I’m more of a rom-com Halloween girl, versus a horror movie Halloween girl. I love fall, and all things pumpkin patch-y and handing out candy and seeing the kiddos all dressed up in their cute costumes. But, I wouldn’t mind never seeing a zombie or cackling spooky skull and if those creepy clowns with balloons could go away forever, that would be great.
Of course, once Halloween is within hollering distance (the day after they clear the Fourth of July aisle), stores start stocking up on all things spooky. There are costumes and face paint and décor and candy; there are fruit snacks and pretzels and cheese puffs shaped like bats and ghosts and pumpkins; there are flashlights and reflective necklaces.
(They all disappear in a blink at midnight on October 31, to be replaced by ornaments and wrapping paper and candy canes and “As Seen on TV” boxed items. It’s like a miracle, only there’s sales tax.)
On a recent outing to the Halloween Wonderland at Target, I tried to talk Thomas into trying on a sandwich board-styled costume—a slice of pepperoni pizza—but he informed me that it “wasn’t Halloween enough.”
We looked at the other offerings, but they had their drawbacks, too: too hot, too “fighty,” too “rustly.” I knew it was an uphill battle: Thomas has very firm ideas and one of those ideas is what his Halloween costume should be.
For the last eight years or so, my son has only wanted to wear the same costume—Little Red Riding Hood–each Halloween.
Obviously, I don’t mind his wanting to be Little Red Riding Hood—at least eight times and counting—but as a third grader, the costume was adorable. As a junior, it’s hard to find an appropriately-sized costume that is, well, appropriate. The rule of thumb seems to be to use less material in costumes as they get more adult.
He very reluctantly consented to an upgrade in the costume size itself about four years ago, after trying to wedge himself into the old size like one of Cinderella’s stepsisters trying to fit into the glass slipper. I bought the newer outfit a full size bigger than we needed, just in case, and I am so thankful I did.
My daughter has always come up with great ideas for her costumes. She’s been a character from Doctor Who, Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, and Joy from the movie Inside Out, to name a few. She doesn’t have this year’s costume figured out, but I have no doubt it will be fun.
I am currently researching ideas for my own costume. My co-workers and I would like to try to dress up in a coordinated way, but we have a lot of parameters to consider. It needs to be work-friendly, preschool-friendly and easy to maneuver in. It can’t have masks or fussy bits or anything you can’t wash.
We want our costumes to be recognizable to the kids, too. Last year we wore simple yellow tee shirts with felt “buttons” on them to be Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, and they loved it. Double bonus? The costumes—all three of them—cost about $20. Win-win!
Whatever we dress up as, I hope we have one-tenth of the joy my little guy has in this picture from 2012.
Juliana LeRoy wears many hats, including wife, mother, paraeducator and writer. She can be spotted around Windsor gathering material, or reached at ml****@so***.net.
