The biggest joys and biggest frustrations of parenthood can oftentimes come from the many holidays we celebrate throughout the year.
Halloween is one of my absolute favorite holidays. I love dressing up and decorating the house, and my kitchen is often full of clever and tasty Halloween-themed treats.
My kids get in on the action, too, with tricks throughout the month involving fake bloody hands and severed fingers. We rock this holiday, if I do say so myself.
While we have great moments leading up to the big, candy-filled day, there is also great frustration in regard to my kids’ and costumes.
As adults, we think about the best, easiest, cheapest or most clever costume we can dress up in, and we stick with it. Kids don’t necessarily do that.
For three years running, my son has changed his mind on his costume countless times leading up to Halloween. In all fairness, I have a lot of costumes floating around from years past. We also have a fairly decent collection of super hero dress up clothes, so he can stand to change his mind a time or two.
However, I am not the type of person to go buy a costume. I like to come up with something unique each year, and it is always homemade. I’m crafty, what can I say? While it can be a blessing, it can also be a curse, especially when it comes to my son at Halloween time.
When he was one, he begged to be an octopus. I made him an awesome purple octopus costume, and he loved it. He wore it everywhere and refused to take it off. When Halloween rolled around, so did he, on the floor, in the costume, screaming for me to take it off.
When he was two, he went as a minion with a crocheted minion hat and a homemade goggle. He loved it, until Halloween night when he threw a fit to be the purple minion that his brother was being. The only way he left the house in that costume was through major bribery on my part.
Last year, at three, he decided to be Santa Claus. Of course, there are no Santa outfits in October. Another month and I could’ve bought one. But alas, I had to make it. I sewed that thing by hand because my sewing machine was broken. Countless hours later, I had an awesome Santa Clause costume. And, true to form, he refused to wear it.
This year, his idea started as a zombie, which then turned into a zombie gorilla. How I’m going to manage that one, I don’t know. But chances are, after I have it made, he will change his mind.
Whether I end up feeling joy or frustration, I love this holiday, and I love my kids. So this year, when you are out trick-or-treating with your little ones, don’t stress the costumes, have fun and remember to say, “Trick or treat!”
