54. Make a significant effort to have a cool Hallowe'en costume at least one year.

I like Hallowe'en. I find it to be one of the least objectionable holidays. You've got candy, you've got pumpkin carving, you've got silly costumes... The funny thing is, I always, always, ALWAYS let it sneak up on me, and only ever have time to carve a pumpkin until late in the night - usually Hallowe'en night, long after it would have been cool or useful. And I almost never get a costume together in time. (At least, not since the good old days of bonfires at Van Koy and trick-or-treating as a killer Unicef box.) So I decided to add the task to my 101 Things list to get my costume act together, at least enough to actually have a costume.

When I say "make a significant effort", I don't mean like with a $1000 budget and film-grade makeup or anything. I mean, decide at least a day or two in advance what I want to be, and then put more effort into it than pulling off a mask and cape combo at a dollar store rack.

This year, I decided to be Shaggy, from Scooby Doo. I did harbour some thoughts of being a cowboy with a gigantic beard, but that didn't ever take off. The Shaggy thing was much more in character, and easier to visualize. I got a pair of slightly bell-bottom brown cords and a bright green shirt (both women's clothes) and a ginger wig at a local Sally Ann, and wore my regular brown shoes. The wig needed a trim, which Holly helped me with, and the shirt needed sewing up, as it had a bit of white fabric exposed in the front. I did the sewing myself, as evidenced by this picture, and by the gigantic, wobbly stitches going everywhere which Holly will surely deny helping with.



I also made up a box of ginger snaps into a passable box of Scooby Snacks (which, being packaged in Canada, were required by law to be labelled "les Snacks de Scooby" on the opposite side). A yummy prop!



Other than that, all that I had to do was wear my contacts, shave off most of my beard (leaving the trademark goatee), and say "Zoinks" a lot. Most people at work got who I was, although a few coworkers didn't recognize me at all! A disguise as well as a costume! It really worked better when I was hanging out with the rest of our partial Scooby gang - Kristi as Daphne and Holly as Velma! They were both awesome. Well done, gang! (And take that, lack of costume-preparedness!)



And finally, here's a bonus shot of me with my lovely wife Velma and our little killer bee. (I taught her that face, which is now her permanent camera smile. Yes!) Happy Hallowe'en, everyone!