Cutting Out the Costume Craziness

Let me start this entry with a confession. I am one of those parents who tend to get a little particular about what my children wear for Halloween. Make no mistake, however. Over the years, I have learned to reel myself in and remind myself that Halloween is about the kids and not about how absurdly creative I can be. I know that I am not alone in this as I have seen other parents lose their heads when it comes to kids in costume. I guess confession number two would be that I justify my obsessing over the perfect Halloween garb by telling myself that “at least I’m not as bad as some.” Realizing the error in this thinking, I have decided this year to set aside this poor excuse for justification and write down some helpful suggestions.

Many parents think that they need to purchase the latest and greatest costumes available online or in stores in order properly capture the Halloween spirit. There is nothing wrong with this. I have certainly been known to scour the net and the greater Seattle area for the perfect frock for my little ones. One of the lessons I learned as a foster parent was that whatever I perceived as the cutest “must have” costume may not be along the same lines as what my children wanted to wear. For this reason, I changed my tactics a bit and still use these simple self-imposed rules today with my biological children. Now that my eldest is old enough to choose for herself, I always consult her first and then, without fail, make my first stop our dress-up boxes which hold dozens of costumes ready for the picking. I am always surprised at the time and money that I save in altering something that we already own. My daughter gets a thrill out of helping me create her one-of-a-kind costume and shows a certain pride in wearing it for Halloween.
Okay. So here comes confession number three… I am one of those parents to look for a theme in dressing my kids for Halloween. I’m sure this will be something they roll their eyes at later, but for now, I indulge. Because my youngest is still too young to have an opinion, I try to avoid making her an accessory while trying to match her costume to whatever theme my eldest thinks up. Last year, my eldest wanted to be Sleeping Beauty. We were lucky in that we already had the costume leftover from a recent family vacation. I was then able to use my limited hand-stitching skills to convert a pea costume and matching hat from a mermaid tail that had been handed down from an older cousin. This year, my daughter has chosen to be “Awice-in-Wondawand”. Naturally, I was able to make some additions to a bunny costume we already owned and have our youngest go as the “White Rabbit” from that story.

Once the perfect costume has been selected, many parents lose their minds and become anxious about actually letting their children enjoy their costumes. I have seen some parents make their children take off their costumes before enjoying certain Halloween treats, or even scold them for getting messy during Halloween events. I know that it is fun to keep costumes for dress-up later, but I do wonder what the problem would be with a little spillage or even a stain if the costume is just intended for play anyway. To avoid the worry, I recommend setting aside a time to get the cute, keepsake pictures done ahead of time. Some parents opt to get professional shots but pictures taken at a park, a local garden center with fall color or even at events with cute Halloween scenes can be just as perfect for capturing the memories. Once the perfect pictures are taken, parents should let their children enjoy their costumes, messes and all. Chances are it is those memories and not the costumes themselves that they will cherish.

Pumpkin Carving - A Halloween MUST DO!

By no small miracle, my little family made it, once more, through an exhaustive and fun-filled summer! My eldest child and I survived her first day of preschool and all of the enthusiasm and bitter-sweetness brought on by that milestone-the latter only experienced by me, of course. I am now keeping my family busy through the changing of seasons in preparing my household for upcoming fall festivities. While the stores in this country insist on marketing Christmas items in September, I encourage parents not to miss all of the fun that the current season makes available. In addition to spur-of-the-moment fun that can be had by taking a nature walk, making a homemade wreath of leaves or stomping in some puddles planning to attend events around Halloween can bring some fall excitement as well. You never know, some events may be so fun they may quickly become fun family traditions.

When parents think of Halloween, they immediately think of pumpkin carving. To little kids, pumpkins are a very big deal and I encourage all parents to get as creative and goopy as is physically possible! Visiting a pumpkin patch to pick just the right jewel is a fun tradition shared by many families. Many pumpkin patches go to great lengths to attract the crowds, so a quick online search to see what different activities pumpkin patches have to offer could prove beneficial. Once at the pumpkin patch parents can have just as much fun as their kids if they enter into this venture with the understanding that yes. They will be wet and dirty by the end of the activity and no. Their children are not going to choose the pumpkin that they themselves would have picked. Sticking to these rules can help parents maintain their sense of sanity during this outing. Many parents can find a lot of joy in standing back and letting the photo ops happen.

Once at home, carving the pumpkin can be fun as a family activity or as one shared with others. For many years, our family made pumpkin carving an annual party. To create their unique work of art, many think that they need to purchase a pre-packaged kit, but I have found that cutlery and large utensils from home work even better. A friend even taught me the trick of using coloring pages as templates to satisfy the perfectionist within. Always reminding myself to keep the activity child-centered, I have the child pick the pumpkin theme and then stand back and let the guts fly and the magic happen being careful to only step in when cutting is needed or interest has been momentarily lost. This allows the child to have ownership in the little orange creation and takes all the seriousness out of what should be a fun activity.

What I enjoy the most about the entire pumpkin carving tradition is allowing my children to take pride in what they have created. We always have them proudly display their pumpkins and then take pictures galore of them with their new treasures. While the days get shorter and the to-do lists get longer I encourage all parents to be sure not to overlook this very simple but very fun opportunity. Whether they are spooky or silly, sassy or sweet pumpkin carving is its own special treat!