Every year at the end of October, there is a tradition that is celebrated in many cultures. At Southgate Coins, our culture is no different when it comes to the celebration of All Hallows Eve—otherwise known as Halloween. Keep reading to learn more about our diversity of costumes and how we celebrated the day...
I (Crystal) got up a tad earlier this morning to get ready for the festivities at Southgate Coins. I donned my black and grey dress, along with my pale-greenish-grey and black cloak. I then slipped on the traditional striped green stockings and the black-clunker boots. With a few more touches of some black nail polish and some purplish-black lipstick, my witch costume was complete.
When I got to work, I met Nicole, and together we went in to see who Marie was dressed as. Now, if you know the story of James Crawford, then you might know that he had a beloved niece that was more of an adopted daughter. Well, when we walked into Southgate Coins, we were greeted by that very niece—Lizzie Crawford.
James Crawford's niece at Southgate Coins?..
Lizzie (otherwise known as Marie on any other day) was wearing a lovely white, high-collared blouse and long, black skirt. She also had a black and auburn-colored, feather-decorated, wide-brimmed hat on—a popular hat choice of that time period—and lacy, white gloves to cover her oh-so-delicate hands. Truly a stylish woman, this Lizzie Crawford was.
Shortly after arriving at the store, Nicole and I greeted Maya when she arrived. Together, we all started opening the store for the day. After we opened, we saw Rusty's truck pull into his parking spot—we knew Rusty had finally arrived. But wait! The guy driving the truck wasn't Rusty at all. No, instead of Rusty Goe walking through the door, it was the ginormous, lovable BIG BOY from Bob’s Big Boy hamburger restaurant. No Joke. The old-school burger shop mascot, BIG BOY, actually came in the store, complete with big belly, red- and white-checkered pants, stylish black hair, and big, blue cartoon eyes.
Well, that was how the day started... Now Maya, Nicole, and Cara will tell you what they dressed up as and how the rest of the day’s festivities unfolded.
Here’s Maya:
This is the third time I (Maya) have celebrated Halloween at Southgate Coins. If you’ve seen the past weblogs, you know I’m generally on the good side of “good vs. evil”—my first two costumes were a Renaissance peasant (2007) and a fairy princess (2008). This year, I decided that I would be a little more evil... I spent a few weekends prior to Halloween hunting for the perfect makeup, outfit, and accessories that would make an ultra-scary (but not too over-the-top) vampire.
This morning, I tapped into my high school theatre training, where I spent three years as the “hair and makeup” girl. I was able to use the techniques I’d learned back then, and apply them today with cheap, preassembled makeup kits you always find around this time of year.
Halloween celebration at Southgate Coins!
I donned my long, black, hooded robe, found my custom-fit, dental-quality vampire teeth, and put on some costume jewelry that I’ve acquired over the years. The result was a pale-skinned, red-lipped, black-clothed “Vampire Maya.” Thankfully, when I arrived at work this morning, everyone told me that I’d pulled the look off, and that I was as scary as any vampire they’d ever seen. Mission accomplished!
Now here’s Nicole, the only newbie to our Halloween tradition, to tell you about her outfit:
I (Nicole) think I was the only one at Southgate Coins who still hadn’t decided on a costume by the day before we were supposed to dress up! This morning, I was actually still putting it all together, running around my house trying to find the essential odds and ends. I came dressed as a very “over-grown” baby.
To get this look, I borrowed an actual onesie (a one-piece pajama outfit) from a friend. It was hot pink with cartoon animals all over it, and it even had footsies! I curled my new, long hair (I have temporary extensions), and put it up in two pigtails, with two big, pink bows. I drew some freckles on my face, added a pacifier, stole my mom’s little stuffed lamb and—POOF!—I was a baby!
Considering that I put it all together at the last minute, I think it turned out really well. I received many giggles from customers throughout the day, and some even cracked jokes and made silly comments about my “bedroom” attire. One customer became so distracted by all the girls’ amusing costumes that I had to repeat myself to him like three times!
It’s always such a good time when everyone at Southgate Coins gets into the spirit, and it was a thrill to see all the other costumes and creative ideas. My favorites and the most surprising were definitely Rusty and Maya’s! I couldn’t stop laughing at Rusty all day long, and Maya completely transformed herself!
Last, but not least, here’s Cara to tell you about her costume and her thoughts about the day. (She came in later, around 1:00):
When I celebrated my first Halloween at Southgate Coins (in 2008), I knew exactly what I was going to dress up as. This year though, I had to think a little bit harder about what I was going to be. After much searching, I settled on a Grecian goddess outfit. I found a beautiful cream-colored toga, which was accented with blue and gold. It also came with a little golden crown that had leaves on it (similar to Ms Liberty’s on the Barber coin series!). With the addition of some gold-glitter eye shadow and matching sandals, my outfit was complete.
This afternoon, I walked into the store, and was greeted by Bob’s BIG BOY, who I was surprised but happy to see. Next I saw the lovely and very elegant looking Lizzie Crawford, who gave me a great big hug. Everyone was eating lunch, so I grabbed a few fries and made each of the girls show their outfits to me. Maya and Crystal looked very ghoulish, and Nicole looked like a very sweet baby. After lunch, we took lots of group pictures, and Marie surprised us with Halloween cookies and cupcakes— some with spooky eyeballs and spiders on them. While I munched on my cupcake I thought about how great everyone looked and how awesome it was that everyone put in so much effort to make this day memorable and fun.
Once again, Halloween at Southgate Coins was a spectacular day filled with spooky, sweet, and very funny costumes. Each year Halloween dress-up day becomes more and more fun, as each team of girls tries to top last year’s show. I can’t wait to see what we all come up with next year!
Happy Halloween!
Crystal, Maya, Nicole, and Cara