Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love candy and crisp weather and spooky movies, but most of all I love a good costume. Over the years my Halloween costumes have ranged from evil ninja to slutty Lilo from “Lilo and Stitch” (sorry mom) to a basketball player. Here are a few of my best costumes and what I think about them looking back.
BABY LOBSTER: 9/10
For one of my first Halloweens, my mom and I went as lobsters and my dad went as a chef. Talk about an amazing group costume. My mom spent hours sewing my little outfit, and even though I don’t remember a second of it, this is one of my favorite Halloween costumes. Baby Lanaya gets extra points for sticking her tongue out because it only makes the look that much cuter.
TURKEY: 8/10
A common theme in my childhood Halloween costumes was matching homemade costumes with my mom. I remember crying while trick-or-treating in this costume because my fat turkey feathers couldn’t fit through most doorways, but making it into the newspaper made up for getting less candy. Shout-out to my mom for crafting giant cardboard turkey wings for a toddler and matching with her.
SLEEPING BEAUTY: 7/10
I also do not remember this Halloween, but I know for a fact my Princess Aurora dress was a hand-me-down. Thanks to my friend Suzanna for making my princess dreams come true, even if I had to wear ski clothes under my gown because it was so cold. Gotta love two feet of snow while trick-or-treating with your clown family. (P.S. I think we still have the rainbow afro if anyone wants to copy my mom’s look).
WITCH: 8/10
Yet another hand-me-down from Suzanna, this witch costume was insane. The sass in my walk shows how ecstatic I was to be a witch in a sparkly, beautiful dress. If I could find this dress in my size now I would do a repeat of this costume.
PIRATE: 8/10
I don’t know what makes this costume better: the snow pants and ski gloves, the felt Halloween bag, or my menacing grin. I definitely pulled off the pirate energy, but I feel like this costume lacks effort. Where’s my sword? An eye patch? And what on Earth is on my head? Someday I will remake this costume and absolutely blow it out of the park, making my younger self proud.
ARIEL: 10/10
This was one of my best Halloweens because for the first time in my life there wasn’t snow on the ground, and I didn’t have to wear layers of clothes under my costume. So, to fit the theme of living in Australia, I obviously went as Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”. My mom went to the beach and found a delicate piece of coral which she weaved into my hair. Best of all, momma Becky let me wear makeup and stuffed my bra. I don’t wanna brag, but at the third grade Halloween carnival my crush finally talked to me thanks to this amazing costume. Nothing could make this costume better. Best night of my life.
PRINCESS PEACH: 9/10
Although my high school boyfriend and I won best costume for this look, I can’t rate it a 10/10 because the dress was too pink, too extravagant, and too girly for me. The skirt itself probably weighed 10 pounds and I was so incredibly uncomfortable sitting in class in a ballgown. Besides, Mario clearly carried this look. Shoutout to our moms for spending hours the day before Halloween hemming my dress and sewing patches onto his overalls. This is a classic costume I can’t wait to show my future kids.
It was so fun to look back on my different Halloween costumes!