When my daughter was five she was a flower girl, and wore a gorgeous red satin and lace dress, which she loved.
For Halloween that year she decided she wanted to be a Flamenco Dancer and wear that dress.
Great… all she needed was a big high head piece.
Not that big a deal, I thought, until I realized that I had to make it.
Now I am seriously tragically bad at sewing, but what else could I do?
I had to try.
So I got red satin, red thread, cut out a shape for the head piece and proceeded to try to sew it.
And as much as I tried… I just couldn’t get it right.
As Halloween approached my panic grew.
Finally in a fit of desperation I grabbed the stapler and used at least two hundred staples to make it stand upright and fit on her head.
I thought it looked ridiculous.
But she absolutely loved it!
Now that you’re a parent, have you noticed that the Halloween costumes you thought were so fun as a kid are now what makes you most stressed about Halloween as an adult?
Many parents feel pressured about getting their children the perfect costume; I sure did.
I had imposed a “costume standard” on myself that just wasn’t necessary.
Tying so hard to make my daughter’s costume was a good lesson for me.
I learned that a little letting go of expectations and a little imagination went a long way.
Remember that for yourself.
Unless you really enjoy making elaborate costumes, go for simple.
Some glitter and face paint goes a long way.
It’s only one night of the year and your relationship with your children won’t hinge on a costume.
Halloween is supposed to be fun. So relax, and enjoy it.
And hey, there is no shame in buying a ready-made outfit.
Your kids won’t love you any less.
Have a happy, healthy, stress-free Halloween!
P.S. Worried about all that sugar? Here are some tried and true tricks parents play with younger children’s treats.
• Young children have no idea about what and how much they actually collected, so you can just take out a whole bunch and they won’t know the difference
• Try a quick switcheroo and replace their candy with either healthy snacks or little presents.
They won’t know the difference!
• For slightly older kids you can play the Witch Switch trick: kids get to pick out their top 5 or 10 picks from the candy pile to keep. Then, they leave the rest of their candy out on the porch, and overnight.
“The Witch” comes and switches the candy for a cool little present. It’s sort of like the Tooth Fairy model, and we hear the kids totally go for it!
