It happens every once in a while – Holloween falls in the middle of the week and we’re forced to dress up once, twice, sometimes three times in order to fulfill the pre-weekend, weekend, and actual Halloween events.

So here it is, if you don’t yet have plans, I would suggest just closing your eyes and picking one of these!

Boo!

OCTOBER 26: Masquerade Mayhem Rock band ESITU puts on a Halloween concert especially for rockers, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Studio Seven, $10 advance/$12 at door

OCTOBER 27: PULSE: The Ultimate Halloween Bash at the MPO, 8:00 p.m., $39

OCTOBER 27: Halloween Party with The Stunt Doubles performing live at A Terrible Beauty Irish Pub, 9:30 pm.

OCTOBER 27: Pumpkin-carving/painting party with the Seward Park Audubon Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. BYOP (bring your own pumpkin) or use one of theirs for a nominal donation. Patterns, tools, tarps, paints, paintbrushes and accouterments, including a candle are provided.

OCTOBER 28: The Junction’s Harvest Festival, 10 am-2 pm (kids’ costume parade and trick-or-treating noon-2 pm; farmer’s market; harvest activities)

OCTOBER 28: Bellevue Arts Museum‘s BAM-O-Ween from noon-4 p.m. Sunday. Enjoy art projects and demonstrations celebrating All Hallow’s Eve, including magic hats, Shaker brooms, masks, mobiles, piñatas, spiders, face-painting, and a 2 p.m. performance by Seattle Children’s Theatre

I don’t know about you, but many of the people I know don’t make plans until the last minute. Especially when it comes to Halloween. Maybe they want to see what are the best events… or they don’t like to commit. Whatever the case, I’ve got you covered! Here are 13 activities this weekend to thrill, scare and entertain you!

1.  Fright Fest at Wild Waves

• “Wild Waves Theme Park morphs into a shadow land of ghosts of ghouls. Giant Creatures inhabit the roller coasters. And scares await you at every turn.”
• Wild Waves Theme Park, Federal Way
• Friday and Saturday from 6-11pm, Sunday 5-9pm
• $24.99 plus tax

2. BUMP! Heaven + Hell

• The self-proclaimed “Northwest’s hottest Halloween party” features heavenly music, decadent performers, the luscious chill lounge, and a $1000 costume contest!
• Showbox at the Market
• Friday 9pm – Saturday 2am
• $40

3. Halloween Spooky Soiree

• A fabulous costume party with an 80s dance floor and a martini lounge benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 5% of the sales and an optional $10 donation will go to cancer research.
• Alibi Room
• Friday 2pm – Saturday 2am
• Suggested $10 donation

4. Halloween Pub Crawl

• Massive costumed pub crawl from Pioneer Square to Belltown! Check the Facebook invite for the schedule or follow @SeaPubCrawl on Twitter.
• Various locations throughout downtown Seattle
• Saturday 12-8pm
• No cover charges, Happy hour deals at many locations

5. Seattle Erotic Art Festival – SEDUCTION

• Seattle Erotic Art Festival’s first ever Halloween Party!
• Fremont Studios
• Saturday 8pm – Sunday 2am
• $42.50

6. Belltown Pub 2^nd Annual Halloween Costume Party

• Dance party complete with Jell-o shots and a chance to win a trip to Vegas! Don’t forget your costume!
• Belltown Pub
• Saturday 9pm – Sunday 2am
• No cover

7. The Ultimate Halloween Bash

• “With over 1000 guests dressed in their most elaborate, creative and sexy guises, your eyes will be titillated, tantalized and entertained!”
• Showbox at the Market
• Saturday 8pm
• $45

8. Masquerade Costume Ball

• The 4^th annual Bonza Bash Halloween Masquerade Costume Ball.
• EMP
• Saturday 8:30pm
• $40

9. KUBE 93 FM Haunted House

• Get your scare on at the old Georgetown Morgue!
• Georgetown Morgue, south of downtown near the First Ave. Bridge
• Friday and Saturday from 6pm-midnight, Sunday from 6-10pm
• $16

10. 106.1 KISS FM House of Terror

• The hair-raising House of Terror! Be afraid!
• 19802 Hwy 99, Lynnwood
• Friday and Saturday from 6pm-midnight, Sunday from 6-10pm
• $16

11. Stalker Farms Haunted Attraction

• Check out the Field of Screams haunted corn maze, hunt for the missing Dr. McFalin and there’s even a nonscary maze for the faint of heart!
• Stalker Farms – 8705 Marsh Rd., Snohomish
• Friday – Sunday from 7-10pm
• $20 for all attractions (less if you only pick one)

12. Corn Maze-Apocalypse

• Huge game of Zombie vs. Survivor in a corn maze!
• Stalker Farms – 8705 Marsh Rd., Snohomish
• Monday 7-10pm
• $10

13. Halloween Double Feature – The Lost Boys & Tremors

• Watch two classics while you enjoy a beer and some food
• Central Cinema
• Friday – Sunday at 7pm (The Lost Boys) and 9:30 (Tremors)
• Each movie costs $6 advance, $8 day of show

Best Halloween costume ever. Round of applause for The Piece of Toast.

I’m going to be Peter Pan for Halloween. Going to get myself some American Apparel green leggings, an XL Boys Peter Pan costume (for the shirt and hat), some elf ears, a wooden sword and potentially a stuffed Tinkerbell to glue to my shoulder. I have a plan and a list, and I’m feeling good. No awkward costume drama this year. Now I just need somewhere to show off my awesomely juvenile comfortable costume. Lucky for me, Seattle is pulling out all the Halloween stops this year. I did a little research to help us all find the best place to party this Halloween. Check out the fruits of my labor below.

FreakNight Festival

Be (mostly) naked, wear a spirit hood, coat yourself in glitter, find yourself a Ring Pop and perfect your shuffle. FreakNight is back with DJs and tweakers galore. But for real, jokes aside, this will be a really fun event. Some of the best dance music ever! Tickets are on sale now. Event is Friday, October 28th at the WaMu Theater. Ages 18 and up are welcome so uh, watch our for those underage dance partners.

The Ultimate Halloween Bash

Self-proclaimed to be Seattle’s largest Halloween bash, the Showbox at the Market will host live bands, a DJ and a $1,000 prize costume contest. The photos from last year look pretty epic. I think we may have found a goodie. Tickets are on sale now. Event is Saturday, October 29th. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Halloween Pub Crawl

One massive costumed pub crawl. Yes, puh-lease! NO cover charges, happy hour prices, free food, dance floors — I think Peter Pan may have to make an appearance here. And the best part is that the lovely creators of this event made sure to schedule it around many of the huge Halloween bashes happening around the city including FreakNight and BonzaBash. Event is October 29th from noon to 8 p.m. (day drinking, yay!) and will stick to the Pike, Pine and First area. Actual bar locations will be announced closer to the event date.

A House

Your house, your friend’s house, the neighbor’s house. No matter how big or crazy a sponsored Halloween party is, a simple house party can always be equally as fun. All your friends in one place, looking ridiculous, acting ridiculous, bumbling around in awkward costumes. Don’t under estimate the house party. Always a good option. Now which one of my friends wants to host one? I promise to supply cobweb decorations and ample amounts of Peter Pan-ness. Any takers?

First things first, check out the progress I’ve made on my Halloween costume:

Stage 1: Conversation Heart

I’m so proud of myself. Slowly, but surely, moving on up in the costume world.

Let’s talk for a minute about the month of  October. We’re smack dab in the middle of a pretty fabulous month. October is home to Halloween, the Pumpkin Spice latte, the smell of fallen leaves, and — drum roll, please — Seattle Restaurant Week 2010! Oh, how I love Seattle Restaurant Week. Ten days of $25 three-course meals in over 100 restaurants. Foodies, fake foodies and lazy cooks alike can revel in the deliciousness that is the Seattle culinary scene October 17 – 28, 2010 (excluding Friday and Saturday).

In my opinion, the best part about Seattle Restaurant Week is the opportunity it provides for relatively broke 20-somethings such as myself to check out the award-winning, yet often pricey, hot spots that cover our fair city. For instance, I’d love to check out Crush, Portage, Spring Hill Restaurant and Bar, and Tilth some time within the next week — four restaurants I’d be unable to dine in unless I met a man looking to impress or my parents came for a visit. Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this, I miss you and I’m hungry. I think a visit to Seattle is in order. I’m available starting October 29 a.k.a the end of Seattle Restaurant Week a.k.a when I can no longer afford to eat at Anchovies and Olives. Xoxo!

Are you planning to check out the Seattle Restaurant Week festivities? If not, you probably should. If so, which restaurant(s)? Fill me in! Sharing is caring.

You can totally make a respectable replica of this costume!

So, as you may have noticed from the last couple of posts, and all of the pumpkins and zombies and non-Twilight vampires bombarding you from storefronts, Halloween is fast approaching.  I really enjoy dressing up for Halloween and I think Shannon really has the right idea (though by her own admission, the execution is lacking.  Good luck this year!).  I am pretty much totally opposed to buying a pre-made, mass-produced costume.  It takes all of the fun out of it.  (Note:  This rule does not apply if you have small children)  However, if you are an adult capable of putting together your own costume you should do it.

Now for those of you who are sewing impaired this does not necessarily meant that you need to sew your own costume.  If you can, more power to you and I’m sure it will be great, but if you can’t there is no need to panic.  For instance last year I sewed myself a Princes Leia costume (and no, for the LAST TIME, it was not the gold bikini), but my boyfriend’s Han Solo was made mostly from thrift store pieces slightly altered.  We cut the sleeves of a jacket to make a vest and added red ribbon to the side of the pants to make the stripe.   We made his gun holster out of craft store foam.  You can certainly make alterations by sewing ( and I do because I’m an unstoppable perfectionist) but you certainly don’t have to.  One of the great things about a Halloween costume is that it only has to look great for a little while.  It only needs to hold together for the one night, and not necessarily th whole night.  It really only needs to look awesome until everyone has had a chance to see it and they hand out the Best Costume awards.  Feel free to hold pieces together in the meantime with duct tape, hot glue, iron-on seam tape, stick-on velcro, bungee cords, staples, you name it.  As long as it remains in one piece for most of the night you’re golden.

To me there is something so satisfying about going to every thrist store in the Seattle area in order to find all of the perfect pieces (It need not be THIS involved – Like I said I am a perfectionist).  Here are some places you should hit up for you Halloween needs:

Seattle Goodwill: There is one in Ballard and one south of downtown.  There are also quite a few in the greater Seattle area.  I would suggest skipping the Goodwill Outlet, also south of downtown.  It just has clothes in huge piles and though it’s very cheap isn’t very user friendly if you’re looking for something specific.

Value Village:  Locations in Capitol Hill, Lake City and North Ballard/Crown Hill.  Value Village also generally has a selection or ready-made costumes if you need a wig or something to top off your look.

St. Vincent De Paul: Locations on Aurora and in Burien.  Another good basic thrift store.

There are also “vintage” stores like Redlight (Capitol Hill and U District) which can charge a little more (because it’s “vintage”) but might also be a good place for period-appropriate fashions if you’re going retro.

Please, help make Halloween the fun, creative event it’s supposed to be and don’t just buy another slutty nurse costume!  Make yourself a slutty nurse  costume!

For all of us that don’t want to dress as the “slutty take out box” and may be looking for a little more warmth like our lovely Belle Shannon, this ones for you!

If you’re going the mysterious masquerade route, you must gather your troop and head down to the Fremont Studios for the Bonza Bash Halloween 2010 Masquerade Costume Ball, Saturday, October 30 @ 8:00pm. Fremont Studios is known for being one of the best Halloween party venues in the city, they do it up right every time. And once again this year, the glowing pumpkin atop the studio roof will be calling trick-or-treaters  dressed to the nines for a legit costume party and ball. But you must come dressed. You’re welcome to take the classic black tie and mask option or take it… well… the other direction (you ALL know what I’m talking about). Regardless, dress code is enforced so don’t try any funny business.

There will be over $10,000 in prizes for the costume contest. Top-dollar prize is a trip for two to Australia. Others will be announced here as the event approaches. There’s a category for everyone, so do your best to impress, there’s not excuses. Categories are: Best overall, best masquerade, best group, sexiest male and sexiest female.

Need a costume? Waiting until the last minute?  There will be masks for sale at Fremont Studios on the night of the event.

And tickets – BUY THEM NOW. This event sells out every year, if you’ve ever been in Fremont for Halloween you’ve marveled at the crowds outside the studio begging to get in. Tickets are on sale now at Shindigg.com for $40.

Update! The costume was finished on time and in one piece. Arts and crafts success!

Halloween costume success!

I wanted to be a Crayola crayon for Halloween. Either Red Violet or Jungle Green. I was undecided. I got the idea from a Parents magazine piece on costumes for children. And before you start making fun of me for reading a magazine meant for busy parents — a role I am at least five years away from taking on, if ever —  allow me to explain. Public relations professionals such as myself are often required to read publications we normally wouldn’t, Parents being a perfect example. Normally I would have no use for a magazine dedicated to the feeding, rearing, entertaining and whatever-elsing of young children. However, when said magazine is expected to include my client’s cheese grater in a Best Kitchen Tools for the Busy Mom feature, I skim the pages and from time to time stumble upon really awesome ideas ie. a Crayola crayon costume. What can I say? I work a glamorous 9 to 5.

I gave up on the crayon costume for two reasons. Number one, I was mercilessly ridiculed by my peers. Apparently, crayon costumes are not cool. Who knew? Certainly not me. Number two, I realized (thanks to a gentle and patient reminder from a good friend) that I am terrible at purchasing/making Halloween costumes. I dream up grand ideas of what I want to be and then never follow through. I wait until the very last minute,  and then either can’t find the crucial piece and/or realize I don’t have the arts and crafts skills necessary to make it (the crayon costume required sewing) at which point I end up disappointed and wearing a haphazard, thrown together costume on Halloween night. Oh, and like any mature adult, I spend the first part of the night whining about my crappy costume. All in all, not a good situation.

This is my "So excited about my crappy 60s/70s mash up costume" face.

Let me provide you with a few examples: Freshman year of college I tried to be a French maid (original, I know), but wound up looking more like a waitress wearing fishnets. Last year I wanted to be a pin-up girl, but procrastinated and settled for a 60s/70s mash up, courtesy of really big hair and a cheesy dress I found at Goodwill. And let’s not forget the year I decided to be a gangster, but really just looked like, well, a skank wearing a fedora. *sigh* Halloween has not been good to me. But this year will be different! I will redeem myself. This year my costume will be awesome because I have a new idea. An idea that is a million times cooler than a Crayola crayon. Or at least I think it is, but as the crayon episode has proved, I’m not really up on what’s “cool.” But nevertheless, this year for Halloween, I am going to be…

A CONVERSATION HEART!

I just blew your mind didn’t I? Oh man, it’s going to be amazing. I’ve even made some progress in costume preparation. See below…actually wait. A quick note for those ignorant in the ways of candy: conversation hearts are the little heart-shaped candies with words  imprinted on the front that people give each other on Valentine’s Day. Okay, now, see below.

So… maybe not that much progress, but glitter and glue is a start. And considering it’s only October 12th, I’m way ahead of schedule. Now all I need is some cardboard, pastel purple paint, and strips of cloth or flexible plastic. I’ve detailed my construction plan below. You’ll notice there is no sewing involved. Live and learn, people. Live and learn.

Step 1: Get my ass to Home Depot to buy cardboard, spray paint and something to make straps out of.

Step 2: Cut out two big hearts from the cardboard. And by big I mean, can’t-sit-in-the-cab-while wearing big. To answer your question, no I don’t plan on ever sitting down.

Step 3: Paint both hearts pastel purple, and write “Be Mine” on one using glue and red glitter.

Step 4: Attach the two hearts with the strips of cloth or plastic, and wear like a tent sign with black leggings and a black tee underneath.

What do you think, readers? Good idea? If so, feel to free to use the idea! I’d love to see Seattle crawling in conversation hearts on Halloween night. Viva la non-slutty costume! (I say this with all due respect to slutty costumes. I spent the last six years having a blast hooching it up on All Hallows’ Eve. I’m really looking for the warmth factor this time around. And maybe some extra coverage seeing as the gym hasn’t exactly been my best friend as of late. You get the idea.)

So fill me in. What are you costume plans? Can we please share pictures? I promise to post photos of my costume in all its glory, and I hope you’ll do the same!

Happy costume hunting