All Saints 2019 is around the corner - so clearly a post that is 11 months late is perfect timing? We’ll go with that, friends! I have shared through Instagram that while I love many types of making and crafting, sewing is NOT a love of mine. It’s…well. I sew about once a year, about a week before All Saints Day, and even then, minimally. As in, if I can hot glue it instead, I will for sure do that. So this post is our costumes from last year, as simple as I could muster!
First, a share on how we currently celebrate Halloween and All Saints Day, simply because many people ask! We have no objections to celebrating Halloween with costumes and trick or treating (excluding secular music events/festivals, morally questionable or objectionable costumes, etc). We happily celebrated both for years, with a purchased or homemade costume for Halloween, then a saint costume for November 1st. Our last year of doing both was only two years ago! Our current parish has a outstanding event, however, on All Saint’s Eve - on Halloween night. The younger children dress up, while the older teens put on the event, dressed up and handing out candy from the decorated classrooms around the parish office building. The families bring candy to be passed out, but each piece of candy has a name of a deceased loved one on it; as the children collect candy, they collect names of the dead to pray for (referential to the old “a’souling,” which is where we get trick or treating from!). When the children are at home eating their loot, they are to pray at least a Hail Mary for that person by name before they eat the piece of candy! We know our children well enough to know that rather than trick or treat door to door, they want to be with their friends; they are excited for this event about six months in advance. For simplicity’s sake, opting for this one big event rather than a number of events just brings the busy season that begins in October more peace. We also are invited to visit the Discalced Carmelite sisters that our parish has a history with; one morning near All Saints Day, the sisters “guess the saint” from behind the grille! We got to do that for the first time last year, and it was so much fun! I am also not a fan of spending twice as much on costumes, and if my homeschool budget for that month is going to go toward secular Halloween costumes or saint costumes, it’s not even really a question! So yes, we ‘only’ do All Saints costumes and we don’t celebrate Halloween - that often has the stigma of the ‘holier than thou’ judgment. If you want to judge that, consider me lazy and cheap, instead. ;-)
Without further pomp: our inexpensive, simple, Amazon-bought if possible, All Saints costumes from 2018!
Miss Violet Lisieux, wearing her name saint’s hand-me-down costume that her sister wore the year before! I had to re-make the black head covering for Saint Therese, but all of the sewing followed my “straight lines only” rule. Did I mention I hate my sewing machine?!
Charlotte Rose, I hope you remember how awesome it was that four of your other little girlfriends were also Amazon-bought Saint Kateri’s, and not that you actually wanted to be Saint Lucia dos Santos and your mother persuaded you into a non-thrifting, non-sewing, order online saint instead. At least I let you wear my jewelry? We were in the middle of a read aloud chapter book about Saint Kateri, too, I’ll give myself a pass. ;-)
Anyone else have wonderful male saint suggestions, but your sons just pick the ones with the best weapons? Having just finished a read aloud chapter book about Saint Martin de Porres, I was so excited for Charlie to be Saint Martin and for Pax to be a mouse. NOPE, I’ll take a Saint Martin, but the one with a sword. Another Amazon friendly costume, plus half a cape made with fleece, hot glue, and ribbon!
Little brother was Saint Martin’s beggar. He kept the cape on for about eight seconds!
This year, we have a Saint Longinus (spear, obviously), a Saint Brigid of Ireland, a Saint Scholastica, and a Saint Benedict planned. As you can imagine, Amazon will be providing as much as possible, and we will DIY a Saint Brigid accessory and a tiny 2T monk habit (why don’t you make that, Amazon?).
Are you prepped (or at least planned!) for All Saints costumes this year?
