Every year at Halloweenie Roast my friends hit it out of the park with their costumes. And you want to know the secret to getting your friends to show up in costume?
All October posts are part of the Countdown to Halloween!
Give them a theme.
The second year I hosted Halloweenie Roast, everyone came in casual costumes – even me – and I was a little disappointed…so in 2011, I instituted a theme to get them inspired, and it worked like a charm.
Every year since then, the costumes get a little more elaborate and more fun. (It probably doesn’t hurt that I offer up prizes either!)
And 2018 was no exception. Here’s a quick spin through the party at more everyone’s costumes.
Monster Mash Costumes

We’ll start with the Halloweenie Roast OGs…minus one. These three girls were at the first-ever Halloweenie Roast back in 2009. We gathered around the fire the night before Halloween just for fun. My mom called it a Halloweenie Roast, and the name stuck! Thank you to Amanda, Katie, Sam and Mel for starting my favorite Halloween tradition with me!

Let’s start with our monsters! Chris was “just a monster”, but I thought he looked like something out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – so good. (And it was quite the sight to see him sitting on the floor playing with kiddos.) Olivia came as a nurse from “Silent Hill”.

So good!

Amanda came as a Hodag, a mythical beast from Wisconsin I wrote about in this summer’s #TravelTuesday series. Her tail was super clever – the white pieces are corners from picture frames.

Lindsay terrified EVERYONE as the Babadook. She thrifted this costume the day before the party, made her fingers and took home first place in the themed costume category for the third year in a row.

Lindsay’s husband Dave came as Captain Spaulding from “House of 1,000 Corpses”.

Michael Myers even dropped by the party!

My sister-in-law Stacey and brother Justin came as the hare and a werewolf. Justin’s costume was actually from college and was to see again. Stacey’s partner-in-crime for her costume was…

…this cutie! My nephew Max came as the tortoise. I fully expected him to be terrified of me and everyone else in costume. Instead, he just happily took it all in.

I had to admit, my dad’s costume was one of my favorites – he was a Monster of the Midway (aka a Chicago Bear). Yup, he’s the lone Bears fan in a family of Packers. (Thanks, Mom!)
My niece Hadley came as Shimmer and had pink hair “just like Aunt Rana’s!” She was also the BEST little co-host. How can you say no to a nearly four-year-old telling you to go outside by the fire and roast hot dogs?

My mom was the mad scientist to my monster of Frankenstein. (Pictured here with my friend Katie.)

And speaking of her, she and Samantha – two of my friends who repeatedly come down from Oklahoma for my parties – came as Wayne and Garth. They looked awesome!
Justin and Nicole came as Perseus and Medusa – and looked fantastic! I loved Nicole’s Medusa halo which she made herself.

You don’t see a Hodag hugging Harley Quinn every day!

Sheila, my costumer extraordinaire friend, debuted her Vanessa Ives costume from “Penny Dreadful”. (Which I desperately need to pick up watching again!)

And I got to see her husband Jerome in the infamous Jawa costumes. It’s SO good, guys! See how she made it over here.

Coworkers that Halloween together stay together. Love these ladies and that they totally embrace my spooky fun!

I just wanted to read a book and THIS guy appeared…

And, since I took NO photos of myself, here’s a snap of my costume from someone else. And I have to admit: I failed this year. I loved the skirt and some of the green paint worked well (joints and around my neck did NOT…), but I totally forgot to add the elements that would make it clear I was Frankenstein, like stitches around my neck and ankles and the bolt earrings I intended to make.
Just gives me an excuse to redo it for a blog post, right?
Finally, I set up a photo booth this year to capture photos of everyone’s costumes, and I’m REALLY happy with how it turned out! My friends seemed to have a ton of fun with it too. Here’s a peek:




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Which costume is your favorite?
Share it in the comments! And, if you’re curious, prizes were awarded to. We vote by ballot every year for our favorite costumes. Here’s who my guests picked as their favorites:
Best Monsters:
- Babadook
- Medusa
- Silent Hill Nurse
Best Costumes:
- Jawa
- Shimmer
- Waldo
Happy haunting,





Chelsea
I loved the costume turn out! Everyone looked awesome! (and boy do I feel you on catching up with Penny Dreadful! >.<;;; But waiting on hubby since we watch it together and we've been distracted by other things) Sheila looked spooktacular as Vanessa Ives~! And Babadok was too creepy. I couldn't linger on those pictures for long. =—-= Loved the hodag too!
I'd love to see you redo your costume again for a specific post! That would be so fun! And a perfect excuse to get some non-party photos of it. ;) Have you thought about finding a sheer body suit/unitard or arm covers in green? you could even get any of the above in nude then dye the fabric to the green you want and match the makeup to blend it better. Some body suits can include the hands and go up to your neck with a turtleneck style, or you could get it in a scoop neck style. I even saw a tutorial on YouTube that shows you how to make your own out of regular tights! I know a couple cosplayers who did Frankie Stein from Monster High this way and it looked great and probably super comfy because they didn't have to stress about the makeup beyond their face and neck.
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
I LOVE the idea of a bodysuit! I think you’ve just resparked me wanting to give this another go. :)