We’re fully into winter now and the cold air has engulfed much of the northern states. I hope you have your mittens handy. Don’t forget to take full advantage of Christmastime lasting until January 6th. There’s still plenty of time for parties, caroling, and revelry. January is Blood Donor Month, Braille Literacy Month, and features Martin Luther King Jr Day (Jan 15).

January 5: National Bird Day. This day we learn about birds and their plight in captivity. You can make and wear fun bird masks of different species. Or perhaps the day would be better spent making bird feeders and birdhouses for the lost birds in your neighborhood.

January 10: Peculiar People Day. What a great day! Can you curl your tongue? Ride a unicycle? Do you have green hair? Be proud of what makes you unique. Wear your favorite piece of clothing or share your secret talent with friends. It might be fun to have all your friends make badges that state their peculiar trait.

January 14: Dress Up Your Pet Day. This could get a little weird. Given the chillier temperatures, I suggest a sweater or booties for you dog. You can choose silly costumes or practical pieces, just make sure you respect your pet and don’t make him or her uncomfortable. Have fun with the day and your pet.

January 15: National Hat Day. We’ve already celebrated a Crazy Hat Day so this one’s for the more subdued of our brethren. Browse through the accessories then choose a beanie, fedora, beret, or top hat. You can keep it simple by stopping by the department store or get fancy with a Milliner. Let’s bring hats back.

January 18: Winnie the Pooh Day. Today is A. A. Milne’s birthday. Most of us know him as the creator of the Hundred Acre Wood. Celebrate the day by reading a story or playing dress up. Encourage your children to write fantastical stories about their own toys.

January 20: Penguin Awareness Day. Take a trip to the nearest zoo to study the penguins. Watch the animated hit Happy Feet or the exciting March of the Penguins. There’s all kinds of interesting facts about penguins. Did you know some male penguins care for the eggs while the mother goes out for food?

January 28: Fun at Work Day. Organize a pot luck for your coworkers. Hang a pinata in the conference room at lunch. As long as your boss won’t mind, try having a marshmallow battle in the hallway.

January 31: Backwards Day. Clear pretty is one this think I. Try saying words backwards or forming sentences from object to verb to subject. We’ll go crazy. You can wear your clothes backwards. Maybe lace your shoes so the bow is at the toe. There are lots of fun ways to note this backward day.

There’s lots of fun to be had this month. I hope you enjoy yourselves. The Carnival season begins with Twelfth Night (Jan 6) and runs through Mardi Gras (Feb 24 2009). Start planning your parties and costumes. Think about what You would wear to a Carnival Ball.

Around this time of year, many churches and schools begin to plan for nativity plays and pageants. The thought of making costumes sends parents across the land into a tizzy. There are basically three levels of costumes you can choose for your child: manufactured, hand sewn, or closet cobbled.

Nativity costumes are plentiful in costume stores across the web and your neighborhood. You can find a simple costume for your Mary, Joseph, or Wiseman for less than $20. If you are the director or organizer for the pageant, consider purchasing a basic set of costumes for your pageant. Clean them each year and store them properly and the costumes can be worn year after year.

Many parents decide to hit the fabric stores and sew costumes for the children. All the big pattern makers have nativity and Christmas patterns available both online and at your local store. McCall’s pattern is M2340. Simplicity’s pattern is 4797. Pattern sets typically include a Mary, Joseph, Angle, Wiseman, and Shepherd. Perhaps your organization can purchase the pattern set and you can borrow the one you need. Have fun selecting the fabrics and colors for your little stars. There is one exception to this: Mary’s costumes traditionally is blue and white. Hit the racks that are marked as holiday fabrics as they may be on sale. Angel wings are easy to make. You just need some wire or old clothes hangers and nylons. Watch for an upcoming post that outlines the how-to.

The last option is the closet grab. This is the no-sew, low cost version. Thrift stores are a great resource for plays. Any time you can save by finding a thrift store diamond is money well spent. Your closets and trunks are even better than a thrift store. I’m not advocating wearing dad’s bathroom robe — though you can — simply be creative with what you already have laying around the house. An old tie or scarf can be a perfect sash for a Wiseman. Leftover garland and tinsel can give your Angel extra sparkle under the stage lights. Mary can wear Aunt Edna’s blue dressing gown.

For all the costumes you need the basic robe, sandals, and in some cases wigs and beards. Sandals can be as simple as brown flip-flops. After all, they will be barely visible under the long robes.

Pageants send my memory fondly back to a great book everyone should read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It’s all about the worst pageant ever turning into a night of surprises and smiles. It may be set in a Christmas pageant, but it’s a story for everyone.

It was a dark and spooky night…not that spooky, but it was chilly. Most of the day I wore my “The Great Pumpkin is watching you” t-shirt. I had a quick to-go dinner then I gathered up all my Green Fairy bits and pieces. There aren’t too many trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood. Only half of them wear costumes, the other half wear normal clothes and carry bags for candy. It’s a little depressing. With the porch light turned off, it was time to head out to some Halloween parties.

Did I mention it was chilly? I ended up changing into Kaylee around 11PM. We met some people at a local watering hole to see their midnight costume contest. There was no parking and a line that began to wrap around the building. Apparently this was the place to be. I met Micheal Jackson. I saw Prince but he was too busy with a pool game to be bothered. Kermit and Miss Piggy were as friendly as can be. Velma was there with the Headless Horseman (fantastic costume!). It seemed many of the costumed party goers had chosen the duds from the ’sexy’ line of costumes. We waited. Only it didn’t happen. Oh, most folks were in costume, including the staff, but for some reason they never stopped the music long enough to get the festivities underway…

Perhaps they finally held the contest after we left. We ended the evening by going to a karaoke bar. A good portion of the people there were in costume. The bouncer was the Tin Man and the bartenders were the Angel and Devil that sit on your shoulders. The first person I saw was Richard Simmons in his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” tank top out sweatin’ to the music on the dance floor. I saw Barbie, a bride, a cat, and several more. I snapped a picture of Dr. Horrible drowning his sorrows. Poor guy. It sure is tough being a villain these days. Unfortunately we arrived just as the place was winding down. Many people left before I could get out my camera. It was a lot more fun then the over crowded club from earlier.

Here are a few pictures. I wish I could have taken more pictures at our first stop, but there were too many people bustling around for me to stand back and take pictures. I kept getting trampled. At least we saw a lot of neat costumes.

It’s Halloween! Do you have a costume on yet? I know some of you do, good for you.

I’ve uploaded a few of our favorite costumes to the io9.com Costume Show. Have a look at the great costumes people have made.

I posted Seymour and Dr. Horrible. Additionally, we finally got a good picture of Yorick from Y the Last Man: the costume that was too hot for Dragon Con. I hope you like them.

I’ve received lots of entries for the costume contest. You still have time to send in pictures. Get out the camera tonight and take lots of pictures!

Have fun!

I’m pleased that so many of you are using the shoutbox to ask questions about costumes. Today’s post is about answering some of those questions.

Last week I covered the question of Wendy Watson. Since then, I’ve been searching stores for the green vest and have failed to find anything other than charcoal or black. Perhaps you could find one of the black ones on clearance for less than $10 (similar price of a pattern). Take apart the vest and use it as a pattern for a green Wendy vest. Good luck.

On to the scrappy Laura Ingalls Wilder. I wore a calico dress when I was ten and played pioneer girl and young Annie Oakley. Here are a few nice patterns from Simplicity and McCall’s that can be used to make a Laura-style dress. You can keep it simple with just the dress or add a cotton pinafore. Look for calico patterns with small flowers. To play the Mrs. Wilder version, use a similar adult pattern or put together a conservative blouse with a cameo and skirt. Wear your hair in a period adult style like a braided bun. If sewing isn’t your thing, hit the western wear store nearest you and ask for suggestions on where to look for a prairie dress.

Looks like Jem is next in the tag. I found a commercial costume available. It’s not cartoon accurate, but it’ll work if you want ready-to-wear. CandyApple Costumes has some fun rocker wigs. Check out the cartoon wardrobe for costume ideas for Jem and the other characters. Jem’s memorable concert attire is a pink wrap dress. That should be an easy pattern to find and sew. Get your friends together to round out the Holograms, the Misfits, and the Stingers. Don’t forget to have a Rio. Nothing like a purple-haired man to up your 80s cool factor.

The human piñata is a great idea, Guest_3348. I’ve pondered this a bit. Party stores carry wigs that are made of paper or plastic strips. Usually they come in mascot colors like yellow, green, or blue and marketed on the sports fan aisle. Its a great example of wig possibilities. Pick up a cheap bald cap and glue strips of construction paper to it. I worry tissue paper is too weak to hold up for long periods of wear. As for the mask, I don’t recommend gluing paper, tissue or construction, to your face. Craft stores sell mask blanks. Use the blank as a base for the piñata mask. Since some piñatas are made of paper mache, the paper mache method would also work for a mask. Finish the paper mache mask with markers or paint.

Last up for today is another person in need of a Dr. Horrible costume. Before Dragon Con I posted a quick how-to. Queza7 wrote a detailed sewing how-to by modifying a Matrix jacket pattern. PJ Otaku left a helpful comment.

Keep the questions coming. I’m having fun and I hope you are too.