

He just really looked the part with his dark curl and the wind beneath his cape.

Last year John was a cowboy and Conor a chicken. I thought the two kind of went together. Here they are in the harbor by Joye. It was very cold and windy last year: