Monsters Inc. Halloween Costumes

I’ve spent weeks and weeks trying to get Forrest to commit to a Halloween costume idea. This has been kind of a difficult endeavor, due in part to his total ignorance about what Halloween is. He doesn’t seem to remember Halloween last year (which is a shame because our costumes were AMAZING) or understand what Halloween is or how it works or anything, and my explanation that he gets to dress up as anything he wants seemed to just overwhelm him . . . for instance, here’s a typical costume planning conversation:

Me: You get to wear a fun costume on Halloween! What would you like to dress up as?

Forrest: Fowwest be Superman!

Me: Okay! That’s great!

(2 minutes later)

Forrest: Fowwest be doggie!

Me: Are you sure? Did you change your mind?

Forrest: Yes, I sure. I be doggie.

Me: Well, okay.

(30 seconds later)

Forrest: Fowwest be apple! Dwess up wike apple!

Me: . . . really?

Forrest: Be daddy! Fowwest be daddy!

I’m not sure what made him finally settle on an idea after weeks spent in a state of crippling indecision with a new costume idea every 7 seconds, but a few weeks ago he decided he MUST be Mike from Monsters Inc. for Halloween, and Daddy HAD to be Sully. And that combo sounded so dang adorable that I encouraged it as hard and as obnoxiously often as possible, even going so far as to crochet for him a special Monsters Inc. project to keep him psyched about it (pictures to come soon!). And after a few days of him talking about ‘Fowwest be monster Mike!’ without changing his mind, I figured it was safe to assume this idea was going to stick around. Their costumes arrived in the mail yesterday, and I need you to prepare yourself for what may be the most adorable costume duo you’ll ever experience in your life.

Now, Forrest is not the world’s most courageous child. And his cowardly lion heart is perfectly exemplified by his reaction to the Sully costume. He is terrified of it. Absolutely scared silly. When he woke up from his nap and saw it from the top of the stairs, draped over a chair in the living room (it had arrived in the mail while he was sleeping and I couldn’t resist opening it up to admire that glorious fuzzy fluffiness!), he refused to even come downstairs because there was a “vewwy so scawy monstoh down there!” My brave little guy.

And even after Jeff got home from work and put the costume on and Forrest could see that it was just a suit with his not-vewwy-scawy father inside, and it was not in fact an actual monster corpse, he backed himself into a corner and just stood there laughing nervously for like 10 minutes while we tried to coax him closer for pictures. I think he was having some sort of panic attack. It was a little bit hilarious to watch, actually.

And you know what finally convinced him to come out and fully accept Monster Daddy? Do you recall his weird love of Gangnam Style? We had the brilliant idea that maybe if Sully started dancing to it, Forrest would realize he was safe and come out to join him. We were totally right. Watching those two dance in their monster costumes will forever remain one of the most hilarious sights I’ve ever seen. And of course, I can’t get the video to upload anywhere (I’m a genius, I keep saying it over and over), so I’ll put a clip on my Instagram. If you’re not already following, I do believe a Monsters Inc. Gangnam Style should be enough to convince you. My username is maybematilda.

Both monster costumes were provided by HalloweenCostumes.com, and they are awesome. I love that Forrest’s costume has a super-simple full-body jumpsuit and that the round ‘Mike’ part is separate—it’s so easy to get him dressed in it, and he thinks it’s fun to wear even just the little jumpsuit by itself (for activities where the full Mikey is too bulky to play in). And the Sully costume is kind of a jaw-dropper. It is so huge, so fuzzy, so detailed—I love it. From the spiky back and tail to the paws that cover your shoes and can be pulled down over your hands, it is just so elaborate and fun and amazing. And apparently, according to Jeff, it is also about a zillion degrees inside. So if there is ever some sort of end-of-the-world disaster than leaves us stranded in a post-apocalyptic wintry wasteland (um, I may have watched World War Z last night, which may or may not be influencing my thinking here), forget the sleeping bags and tents. I’m just packing the Sully costume and we’ll be good to go.

Needless to say, this kid is super excited about being Mike and showing off his costume on Halloween. There’s a separate costume duo in the works for me and baby girl (who should be arriving just in time for Halloween), so I’ll share that one after she gets here and can help model it in pictures. What are you dressing up as for Halloween this year?

Thanks to HalloweenCostumes.com for providing the costumes! I was not compensated for this post except to receive the costumes free; all opinions are my own.