It's the most wonderful time of the year... no, I don't mean Christmas. PARADE OF LITERACY!!!
It's my favorite day of the year, and pretty much my favorite part thing about being a teacher. Two years ago I went as Ms. Frizzle, and last year Aidan and I went as Max and a Wild Thing from Where the Wild Things Are.
I totally plan a year in advance. I know I'm crazy, but at least I channel it into something productive - costume making!
This year, I decided to dress Aidan and I up as Tintin and Captain Haddock. In case you don't know who they are, don't worry, you're not alone. If you DO know who they are, I am so happy we are friends! The Adventures of Tintin is a comic series, created by Belgian cartoonist Herge. Since Dan and I met, and went to college in Belgium, plus my mom is/was a huge fan, so growing up, liking the comic series wasn't really optional, it felt like a perfect fit! Plus, while Aidan isn't a ginger, he definitely has some red tones to his hair. Let the planning begin!
Tintin's costume:
(Especially for Aidan's part, I wanted to get things that he could wear anyway.)
- Khaki pants (found mine at Target)
- White collared shirt (found mine at Old Navy)
- Light blue long sleeved shirt (found mine on Burt's Bee's website)
- Dark brown/black shoes
- Alfalfa-esque hair spike
Optional:
- Stuffed Snowy dog toy
- Light colored trench coat
- Leather backpack/satchel
Captain Haddock's costume:
- Navy pants (mine were ones I already had)
- Royal blue shirt (found at Goodwill)
- Navy blazer (found at Goodwill)
- Captain's hat (found it online)
- Black booties
- Fuzzy craft fabric (found at Michael's)
- Black felt
- Hot glue gun
- Ribbon
- Anchor stencil
Tintin's costume was pretty straight forward. Captain Haddock's took a little work.
1. I cut out a beard from the fuzzy fabric, and hot glued ribbon to the corners. I also cut a long strip of it, and hot glued in to the inside of the captain's hat.
2. I printed out a large picture of an anchor I liked (in the comics, Captain's Haddock's anchor is pretty small, but I wanted it to be noticeable, so I took some artistic liberties. I cut out the anchor, pinned it to the felt, and cut the anchor out of felt. I then hot glued it to the front of the blue (Goodwill-find) shirt.
Ta-da!
Then, we took Aidan outside, and got a few pictures. Because, seriously - he looked way too stinking' adorable not to have photographic evidence. Besides, he'll need proof when he needs to see a shrink once he's an adult.
And... just for reference sake, here are the original Tintin and Captain Haddock:
