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.
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