Oh Lordy.
Why do I do this? Why do I subject you to such things?
In kindergarten… way back in the mid eighties… I was a child bride for Halloween.
Actually… I was a child… and I dressed up as a bride. That makes things less creepy.
I don’t know whose idea this whole bride thing was, certainly not mine. I was probably just stoked about wearing lipstick and a head band.
Want more? Surely you must.
Little Bo Peep with her favorite stuffed animal and her princess sister.
Child bride with clown sister and toothpaste sister.
Toothpaste. It only makes sense that the tallest child be the toothpaste.
This is my Uncle Dan. He’s dressed up as a hunk.
That’s my veiled head in the right corner. I want candy.
I had a Cleopatra phase. I’m mostly stoked that I could get the pose right.
I blame my mother for the aggressive eyeshadow.
This is bad.
Smack dab in the middle of my frizzy haired hat phase I decided to be a playing card for Halloween. A playing card with a playing card hat. I’m sure I busted out the craft box and the glue gun to bring that little gem to life. Lord help me.
I’m not sure if the card is better or worse than being a teenage Juggalette.
I’m glad these were the only photos I could find. I distinctly remember an awkward Raggedy Anne phase as well.
Ps. If you know me in real life… this set of pictures IS NOT open for discussion or ridicule. Zip it.
Angela
Out of curiosity, how did you photograph your old photos? I’ve tried several times to a big glossy shiny mess! I’d appreciate any help! Thanks!
Lucia
Here in Italy we don’t celebrate Halloween. Thanks for sharing a bit of a different life. (Not too different, really. I used to dress up as a bride even if without Halloween.)
Corrina
These are fun.
Bethany
Hahahaha!
I was Cleopatra a few times also! I had the thick blue eye shadow and everything!
Ali @ Three Baking Sheets
“I’m not sure if the card is better or worse than being a teenage Juggalette.”
Hahahahahaha. Hoo. That was rich. You would have been much worse off had you dressed like Tila Tequila instead.
Alexandra
hahahaha i was a bride for halloween when i was 4!!
Esther
These pictures are AWESOME :D
Kaitlin With Honey
Joy, you have not changed a BIT!
Star
ok 2 things
a) is that boy in the photo of you as Cleo dressed as a cheerleader?
b) one year i was either a bum lady or the worlds oldest (and ugliest) hooker. my mom made me up with tons of make-up threw some old lady clothes on my and then shoved some clothes up by shirt to make a hump (on the back). But homemade costumes are the best my sister was a martian which used about a roll of foil. AHH goodtimes goodtimes
Mary
I distinctly recall having a Raggedy Anne phase myself, so I will definitely not point fingers. Besides, did *you* ever dress up as Harpo Marx for Halloween? Neither did I. >.>
Thanks for sharing your fab fashion sense for a giggle. :)
atelisha
no 1* hottie Uncle you have
no2* i was also a child bride…(i blame my mom)
no 3* you rock Joy!!!!!!
Marianne
I remember when we used to put a lot of thought and creativity into our costumes. It was great fun for weeks before Halloween!
Jessica @ bake me away!
Awwww, I think we would have been friends…Little Bo Peep is killing me! I have an old picture of me as a “ballerina princess fairy” and my sister as Max Headroom (the coca cola dude). Hellooo, 80s!
Vanessa
I love your pictures and your website so much. It seriously warms up my day. Here’s to many more Halloweens and cheesy pictures in between! : )
sarah
I was a child bride,too,in 3rd grade. I have no idea why the heck I chose that! Its totally not my style. I guess that’s before I had a style.
Heather (Heather's Dish)
you are so adorable in those shots!
Sharon Boyce
This is me!
Tara
Hysterical pictures and commentary-I needed a good laugh!
Danielle
I love that toothpaste costume your sister had-so original! And you made a cute child bride!
Kate D
Ask a little girl what is more important, the dress or the groom. It’s always the dress until about seven, and then they think about it.
Megan
I love that you’re wearing all white in all of these! Apparently you have a thing for white Halloween costumes :)
Rachel
Don’t feel bad. I had to be a bride for a ballet recital. The guy who was my “groom” I’m pretty sure was gay (even though I was only maybe nine at the time). He had to lift me and twirl me around to music that included the lyrics, “The girl that I marry will have to be as soft and pink as a nursery.” Just thinking about it gives me the shivers.
Karen@Mignardise
Thanks for the trip down Halloween memory lane.
I remember my Raggedy Ann year too. Hope you had a better costume this year!
adriella
Look at that smile on the child bride!! So pretty!! These are some fun pictures! I wish Halloween was part of my childhood!! Not in my country! Brazil.
Ernestine
Well at least you have fond memories. Happy Holloween!
Colleen
Oh my gosh!!! We have a picture of my sister and one of her friends on Halloween, and her friend was a tube of Crest toothpaste!!!!! Who decides they want their Halloween costume to be dentist approved?
cindy
i went through a cleopatra phase too. i had golden snake armbands with red jewel eyes…oh, yes.
Liska
Joy, you are my hero!
Hayley
hehe – hunkle dan.
Somaya
Haha! Can’t wait to use that one =D
Shanon
i was also a child bride!!!! like for halloween, i mean. and i have always thought it was super creepy.
Linda Addison
Can I have a recipe for Uncle Dan–what a cutie!
la-la-lisa
Halloween is our most hallowed of holidays. There is no Fall Festival in our house. ;)
Love the pictures. You’re still the gorgeous girl you were back then. What a cutie!
schlachtplatte
The toothpaste. L.O.V.E. I.T. It made my day, honestly! It’s the cutest costume I have ever seen!
Liz @ Tip Top Shape
omg-my favorite costume has to be that toothpaste one. I know my costume for next year!! lol
Gen
* make-UP (sorry for the mistake)
Gen
You were (are! ) so pretty! Dressed as a princess, my dear! Yeah children make is always make you look like a Chrismas tree, but so nice souvenirs!
Katie
Joy,
These pictures are so cute! I just wanted to say I love your blog so much :) Made the potato frittata this morning for brunch with guests and it was yummy ^_^ Thanks for always making me smile!
Sherri
Don’t knock your pics! They bring back wonderful memories & are adorably cute!! And don’t forget to keep taking them, even if you are ‘all grown up’ now! Your future kids will love it! :-)
p.s….Please post a current pic of Uncle Dan ;->
Kathy Schleicher
Ohhh, you guys were sooOOO CUTE!! Yeah, my Mom would make us up in costumes she “created,” too…
Haven’t any pics, though. They were all lost years ago… bummer! But at least we have our memories! I was always something “glamourous” like Cleopatra; one year Mom fashioned me a beautiful East Indian Sari, with all sorts of jeweled bracelets, a tiara, etc. Most often I went as an American Indian “Princess,”
since I had all the “requisites” (being NA, plus the long braided hair, feathers, etc.). Except that sometimes I wanted to be an Indian WARRIOR (never got to be one, I wonder why not?). LOL!!
Actually, I HATED Halloween from about the time I hit 12 or 13. I hated it because it was my birthday, and I would have to spend hours sitting at the door handing out treats to OTHER KIDS, before us kids were allowed out to go out (grouped together for safety) to do our own “trick or treating.” I resented giving OUT stuff for MY birthday, as well as not getting the best stuff like the earlier kids had!! Also we had a much shorter time to get our “treating” done.
Janelle
You are such a cutie patootie (to borrow Rosie O’Donnell’s words)
Ausra
I think you look very cute! We did not really celebrate Halloween in Europe up until recently, so it is fun to see how you grew up and had a lot of fun wearing all kinds of costumes! :)
Shannyn
I was an ace of hearts one year! LOVE it. Happy Halloween!!
Katie (The Boston Marathoner)
Hilarious! These pictures remind me of my own photo collection that I keep hidden… too much evidence of wild costumes – like the year I went as a turtle for Halloween. Seriously. Who does that.
Kate
The thing that is so weird about your pictures is that I DRESSED UP LIKE A TUBE OF TOOTHPASTE in the mid-eighties (except I was a tube of Aim)….what are the odds…
Sonia
Man, Halloween in the 80’s was the best, wasn’t it? And Uncle Dan — dayum! ;)
Megan
I was little bo peep one year too! I don’t remember what else, maybe something original like a 50’s girl. Love that you have these pictures handy. I have no clue where my past halloween photos are.
DessertForTwo
How wonderful! I love it when you share cute/embarrassing photos, Joy! :)
Linda from NJ
Too cute!! The best days are when we are kids and to think we are in such a hurry to grow up.
yolanda
what great pictures!! i bet they bring back a lot memories…..hopefully good ones!
HappyWhenNotHungry
Thanks for sharing these! You were so cute :-) Happy Halloween!
Stiffler
Happy Halloween!
Love the photos.
Surcie
You’re still just as cute!
Natalia - a side of simple
I ADORE these pictures. Thank you so much for sharing. They are too great. Oh, the costumes of childhood… Happy Halloween!
Glyn
Aaaw, I wish we celebrated halloween properly in Holland!
Dina
Great pics. I am soooo glad I have no idea where the pics of me are!
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
Those are AWESOME. I love old Halloween pictures. I just posted some of me being “Jem” about 6 years in a row. I wish I could go as her now.
Hannah
Oh, Joy, thank you for this- I’m not doing anything for Halloween this year so I wasn’t in the spirit, but his brought back such great memories. And truly, I’m so relieved that I wasn’t the only 10-year old who voluntarily selected to dress up as a bride! Ha! I’m pretty sure I just thought it looked like a princess… Anyhow, just wanted to let you know that you’ve made my day.
Alex
These pictures are great! Most of the time for halloween I was something scary, so almost every year there is a picture of me doing some ridiculous pose trying to look “evil”….
Andrea
Is it at all possible that Cleopatra coincided with The Bangles “Walk Like An Egyptian” craze? I thought of that song immediately when I saw that picture and was transported back to middle school, a really bad perm that made me look like a poodle, and clothing choices better left unsaid. Oh yeah, I was rockin’.
Shauna
Seriously, these pics are fabulous! I was never one to dress up for Halloween, though I do remember one year when I was living in San Jose (before we moved to Tucson), where I allowed my mother to make me a She-Ra costume. It was super awesome at the time, but when I found a picture of it years later (Polaroid, of course), I realized that I resembled a satellite dish more than an all-powerful female warrior from another planet thanks to an inordinate amount of foil on my clothes and sword. Yeah…
Susan
thanks for sharing………brought smiles as i remember my own halloween days. i think you and your family look absolutely precious.
Laura Fredlund
Awww! how cute. You are so lucky to have those pictures :) I have none of me- (thanks mom! :))
Katrina
Amazing! What are you being this year for Halloween?
millys mini kitchen
Brilliant! I’ve always wanted to go all-out for Halloween in this kinda way, but living in England prevents me from doing this. The norm for a night out on Halloween over here is a group of guys dressed as bloody school girls, or teenage girls dressed as slutty Disney characters/nurses/animals. :(
Lauren at KeepItSweet
aw thanks for sharing, it’s a good thing i’m not sure where my old halloween pictures are:-)
Ashley in NC
Woah, hello Uncle Dan!
StefC
Would it be socially unacceptable for me to tell you that I think your Uncle Dan is really hot?
Musketnuss
Hello?! A playing card is an awesome costume! Alice in Wonderland! It’s great! I love it.
Musketnuss
Oh, and by the way: I once was a street sign. (I’m a real costume hater, so I put on a shirt with a street sign printed on it, wore grey trousers and stood still.)
Paulette
I have three sisters and believe me most of the costumes we came up with were very strange. Yours were great. Don’t you just love Halloween. Looking at your pictures just brought back some wonderful memories of my sisters on this great hallows eve. Thanks Joy and have a great Halloween. Paulette
Silvia
The child bride is great!
chococotton
You were so adorable! Your uncle definitely was a hunk. And in the Bo-Peep picture, is your sister… floating?? She seems to be suspended in mid-air! Magic?
snooky doodle
ohh pity we don t celebrate Halloween here i would have loved dressing up like that. you were adorable :)
Wei-Wei
HAHAHAHAHAHHA.
…wow. Lovin’ you as a child bride. :)
Twinkle
You have the best costumes ever! =)
Stephanie
I’m freaking out here… my sister and I went as tubes of Crest one year AND playing cards another year (in wigs no less)! I am just so happy to know that we weren’t the only dorky kids out there dressed like that! :) Your Bo Peep pic is adorable!
peachkins
That is so adorable…
SarahD.
Awkward to look back on I’m sure (and really, aren’t most pictures from ones childhood? haha), but all incredibly cute costumes. I always look forward to family photo sharing time at Joy the Baker :).
michael
What in the hell is going on with Lauren’s face in the bottom picture?
joythebaker
she’s being the devil. duh!
the blissful baker
haha awesome pictures! these type of pictures are the best – the ones you can look back on and laugh about for years!
Leah
I love the bride with the red lippy photo, you are so cute in that! Adorable:)
rachell
Haha, what a great set of photos. I know somewhere lurking in space is a photo of me dressed up as the brightest clown anyone has ever seen. Looking back, this may have been my mother’s method for not losing me.
Allie (Live Laugh Eat)
Awww!! You were adorable, really! I was Cleopatra in 5th grade and had my WHOLE family braid my hair into skinny braids. I have more hair than a lion. Good times.
Looks like you used Halloween as an excuse to wear makeup :)
GotChocolate
Rachell – It took your WHOLE family to braid your hair??? I agree, Halloween is a great excuse to wear heavy makeup and act sillyyyyyyyyy!!!
Oh, and eat lots of candy, of the Chocolate variety!
HEE HEE!!! :)