All of you moms who somehow have kids who will go along with your grand plans to have them dressed in the best Halloween costumes ever, this is not the blog for you.
I know Halloween is like the Super Bowl for a ton of you crafty Moms out there. I completely admire that but have finally accepted this is a battle I am not willing to fight.
I have entered this Halloween season with the attitude that I truly do not care what my kids will choose for their costumes. I can hear the gasping now. I get it. I, probably like you, spend time perusing the Pottery Barn Kids catalog that has extremely overpriced yet completely cute costumes. Who doesn’t want their kid to be a light-up butterfly fairy or a woodland squirrel?
I’ve had high hopes while strolling through the aisles of the local Halloween store flush with creative, fun get-ups for the kids. Heck, I even thought I had it nailed last year. My oldest daughter Mia wanted to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. This was perfect because my youngest daughter’s nickname is Reese the Beast, so we could have a true Beauty and the Beast! Mia had a gorgeous gold ball gown with big plans to curl her hair and wear “heels.” I ordered a royal blue cardigan for Reese and glued glittery gold ribbon to it. Anyone who actually knows me is dying laughing at this point because I am about as far from crafty as one can get. Reese also had a lion stocking hat thing that really made her look like the Beast. I was even gluing fur around the wrists of the sweater and bottom of the pants. It was really happening and I was armed with supplies, dangit.
I was plotting the cute pictures and couldn’t wait for Halloween. That is, until the actual day of Halloween.
Mia decided she was not wearing a dress and would rather be a cat. Just a cat. And she wanted to become a cat with nothing but black leggings and a cat shirt she already owned. Brilliant, actually. The only thing we had to add were cat ears, a tail and some whiskers. Reese does everything Mia does, so she refused to wear her costume and also wanted to be, you guessed it, a cat. However, unlike her sister, she only wanted to wear a leopard print shirt with some whiskers and no ears or tail. So it wasn’t super clear that she was a cat, but I digress. I bribed them with every tool in my toolbox but they stood firm on being cats.
In the middle of me trying to convince them otherwise, I realized how ridiculous I sounded. I mean, they are kids. They are going to change their minds. They don’t care if they look cute on Halloween. They super don’t care if I get a cute picture of them. All they want to do is trick or treat and get candy. Why did I care so much about exactly what their costumes were? So I could get a cute picture? Needless to say, I soon had two kitty cats who were as happy as larks all day. I also had a fur-lined cardigan laying on a closet floor that is likely still there.
I am much more relaxed about Halloween this year. I am not going crazy on Pinterest to figure out the perfect theme. I am certainly not trying to justify spending half a paycheck on pricey costumes. So far, Mia wants to be a tiger (despite the fact that I am a huge KU fan) and Reese is opting for the ever-popular “spooky witch.” I am sure these choices will change between now and Halloween so I am not committing to a costume just yet.
As for my husband and me? We’ve been Rocker Dude and Super Girl for about 10 years straight now, so we’ll probably stick with what works and be glad the outfits still fit. This year, instead of focusing on the costumes, we are focusing on the truly important part of Halloween. The candy, of course.
Happy Halloween to all, whether your costume is an amazing flying pterodactyl or just a cat.
