I am acquiring costume paraphernalia for Halloween parties that haven’t even been conceived yet.

If there is a costume contest, I will be there with bells (and wigs and masks and tutus) on.

I have been known to carry a cape and wizard hat in my car just in case of a sartorial emergency. And it has come in handy, thank you very much.

There is an artistry to a good costume. The combination of whimsy and vulnerability necessary for a grown adult to commit to a public game of dress up with an outfit inevitably revealing a glimpse into their spirit is endlessly charming.

Be brave this Halloween. Put down the “this is my costume” T-shirt. You’re better than that. Let me help!

1. Nostalgia factor

There is nothing like dressing up to make you feel like a kid again. If you’re drawing a blank on who to portray, think back to your favorite childhood cartoons, movies, action figures, books, cereal mascots or video game characters. Sure, you might not find a readymade Count Chocula or Junie B. Jones costume available in a big-box store near you, but it’s not hard — and can even be pretty fun, if you ask me — to gather some pieces here and there that get the job done. Make the 7-year-old version of you smile! Plus, there’s nothing like the high of locking eyes with someone who also loved the obscure computer game character you’ve embodied and seeing their face light up, too.

2. Get thrifty and crafty

Once you’ve honed in on who or what you want to be, a thrift and craft store will make it come to life. Dedicate a day to hitting a few thrift spots to find the perfect blue jacket to pull off Cap’n Crunch. Stop by a craft store on your way home to pick up some blue posterboard so you can DIY his hat. If you work better in teams, host a costume crafting party one weekend in October. Invite your friends over, throw on a spooky movie and supervise each other’s hot glue gun usage while you work on your masterpieces. You’d be surprised how much money you can save picking up glasses, jewelry, leather jackets, jerseys or whatever you’re in the market for at a thrift store. I once thrifted a hand-sewn ET costume clearly made with love by a janky seamstress, and it remains a Halloween costume highlight.

3. Shop local for accessories

If the costume you’ve settled on requires accessories that feel a bit too specific to make or thrift yourself — a sword, a certain wig, a mustache, fangs — then Denver is home to great local costume shops that beat out the chain retailers every time. Lakewood houses Disguises, at 10500 W. Colfax Ave., where you can walk through a maze of costumes and accessories all year round. South Broadway’s Wizard’s Chest, at 451 Broadway, offers year-round help with costumes, a professional theatrical make-up counter, and all kinds of aesthetic accouterments. Witch hats just look better when they’re bought locally, folks.

Bethany Bacon looks for costumes for her 2-month-old son Liam’s first Halloween at The Wizard’s Chest in Denver on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

4. Retro is the way to go

If you really want to stand out this Halloween, an easy way to take a basic costume — witch, astronaut, clown, vampire — and give it a unique spin is to style it vintage. Look up old Halloween costume photos, scour eBay for retro plastic masks or do your hair and makeup reminiscent of a bygone decade. A retro space girl! A 1920s clown! A 1950s robot! Check the thrift stores for some of that authentic antique goodness or shop your grandma’s closet. Play with decades and have some good, old-fashioned fun.

5. RIP

When in doubt, zombie-fy yourself. If you’re going to recycle an old costume, paint your face green and rub some eyeliner under your eyes and, voilà, you’re the zombie version. Even better if you’ve got a pretty costume — ballerina, princess, cheerleader, etc. Coming from the gal who was Zombie Jo March (of “Little Women,” of course) a few years ago, anything can be zombie-fied, friends. Unleash the brains-eater within.

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By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now, declining to act on the Trump administration’s effort to immediately remove her from the central bank.

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In a brief unsigned order, the high court said it would hear arguments in January over Republican President Donald Trump’s effort to force Cook off the Fed board.

The court will consider whether to block a lower-court ruling in Cook’s favor while her challenge to her firing by Trump continues.

Separately, the justices are hearing arguments in December in a separate but related legal fight over Trump’s actions to fire members of the boards that oversee other independent federal agencies. The case concerns whether Trump can fire those officials at will.

But a second issue in the case could bear directly on Cook’s fate: whether federal judges have the authority to prevent the firings or instead may only order back pay for officials who were wrongly dismissed.

Cook was appointed to her job by Democratic President Joe Biden.

There is a universally accepted truth in today’s America: There are those with flawless taste who know Caramel deLites (née Samoas) are the reigning champion of Girl Scout Cookies, and there are those who are wrong.

But the ardent annual cookie pushers have a new challenger. The Girl Scouts of America just dropped Exploremores, a “rocky road” ice cream-inspired confection. I scored an invite to the VIP reveal party in Irvine, California, on Thursday, Sept. 25 where I got an exclusive first-taste to see if the newbie was a threat to the reigning champ or just a glorified Tagalong.

Girls Scouts of Orange County CEO Vikki Shepp described the Exploremores as a “rocky road-inspired sandwich cookie” with a creamy filling that “evokes those flavors of almond, chocolate and marshmallow.” She would know; Shepp was on the innovation committee that spent three years developing the new cookie.

The rookie cookie is a chocolate sandwich one with a sweet, chocolate-hued filling. Unlike the crumbly texture of an Oreo (from which the Exploremores take clear inspiration), the first bite delivered a pleasingly soft and slightly chewy texture, along with a subtle hint of marshmallow. It’s a pleasant, borderline nostalgic taste that’s hard not to like.

The “rocky road” inspiration, however, comes up a bit short. The almond note, either in textural or extract forms (Girls Scout’s official copy states that the cookies feature a “toasted almond-flavored crème”), was nearly absent, lost beneath the chocolate and sugar. If you’re looking for a true rocky road experience, you won’t find a crystal-clear interpretation here. But it’s still a rather tasty cookie that, if you squint hard enough, might evoke a scenic journey on the road of rockiness.

Does it dethrone the Caramel deLite? Alas, no. That would be a herculean task. Even Thin Mints (preferably frozen, of course), the obvious second-place contender, can’t beat the trifecta of caramel, coconut and milk chocolate. (OK, fine: According to Shepp, Thin Mints are still the top seller, with Caramel deLite a “close second.”) But, sure, what with its creamy filling and pleasant chew, I’d safely put Exploremores up there with the best.

The event itself was a testament to the Girl Scout mission, a tradition as venerable as the cookies they sell. The sale of cookies started as a grassroots effort in 1917 when the cookies, usually simple sugar cookies, were originally home-baked by troop members with moms volunteering as advisers. This at-home fundraiser has since evolved into today’s program, which, while teaching girls entrepreneurial skills, helps fund activities and service projects.

The Girl Scouts sell roughly around 200 million boxes each year, according to a 2023 NPR report, with an estimated 700,000 Girl Scouts participating.

The cookie unveiling, fittingly, was held at Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine, a not-for-profit restaurant. Owner Natalia Ostensen, a onetime Girl Scout from Laguna Beach, shared her own memories with the organization, like developing deep friendships at meetings to singing songs and baking bread on a stick at camp.

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The room, filled with special guests, including Michelin-star restaurateur Yassmin Sarmadi (who also declared Caramel deLites as her favorite, yet another sign of superior taste), was treated to seemingly endless rows of Girl Scout cookie-themed desserts.

The evening’s highlight, however, was 16-year-old Girl Scout Ambassador Tayva Veal from troop 2898 in Lake Forest. Veal shared how the organization taught her to “lead with compassion,” a lesson that helped in her recent heroic actions. Shepp announced that Veal earned the rare Girl Scout Saving Award, an accolade reserved for monumental acts of bravery; Veal, along with her mother, helped save the life of a Sand City Beach fisherman who lost his footing and collapsed, pulling him ashore.

Exploremore is a solid, sweet cookie contender that will be available when Girl Scout Cookie season arrives.