Boo Blog: Who wore it better?

Pinocchio triple threat

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. Even at age 43, I love dressing up. We've been dressing up since 2000. Some years a costume will get a second or even third life around here before donating them or using it as a decoration.

In 2010 we went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. There were eight of us, so we split into four couples and each had a theme. My dad and oldest son were Geppetto and Pinocchio. A couple weeks later for a Halloween party we attended, I donned the little wooden boy costume. And just this year, my daughter attended a Halloween party and became Pinocchio. Her official costume this is still being completed for Halloween night. I should note my mom made the Pinocchio costume.

Alien becomes Grinch

Our middle son wanted one of those morph alien suits in 2012. After spending $50 on it, he literally put it on long enough for me to take one picture, deciding days before Halloween he was too old (and cool) to dress up and go trick-or-treating. Two years later I used the suit as a base for being The Grinch.

Mad Eye Moody ages backwards

Harry Potter was a popular choice for our oldest through the years. In 2008 I was Mad Eye Moody. He then repuropsed the costume three years later.

Eeyore is a double dose of cuteness

That first Halloween for our boy in 2000 he was Eeyore. We had done a Winnie the Pooh theme with his nursey and couldn't resist the cuteness of the costume. Seven years later his little sister strolled the streets in the same costume.

I just got a look at our costumes for this year. I wonder what they'll be recycled in to for Halloweens to come.  

Ho Ho Hunsperger: How the Grinch SAVED Christmas

The Grinch!

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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I LOVE decorating the outside of my house for Christmas.  But as I get older, that climb to the peak of our roof and down the other side to hang the lights gets steeper each year.  I have visions of pulling a Clark Griswold one of these days and sliding right off.  This year we came up with a plan.

A couple of years ago I saw a picture on Pinterest (yes I have a page) of the Grinch pulling the lights off of a house.  It was a simple idea but I never really pursued it. Over dinner one night with the family we started talking about the Grinch idea again.  My wife and I both searched for the wooden figures online because as much as I'd love to be artistic, I am not. Plus I don't do well with power tools.

A work in progress

So I went to Facebook and put out a plea for help.  Not long after that a friend of mine, Grace, suggested the people at the Choate Mental Health and Development Center in Anna, Illinois.  Clients in the Cypress Woodworking program work with employees at Choate to do projects just like this one.  

Getting wired

The cost: $40.  That's awesome because our Grinch stands 7 and-a-half feet tall.  He's got that mischievous smile as he tugs at the lights from our house.  We bought a pole and some And some wire and secured him in front of the house.  A spot light helps light him up at night too.

He's a mean one...

The price is great, but the even better part is supporting the woodworking program.  The clients at Choate rely on state funding for the things in life most of us take for granted. Finding work and activities for those with intellectual disabilities is often a challenge for programs supporting this population.  This is an exciting way to support people who are capable of participating in paid work which is often hard to find. 

The woodworkers not only do the Grinch.  They make other Christmas icons and stay busy during the Halloween season with Halloween decorations too.  If you're interested in supporting the program, let me know.