You, Me, and a Gorilla Costume

We are a costume family. For me, loving costumes, dress-up and imaginative play-acting is hard-wired into my brain (I was originally a theatre major, after all). The love affair began early, and I happily passed on that particular obsession to my son.

Max has always loved dressing up too. The list of characters, and therefore costumes, is seemingly endless. Every costume can be used in a variety of ways, and we have quite the collection - a couple store-bought new, many passed on from friends and family, some gems that are homemade, and some great clearance deals.

Although his tastes these days run to particular characters (Star Wars), Max has a very inclusive attitude toward dressing up. The first time he was given an amount of money to spend at a store, he picked out a lovely blue Cinderella dress. He loved it, but was unhappy with its comfort factor: "Mommy, dresses are itchy!" He's had Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, Mario (of Super Mario Bros. fame) and several knights. He's done Ninjas, animals, and Frodo Baggins. He often comes up with elaborate designs for costumes, many of which are destined to stay on paper.

Emma seems to enjoy following in his footsteps. She has her own costume box, which, thanks to the generosity of a family friend, is filled with many princess outfits. But, she's just as likely to put on her brother's smaller outfits or make up her own. The dresses don't generally stay on for long (apparently, they really are itchy).

Family and friends have brought us beautiful dress-up clothes from Mexico, Thailand and India. Daddy has made a Ninja Turtle and an awesome Hercules costume, which only recently ended its reign as my favorite. I've even lent a hand, making a stormtrooper out of printer paper and brads and some crocheted chain mail and a helmet.

Halloween is a favorite time of year for us, not only because everyone else enjoys dressing up like we do, but also because of the after-Halloween clearance sales! Yesterday at Target we picked up a surgeon and cowboy for Max, Super Girl for Emma, and... a gorilla for Daddy. Yes, a big, hairy gorilla at 75% off. Never mind that when we got it home we realized that Emma is petrified of the gorilla costume and now refuses to go into the master closet.

Still... this gorilla has potential... strong, animalistic potential. And here I am, an innocent maiden who happens to wear sheer nightgowns. Um, I think I am going to stop this post right here. I need to see a man about a gorilla.