pounds of candy from the discount grocery store is the bulk of this year's decorThough still warm enough for swimming and tomato growing (some of ours are just finally coming on) it is time to awknowledge October. Unlike many mothers I greatly admire, I do not anticipate this month of costumes and candy. Maybe its because I was never good at playing dress up as a kid (though I made a very brave Princess Leah when my brother and the neighborhood boys wanted to play Star Wars...I was good with a light saber and even better with a lazer gun). Maybe its the frugal side of me (do I have one of those?) that has a hard time spending money on costumes that will not be handed down (we've tried that a hundred times-no one wants to be the witch that Madi was, or the secret service agent of Mason's yester-years). Maybe its just that when the weather turns, my natural instinct is to hibernate instead of go into hyper-drive creating costumes for the crew and getting from corn maze to costume party with magical speed and eerie enthusiasm...
At least this year we are down to 4 costumes, as we've announced to the teenagers that if they want to
be teenagers (Bryn's age does not include the suffix
teen, yet she insists she is one) we no longer want to be responsible for providing costumes with which they can greedily go ask the neighbors for candy that belongs in the pillow case carryalls of children...
little children.
For whatever the reason, I accept October, but I do not embrace. I tolerate, and I smile and I try not to be a scrooge (wait, wrong holiday) and I patiently wait. For while the kids dream of candy to sort and trade with each other in the early dark evenings of November, I have already happily planned for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Heee Heee Heee Hee Heeeeee!
2 comments:
costumes don't have to cost any money. especially for smaller kids (not yet in school), it's the perfect opportunity to encourage THEM to to use their imagination and creativity and basic "dress-ups" around the house to come up with something. (robot? metal collander "helmet" and some aluminum foil works great. you get the idea).
one year Gator wanted to be a jedi. he taught me a lesson in that, while i was stressing out about how i was going to pull it off (i'd procrastinated and it was, sadly, the day before halloween), he wasn't worried at all.
he put on his karate outfit, made a sign for his shirt that said "Jedi" and used the garden hose sprayer as a "gun". people loved it, couldn't stop chuckling over his "costume" and he seemed to end up getting extra treats to boot.
he was thrilled with his accomplishment, creativity and originality. it taught me that it doesn't have to be a movie-set quality get-up to do the job. in fact, it really should be child-driven in my mind.
so we don't buy costumes. we make them with what we have around, improvising and such.
junior high is obviously trickier with peer pressure etc. but by then they have a wealth of friends to swap items and trade with. i've never stressed since that year Gator taught me that great lesson. it's just not something to get worked up over, and everything turns out fine.
if your cuteheads want to borrow anything that other people might have to loan, i suggest a facebook status update soliciting needed items. i guarantee that you'll have what you need in a jiffy! ♥
Just so you know, Halloween and evverything about it makes it my least favorite Holiday of the year.
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