My heart was a little down when Calvin declared that between a Ninja and Laval the Lion character from ‘The Legends of Chima’, 2013 was going to be the year of the latter. The reason was obvious: of course there would be some ready-made costume and our five-year creative run of making all or at least some of our Halloween costumes was about to come to an abrupt end.

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Calvin playing the game at the event in Bryant Park Hotel with his Halloween hero, Laval, on the poster.

Colour me thrilled to discover that no such merchandise exists. (Unless there is a massive Halloween release about to arrive.) Yes, there is a sword and shield, and after much discussion I have ordered them. But there’s no gladiator suit, hurrah. And there’s no way I am paying $69 for a cape, which we will certainly make ourselves.

This Chima passion is rather interesting considering he has never seen a single episode of the TV series. The interest stems from playing with the LEGO sets, plus a big boost from a special event we were invited to (thank you CS and MG) to get a hands-on, advanced experience of the video games to be released for Christmas this year.

With games from LEGO friends, LEGO Marvel, Scribblenauts DC Comics and a Hotwheels racing game to choose from, Mr C spent almost all the time hanging out with one of the developers of LEGO Chima online (available now in beta) and loving the game.

And so, a pre-existing predilection for lions was solidified. Laval it is, and a trip to the Fashion District and my favourite stores is on the cards. Double-faced fabric, some felt and some bling are on the list. I guess blue gems I.e. Chi, need to feature too.

One logistical challenge: my sewing machine, which is a steel mammoth that I learned to sew on and inherited from my grandmother (it’s not *that* old, probably dates from around the 50s) is in desperate need of maintenance and repair. Maybe we’ll eke out the Laval costume before taking it in to what I hear is a place that can do wonders: City Sewing.

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