Now I'm not sure if its unique to my kids, but Halloween is a topic of year round discussion in our household. It's only August, and we've already 'tried out' and discarded multiple costume ideas for that one night in October where the goblins and ghouls come out to play.
Josie is famous for saying... "How about we be *that* for Halloween this year, Mom?" To which I inevitably reply... "Can we get through Easter first, honey?" (or 'your birthday' or 'Arbor Day', etc.) The kids love to brainstorm Halloween costumes, draw up designs for them, and *practice* Halloween at various points throughout the year. They will knock on every door in our house, shout 'Trick or Treat' and expect me to give them something. I have been known to hand out pretzels, raisins, and even uncooked pasta (don't interrupt me while I'm fixing dinner!!)
I guess they come by it honestly... I have to say, I've set the bar pretty high. From the time Josie was old enough to toddle up to the door and say "Twickatweet", we've dressed in a particular 'theme'. And of course, we can't ever actually 'buy' the costumes... everything is made by hand, stitched together, stapled lopsidedly, and velcro'ed within an inch of its life.
From Little Bo Peep with her sheep, to the year 2005 when all 5 of us dressed up as Disney's 'Incredibles' complete with boots and masks (yes, I know i have an amazing and patient husband!! Trust me, I've heard it before!), I love the challenge of creating unique, fun costumes that get my kids excited. It was no surprise to our neighbors when last year, a family of 5 dalmatians came knocking on their door, shouting... "WOOF WOOF! Trick or Treat!" (yes all 5 of us... I know, I know... my husband is a saint.)
However, last year as I spent hour upon hour painting dalmatian spots on white sweatshirts, snacking on the Halloween candy we bought to hand out, I couldn't help but wonder if they wouldn't be just as happy with store bought costumes. All this work for a bag full of candy? (which to be perfectly honest, I don't need in the house anyway!)
But just last week, the kids were looking back through the scrapbook, and they saw the pictures from last Halloween. They were giggling about how they had pretended Cruella D'Eville was chasing us, and how much fun we had. (we even had to go back home to dump out our candy and start over!)
That was enough for me... I knew it was all worth it... the spots, the pantyhose transformed into 'spider's legs', and those darn 'makeshift' superhero boots made from a black shower curtain.
So this year, its back to the drawing board, bouncing ideas off each other, and watching movies for 'inspiration'. And if I eat a few too many Twix bars while we're figuring it out, I'll just plan for my costume to have an elastic waistband. ;-)
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