Proudly Shopping for a Halloween Costume

When I was a kid in Buffalo, Halloween meant three things: candy, winter coats, and begging for a store-bought costume.  My mom had some sewing skills (she made my 8th grade graduation dress and my senior prom dress), but she wasn't going to be making me one of those ridiculously detailed costumes that some of my friends currently make their kids.  She was capable of throwing together something way better than I could ever do, but still, it wasn't going to be what I wanted.  It wouldn't be the frilly, puffy, princess dress of my dreams or Wonder Woman's exact outfit.  It really didn't occur to me that I would get just as much candy in a homemade costume as I would in one purchased at K-Mart or Ames or Gold Circle, or that most of my costume would be hidden under a big coat and gloves and a hat (late October in Buffalo was not kind to trick-or-treaters).  I just knew that I wanted one that came in a package.  Twenty-five years later I don't even really remember how many times I won out, if ever.  What I remember was the desire and the struggle to have what I wanted.

My two kids have worn costumes from Target, Old Navy, The Disney Store, and Party City.  Outside of Brooklyn, maybe things are different.  Maybe there's no stigma in a store-bought costume.  But here in my earthy-crunchy neighborhood, there's an extremely high ratio of parents who are artists of some type, either professionally or just as a rather impressive hobby.  The homemade costumes can be quite impressive.  If I worked on it day and night from November 1st until the next Halloween, I still wouldn't be able to compete.  I'm just not talented in that way (it's OK, I have other talents).  And while I know that my kids are going to get candy no matter what, and that I could save $80 each year by getting online and doing some research and putting together a costume from scratch, my kids would suffer the trauma of an inferior costume. I'm not usually a "my kid has to have the best one" kind of parent, but Halloween is different.  In this case though, "best" is defined by the user, no matter how young.

I don't feel that I learned anything especially useful or significant from my childhood Halloween costume trials and tribulations.  Not that my parents were doing it for that reason - we probably just didn't have the money.  Spending money you don't have for Halloween costumes is dumb, no matter how much your kids want them.  But I do have the $80, and the time and sweat that I would have to spend making costumes is worth way more than $80 to me.  So if my kids want to have the same exact princess and Star Wars costumes as the rest of the kids with uncreative parents, that's fine by me.  Who knows, maybe it skips a generation, and my kids will be able to whip together great costumes from what they've got around the house.  But I'd rather spend ten minutes in Target and be done with it.

This is an original post to NYC Moms Blog. Amy also blogs about parenting in Brooklyn, blogging full time without making any money, and keeping herself sane and comfortable at Selfish Mom, and attempts to keep one step ahead of the stalkers and paparazzi at  Filming in Brooklyn.