Have you figured out what you, and/or your children, and/or your pets are going to be on Oct 31st? (Luckily, we only need to dress up the kids, as DH hates grown-up costume parties with some serious passion.) Just curious - are there any similar costume festivities in Italy, Denmark, or France?
My son first decided he wanted to be a pumpkin for Halloween (but I figured he just might change his mind everyday). So I went off to the thrift store and just so happened to find the perfect pumpkin suit in a 4T (the exact size which my supertall 2.5 year old has been wearing for awhile now), plus a warm and cozy looking little ladybug outfit for our one year old daughter. I'm feeling like a winner.
I bring all of my loot home, feeling great about having the costumes figured out so far in advance, and all for only $5!! Then DH had to go and burst my bubble saying, "Oh hell no! My son is not wearing that thing!" Apparently, he was concerned about his masculinity. Um, he's not even 3 yet. Ok whatever. I suppose he is entitled to one fashion veto a year. But the trouble is, I want to keep DS looking little and cuddly for as long as I can. He's going to say he wants to be something more big boy and tough and violence-prone probably way too soon for me. And lord help me the day he finds out you can actually dress up as one of the characters from "Soy Glory."
We went back to the drawing board, and asked DS again what he wants to be for Halloween. (Actually he said "a pumpkin" like 4 more times, but DH pretended not to hear and I just smirked.)
"Um, I want to be a green frog and a super man." Where do they come up with this stuff? Pretty sure I won't be able to find that combination in a 4T at Tarjay or Wally World. And I can't sew. So I made another trip to the thrift store.
And guess what was on the rack right next to a size 4T (!!!) frog suit? A superman cape! Done and done, bitches. Like it was meant to be. I love me some thrifting like Tiger Woods loves Hooters waitresses.
18 comments:
I'll give you one stinkin guess what Rosie wants to be.
Did you guess?
You're probably right. A PRINCESS. Picked up an Aurora costume at Costco but it's too long so I have to take it in. It was the only one that would work though because it has long sleeves and I need to hide a winter parka under that dress. Yes, it could very well be -30 on Haloween here. I remember parkas ruining my costumes year after year as a kid. I'd be a fat-whatever every year due to the bulky parka under the way-too-big costume.
Rosie was a (fat) ladybug last year. Supercute. Annie's going to be a (fat) strawberry. Also supercute. :)
@melba- we have the opposite problem here- it is often very warm on Halloween, and the kids melt in their costumes during the Halloween parade at day care.
Pumpkin decided that she wanted to be a skeleton this year, and then she saw that they had a matching skeleton costume for Petunia and the deal was sealed. So my two beautiful little girls will be skeletons. I guess that's OK.
Last year Pumpkin was a horse and Petunia was a baby in a sleeper with pumpkins on it. (She was brand new!)
The year before, Pumpkin was a bee and Hubby and I dressed up as beekeepers. That was one of the too hot costumes, though.
Pumpkin's first halloween, she was bat girl. That was pretty cute!
I'm sort of bummed that your hubby has masculinity issues with his toddler son. None of my beeswax, but you did mention it.
In Denmark, Halloween is getting progressively more popular. I was a big ol' freak for holding a Halloween party for only adults our first year here. Then we had one for families the next year, and I've done nothing partyish since.
There's a holiday that is nearly the same in February, so it feels rather redundant to do Halloween, too. This coming from someone whose favorite holiday ever is Halloween. But as I've come to learn, a holiday means so very much more when you share it with others who grok it. I may do something on my half-American daughter's behalf in the coming years, but sadly this year it's eclipsed by a friend's 49th birthday party. I don't have it in me to do two parties in one weekend.
I envy you your good thrift stores. We are a long way away from good here.
Yes, they do Halloween here in Italy too, for both kids and adults. Halloween theme nights at night clubs for the 20 something set and on a smallish scale at my kids' kinder. No dressisng up though - they do that for 'Carnivale' which is 40 days or so before Easter.
Oh and yeah, can relate to @melba's parker under the costume 'cos if you're goign to dress your kid up as a princess in January, you definitely need someing warm on under ( or over). The two times that my son has dressed up for Carnivale his costume (pony, and bat last year)was ruined by his Michelin style bomber jacket. Oh well.
Oh and p.s if your hubby only has to exert your son's masculinity that once a year, it's probably not worth even getting into a fight over.
Speaking of Soy Glory.... DS is going as Buzz Lightyear. He has been firm on this point for weeks. My DH cam back from a trip to Seattle a couple weeks ago and said he bought a great (cheap) pirate costume. I told him DS wanted to be Buzz Lightyear. DH insisted that pre-schoolers are easily influenced and could easily convince DS he would much rather be a pirate. Ha ha ha ha ha. A week later, DH was back out looking for a Buzz Lightyear costume (success! but not cheap).
DH also has masculinity issues with DS - they came to a head the first time I painted DS's toe nails (he saw me do it, he wanted it, no biggie, right?). My DH recognizes that his views on the subject are illogical and unjustifiable but, whatever. Sometimes you need to let them exercise their veto power.
DS thinks I will be dressing up as Woody. Wrong. I will be dressing up as very pregnant chocolate bar thief, who is only going along with the charade in order to pilfer DS's goodies.
<3 that whole last paragraph, Hush.
All black batman costume here. Full price from big box store. Worth every penny although finding one at a thrift store would have been even better. Also pretty warm here on Halloween, too, so I imagine he'll be a puddle of sweat by night's end. He and his BFF are wearing matching costumes. I guess I'm glad I don't have to negotiate the terms of his costume with anyone else. Of course his BFF does have a mom and dad but they are fine with the fact that the boys want to wear matching costumes. Maybe because they aren't wearing matching princess dresses? Not that I'd be super comfy with Tate wanting to wear a princess dress if I'm honest about it.
My 6 yo is going as Woody from Soy Glory. We managed to snag some boots from a neighbor, since I refuse to buy a costume (the boy already has jeans and a flannel shirt, after all, and I will make him a vest). The boots are a bit girly, with some flowers on them. I plan to cover them up with fake spurs, though. My husband was getting twitchy about letting our son wear girl's shoes, but when I told him I would buy some new boy's boots for $25, he backed down. He doesn't even comment anymore on the pink pajamas L loves. I think he's given up.
My daughter keeps saying she wants to be a unicorn, ever since we told her she was a unicorn 3 year ago when she was just a babe crawling around. So I'm about to search the interwebs for another unicorn costume in her size. And we'll put the toddler in a dragon costume to go with the unicorn!
I would just put him in the smaller unicorn costume, but apparently it is too pink and girly. Rarely does my hubby have an issue with masculinity, and doesn't blink when I put the boy in his sister's old pink flowery sleeper, but there you have it. A pink unicorn costume is too girly. It's okay, cause I really love the dragon costumes, too.
And that means I will be wearing my fairy costume to go around with them! Perhaps I can even get hubby to wear the knight costume. We'll see.
I'm super bummed that we aren't having our adult Halloween party this year, but we just don't have the money to do it. :-(
@Jac - "I will be dressing up as very pregnant chocolate bar thief, who is only going along with the charade in order to pilfer DS's goodies" LOVE IT!
@melba and cloud - The problem here is that there is no telling WHAT the weather will be like in advance. It could be freezing or really warm or just a brisk cool evening. No telling, so no real planning for that.
No Halloween here - although I did go to an American elementary school and it was a big dress up day at school. I've been VERY tempted by the glow in the dark skeleton onesie or the hot dog outfit on the gymboree website. Or the pumpkin fairy... But really, dressing your kid up by yourself isn't that much fun. Although, if I could find a baby cowsuit for Moo I might change my mind.
@Zenomoo, where do you live? I thought I had tabs on the ex-pats, but I missed you.
Hi @Claudia - I'm Australian & live in Perth, Western Australia - but did K-12 in Malaysia & Kuwait (where I went to American schools and gained a killer Texan accent @ age 6). I've also lived in New Zealand & am married to a New Zealander.
@Melba - Oh, princesses. Something we get to look forward to trying to keep out of our house, like a damn spider infestation or something. Did I mention that DD already got a princess gift for her first birthday? It was a folding chair with a warning label that read "WARNING: risk of finger amputation" that had 3 Dizznee princesses emblazoned on it, and was from her sweet babysitter who comes to our house 3 days a week, so I can't get rid of it without offending her! Argh!
@Cloud - I love that your daughters are going as skeletons! I think that sounds tres chic, and quite fitting for having a Scientist mama.
@Claudia - I brought it up so it is a fair topic for anyone's beeswax! And this is an anonymous blog, so we can all Keep It Real. I'm not sure I totally understand where DH is coming from with the "My son can't wear something so babyish/ dorky/ girly/ etc" concern exactly, but I suspect it has to do with some childhood teasing he was subjected to because he was not dressed very nicely as a kid, and I think he doesn't want DS to suffer that as well. Your comment reminds me that I need to bring it up with DH again and drill down a little deeper.
@Paola - How did I not know about Carnivale in Italy? Sheesh! And I agree, it wasn't worth getting into a fight over, I just want to understand where he's coming from.
@Jac - Are you raising my son's separated-at-birth twin? "DS thinks I will be dressing up as Woody. Wrong. I will be dressing up as very pregnant chocolate bar thief, who is only going along with the charade in order to pilfer DS's goodies." Love it!
@mom2boy - How did I know T was going to wear black? I think the matching costumes with his buddy sounds really precious.
@Clare - Welcome! "He doesn't even comment anymore on the pink pajamas L loves." I think that is awesome. It reminds me of a discussion I had with a historian-type once who said that pink is originally a very masculine, regal color - made from a drop of red (blood) on white (representing purity?).
@caramama - I'm sensing a trend here with husbands who rarely have any fashion preferences for their sons suddenly vetoing some perfectly good costumes! I can respect wanting to be a unicorn - I like it because it isn't one you see everyday. If you come across a little lion costume for DS they could totally represent the UK monarchy.
@Zenmoo - I knew you had lived in several different countries but I wasn't sure if you were currently in NZ or Oz - thanks for clarifying! I love to see little tiny babies dressed up, too. Both my kids were born in October, so they each celebrated their first Halloween when they were only weeks or days old. We dressed them in the same little froggy sleeper onesie, and that was the extent of their costume.
So, my husband, who I bitch about frequently but who is generally wonderful, is away on a big work trip to NY/Boston/Philidelphia at the moment. He left last week and was not supposed to return until Nov. 5. BUT, he feels SO bad about missing Hallowe'en with DS (he had an absentee father and really doesn't want to emulate) that he just called to say he changed his flights to come home on the 29th and go back again on Nov. 1st. AND, he ordered himself online an adult Woody costume so he could take DS trick or treating. He's a really big guy so he's a little worried about looking like a Woody sausage, but I don't care if his crack is hanging out and his love handles are triple-rolled - I love it when he reminds me why I married him.
Of course, he called me at work to tell me this and now I am a weepy pregnant mess.
Ack - that last anonymous was me.
@Jac- That's adorable. Please record this in paper writing and photographic form for your DS.
@Jac - I'm teary-eyed just reading about it! I agree with @Claudia about documenting that - so touching!
LOL! Hope it went well. Hubby wanted our baby girl to be a bumble bee, and I just happened on a bee costume while grocery shopping at Sam's Club a couple of months before Halloween. Done! He couldn't stop taking her everywhere to show her off in it.
Welcome, @Caryn! Looking forward to following your blog.
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