Escape Adulthood

Halloween

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Costumes for a Good Cause

We're in the throes of Halloween Unleashed, our 7th officially-sanctioned Small Rebellion. Your challenge is to wear a costume somewhere unexpected, just for fun. But it can also be for a good cause, too. Elaine Hand loves dressing up in costume. She was in a full-fledged witch costume at a recent speaking program I had in Illinois! (Maybe it's in her blood; her mother was born on Halloween :) The thing that makes her a Champion of Childhood in our book is that she wears costumes all year long! Here's how it started, in Elaine's own words: …

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My Humble Take On The Hot Halloween Debate

The hot debate in school districts around the country is whether to "Halloween" or not. When I was in school 30 years ago, every class had a Halloween party and the younger kids got to dress up and partake in a Halloween parade throughout the school, which was a super fun treat for everyone. One teacher even had the unique tradition of making homemade donuts in class, complete with sprinkles. It was an awesome time of year. Fun for the sake of fun! Halloween was not so fun for me, though. To be honest, the stress and anxiety started each year about October 1st when the costumes started …

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The Pediatrician with Dozens of Fake IDs

Ellen Leonard is an amazing pediatrician from Connecticut. She is also a Champion of Childhood. It would seem that of all of the world's professions, "pediatrician" would be near the top of the list when it comes to those that are most conducive to wearing Halloween costumes at work. Ellen does every year. While she's not the only person who does, it strikes me that at the hospital she's worked for over 26 years, she is in the minority. Even more notable is the effort she puts into her costumes. She's pictured above dressed as the Man with the Yellow Hat from Curious George. The pants, …

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Small Rebellion #7: Halloween Unleashed

Halloween is exciting for kids and adults, too; Dressing in costume: a thing we all love to do. But why settle for parties or just Trick or Treat? What if you wore one when you went out to eat? Perhaps shopping for groceries or driving car pool; Or serving on jury duty would even be cool. Or maybe while getting your vision corrected; Just wear your costume somewhere unexpected. Adultitis won't like it and people might stare; The rebellion is knowing that you just don't care. Halloween is the best. I love that it's free of the obligatory gift-buying and mountains of stress …

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10 Recipes That Use Leftover Halloween Candy

Halloween has come and gone. For those of you that still have candy leftover from the big haul, I applaud your self-control. We try to limit the amount of candy that comes into our house because we know the chances of it lasting more than twenty-four hours is about as good as that moldy jack-o-lantern throwing itself away. But if you have some extra candy corn, Snickers bars or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups* hanging around, Curbly.com has assembled a great roundup of 10 recipes that use leftover Halloween candy. Check 'em out here! * Anyone that has any Reese's Peanut Butter Cups leftover …

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Drawing Monsters for a Living: Interview with Daniel Davis of Steam Crow

Feratu Bites Cereal Box Print by Daniel Davis Daniel Davis makes monsters for a living. Daniel and his wife Dawna are the purveyors of Steam Crow, a neat little Arizona-based company that draws monsters, invents their stories, and makes products based on them. I stumbled across Steam Crow at the San Diego Comic Con last summer and was blown away by their colorful, whimsical booth. In a sea of licensed Star Wars and superhero memorabilia, here was someone successfully selling their own original creations (which is no easy feat!). And when I learned that this husband and wife team worked …

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How to Make Glowing Chalk

Remember our epic Small Rebellion in which tons of people used sidewalk chalk to scribble inspirational quotes in public spaces? It was awesome. In an effort to take awesomeness to a whole new level, how about making glow-in-the-dark chalk! We think it's a great way to spookify your sidewalks this Halloween. Crystal from Growing a Jeweled Rose has provided the complete instructions for making glowing chalk. It requires making up some batches of glow water (how awesome does that sound?!) and fortunately, she has the recipe to that as well. Thanks Crystal! (And thanks to Kathleen Cummings for …

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