It is almost October—my favorite month of the year! The weather turns cooler (finally), leaves start to change, and it is the month of my favorite holiday: Halloween.
I’ve always enjoyed Halloween, as a kid going out trick-or-treating wearing mostly costumes made by my own mother (check it out!), or as an adult going to a Halloween party. There’s something about dressing up in a costume that I love!
Thinking back to my Halloween years, I’ve had some fantastic costumes-the Purple People Eater, Pebbles and Bam Bam, Edgar Allan Poe and the Raven (especially fun as a middle school English teacher), and Doctors Sadler and Graham complete with Dino baby as Jurassic Park, to name a few.
Now that we have kids, I get so excited picking out our family costume! Yes, even as grown adults, I dress my family up into a group costume for trick-or-treating. Check out some of the photos. We’ve been Harry Potter,Hermione, and Dobby; Peter Pan characters; Winnie the Pooh characters.
So when September hit my kids and I started to brainstorm what Halloween costume we could do for trick-or-treating. We had some ideas running, then all of a sudden my older two kids decided they wanted to not do a group costume and instead be someone they want to be. And I’m not gonna lie, it broke my heart a little. My husband said the days of group costumes are numbered as the kids get older, but already?! I’m choosing to stay positive and I am still convinced we will bring back the family costume once again…
What do my kids want to be this year you ask? Well, I will save that for Halloween night-can’t spoil the surprise now! But one thing is certain. I will be in costume even if it is not a group family costume as we walk around trick-or-treating in our neighborhood this year. It’s still a fun holiday!
Usually I go with my husband and kids as we walk around the neighborhood. I hate being that house that might leave candy out with a sign that says “please be honest and take only one”-because we all know one of the first kids is gonna grab that entire basket of candy. But I hate missing out on watching my kids interact with other kids and take their cute little selves up to the front doors of our neighbors.
Sure, when my kids are a little older I’ll let my husband go with them and I’ll stay home in costume with my dogs and pass out candy to everyone. But when the kids are little-I soak it up. Last year, our daughter (who was 1.5 at Halloween) insisted on walking the entire way herself. By the end of the night, the girl had a hole in her bag from dragging it through the neighborhood!
Such great memories are made at Halloween and I enjoy every single one. Halloween may take on a different meaning now, transitioning from trick-or-treating with my dad and friends, to dressing up for a costume party with friends, to what it is now. But I think watching my kids enjoy Halloween and seeing it all through their eyes is the most special thing a Mom can witness. It is pure joy!
So while you may be stressed getting all those costumes and candy for the holiday, don’t forget to take a minute and watch how your kids see Halloween. It’s a core memory for the books.
