My Kids Made Me Wear This Oompa Loompa Costume

My Kids Made Me Wear This Oompa Loompa Costume. I could hardly say no to them, I mean look at their faces. They were so excited about wearing the costumes and the idea that their dad would be dressing up too was just an added bonus for them.

It took a little convincing for me to get into it, I mean who likes dressing up like an oompa loompa? Nobody, that’s who! But after about an hour of my kids looking up at me imploringly, I agreed and went to pick up the costume from them.

If you don’t know what Oompa Loompas are, they’re the little workers in the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory and they’re orangey-brown in color and have green hair. They’re also fairly short which is why I got the children’s version of this oompa loompa costume instead of the adult one.

After picking it up, it was time to go home and put on this thing so we can take some pictures of us all in our costumes before we head out for Trick or Treating.

Let me tell you about the time my kids made me wear an Oompa Loompa costume for Halloween.

We were trick-or-treating, and I was having a good time. It was dark, and cold, and I was wearing this huge Oompa Loompa costume. No one could see my face, so I could just walk through the neighborhood, stopping at each house to get candy. The kids had their costumes on too, but they didn’t care about the weather or how close we were to the next house: they were just running around, being little kids on Halloween. There were two of them—my son and daughter—and they were both much happier than I was. They would run up to each house together, screaming and yelling and laughing like crazy little monsters. Then they would run back over towards me, where I stood waiting patiently in my costume.

My son ran over to me first that night. He said “Dad! Dad! Dad!” And then he grabbed my hand and tried to pull me towards a house that had its lights on. “Come on! We need candy!” His sister ran over too, pulling at my other hand and repeating his plea: “Come with us dad! We need candy!”

I’m a big believer in the value of dressing up for Halloween. I don’t think it’s just about the candy. Kids learn something important when they get to become someone other than themselves, even if only for a day.

But this year my kids decided that what I should be for Halloween is an Oompa Loompa: you know, one of those little orange guys from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They gave me no choice in the matter.

So I spent two hours as an Oompa Loompa on Halloween night. And let me tell you, it was an experience I won’t forget anytime soon.

First off, it’s hard to find an Oompa Loompa costume in my size. Most of them are designed for kids, or at least for people under 6 feet tall. So I had to order a couple of costumes online and return the ones that didn’t fit. When I finally found one that fit well enough, it arrived at my house three days before Halloween, which left me no time to do any alterations before October 31st rolled around. As a result, my costume was not ideal; the shirt was too tight around the neck and sleeves and too short around the waist, leaving much of my belly exposed

I have to admit, I was not thrilled to be wearing an Oompa Loompa costume on the morning of Halloween. My kids were excited about it, though, and that’s what matters. It was their idea for me to dress up as one of Wonka’s factory workers, and it turned out to be a great choice.

The costume looked great. There were no loose ends or wrinkles or anything like that in the material. It was easy to put on and take off. I liked how it fit around my shoulders and the way the orange color contrasted with my blonde hair.

Everyone loved the costume. As soon as we walked into the party, people were pointing at me and laughing and saying things like, “Wow! That’s a great costume!” I felt like a rock star–just being pulled in different directions by all the praise. My kids loved all of the attention I was getting and kept saying things like, “That’s our dad!”

It definitely doesn’t hurt that Willy Wonka is such a recognizable character. Everyone knew exactly who I was dressed up as right away, which is important when you’re at a party with a bunch of kids who don’t have very long attention spans (or when you’re at an adult party

For a few years now, my kids have been dressing up as oompa loompas for Halloween.

This year, they wanted to dress me up as one too. I didn’t want to do it at first, but their enthusiasm won me over and I’m glad it did, because now I get to share this story with you.

I went to the store and bought the costume and all of the makeup. When I got home, my wife helped me put on the makeup. It took a while, but we got it on just right. Then I put on the overalls and wig and headed out with my family for some trick-or-treating. The kids were thrilled with my costume. We had a lot of fun that night and came away with plenty of candy for everyone in our family (including myself).

So I was in an Oompa Loompa costume. An Oompa Loompa costume with a bike helmet, because New York City is not all it’s cracked up to be when it comes to sidewalks and road safety. And the first person we met was an older woman out walking her dog.

“Oh, look at you!” she exclaimed. “You look like an Oompa Loompa!”

“Thank you!” I said.

“I know,” she continued, “because I used to be a lifeguard at Camp Green Lake.”

She went on for another few minutes about her days as a counselor at Camp Green Lake, which she described as a great experience with fondness and nostalgia. A lot of people would have been put off by the fact that the first person we saw made the connection between Oompa Loompas and juvenile delinquents (or would-be juvenile delinquents), but I thought it was hilarious, especially coming from someone who had worked there.

After that, we stopped at Madison Square Park so my daughter could play on one of the big metal sculptures. Another woman walked by with one of those dogs that has hair so long it looks like it’s wearing a wig or something.

On Halloween, when my kids show up with their friends at my door, I have only a few seconds to decide whether I will hand them candy or an insult. Seeing them in their costumes is like the first few seconds of the game show “What’s My Line?” where the celebrity panelists try to guess the mystery guest’s occupation.

Mystery Guest: [wearing costume]

Panelist

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