Sunday, November 7, 2010

Gus the Squirrel

So, I've had a few questions about Gus' Halloween costume this year.
1. Why a squirrel?
Well, this summer we put a bird feeder in our tree that attracted a very hungry squirrel. Gus became quite fond of his new friend and enjoys watching him in the backyard, even taking photos and videos of him occasionally. So it didn't surprise me when he said he wanted to be a squirrel for Halloween.
2. Did you make the squirrel costume?
No, we did not. I could probably bake a squirrel-shaped cake, but I don't sew. And neither does Eric. I looked online and found a company through eBay called Milanoo that will custom-size any of their costumes for you. No, it wasn't cheap. But Gus wanted to be a squirrel. And of course, I wanted him to be the best darn squirrel possible. (He's only going to want to trick-or-treat a few more years, so I splurged. Go big or go home, right?)
3. What is that big acorn/nut he's holding?
That is Gus' treat bucket. We took a gigantic, plastic, hollow Easter egg, cut a hole in the back, painted it, and paper-machéd the top to look like an acorn. Then Eric put a handle on it so Gus could use it to hold his candy. (It was heavy as hell, especially filled with candy. It seemed like a good idea at the time....)
4. How does he see out of that mask?
Not very well, in fact. There was a black window screen in the mouth that he could look out of, but the view was pretty obstructed. Not ideal, especially for night time trick-or-treating. Next year, we're definitely going to attempt a mask-free costume. The poor kid needed a personal escort to get him anywhere.
5. Was the tail heavy?
Yes. We added an extra hook on the back to keep it from dragging on the ground and tipping Gus backwards. He still, occasionally, needed some help maneuvering in crowds. But everyone loved petting the super-furry tail.
6. Will you ever let Gus pick out a store-bought costume?
Not likely. ;-)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...