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Rochester Local

The Halloween Costume Hustle

It happens every year.  I have the best intentions, but as early as September 1st, when the weather cools down and the leaves start changing colors…I go a little overboard with the decorations.  Craft stores are dangerous places for me during the fall season. I LOVE Halloween with every fiber of my being. For me, the most important part of Halloween, besides having the best candy on the block- is the costumes!

My excitement for Halloween decorations pales in comparison to my love of costumes.  I am often in awe of families that have costume themes that the moms seemingly throw together from items they find around their house.  Or families that look like a million bucks in their costumes, because they spent a MILLION bucks.  I am neither rich nor creative enough to throw things together from around my house at the last minute.  If I tried this technique my daughter would head out the door dressed up as a “preschooler.”  But this does not stop me from daydreaming about all the different ideas that I could bring to fruition!

Sometimes I peruse the internet for ideas.  Okay, I admit, most of my ideas come from Pinterest, after my daughter tells me what she would like her costume to be for the occasion.  I should know by now, as a 30-something mom, that Pinterest is an evil enterprise, created to make a majority of moms feel inferior to Martha Stewart. I’m convinced that the photogenic meals and HGTV-type projects get passed off as DIY, when in reality we know they cost an arm and a leg. 

My little lady’s ideas typically consist of some Disney or Nickelodeon-type character, the likes of which I could easily find on the shelves at Target or online with Amazon (bonus if it is PRIME-eligible).  I always start out saying I WILL NOT spend $25 on a costume that I could easily put together on my own.  It’s the process that is enjoyable, or so I tell myself.  I have a picture in my head of the costume, I research the components online, then set out to find each perfect piece.  But soon I have scouted materials from 5 different stores and assembly has yet to begin.  Add in the fact that my child changes her mind every 5 seconds and we have a recipe for DISASTER.  Or at least a minor meltdown at the store when I can’t find the right shade of brown pants to match Skye-from-Paw-Patrols’ furry legs.

I give up. After purchasing a number of items that don’t seem to go together in any way, shape or form, I throw my hands in the air and run to Target.  I scan the costumes left in the aisle during the 11th hour, as I hold a fall-flavored Starbucks drink in my hand that definitely cost over $5.  I decide that I will gladly shell out $25 for a costume that will be worn once, but tell myself that I will sell it next year to another deserving child, to at least re-coup some of the money.  In the end, does my daughter REALLY care that much?  Nope, not even a little bit.  But I love Halloween, and I will continue to play this game with myself every year until my child is old enough to refuse to participate in my craziness.  Hopefully by then, I will have a partner in my love for the holiday and we can geek out together over decorations, costumes, and best of all, the movie Hocus Pocus! 

                Super Girl Halloween 2016

How do you stay sane during the Halloween season?  Are you a DIY-er or a “dash into Target at the last minute” kind of gal?

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