This is one of those moments in the year when I’m happy I’ve had practice. After 18 years, I’m pretty accomplished in the art of whipping together Halloween costumes. Although many a Halloween are still on my horizon, I can say that  over all these years I have developed enough skill to make up a pattern, buy some cheap fabric and sew a costume to thrill a kid in 45 minutes or less. Good thing I’m fast–because I needed to spend the majority of my “free” time this week driving around town finding all the elements that will transform nine-year-old Henry in to Weird Al Yankovic.

• St. Vincent de Paul: Hawaiian shirt $3 (It’s a women’s shirt, but he’s none the wiser.)
• Famous Footwear: Vans with checkerboard pattern $10 (Now that was a miracle find; he’ll like wearing them after for play.)
• Halloween USA: Weird Al wig, $10. (Okay it’s was really a fro, that we thinned out.)
• Church: Glasses. Free. (We scrounged through the bin of donated glasses/frames. I’m not sure if that’s stealing. But we found a perfect pair one with only one lens. We’ll take out the other. We’ll donate them back.)
• The fact that my kid wants to be Weird Al for Halloween: priceless.

I should almost be embarrassed to admit this. But this is the video that cemented my kids’ admiration for Weird Al. This one, and the fact that a bunch of people out there make Lego-mation videos to Weird Al songs. What kid wouldn’t love that?