I started the conversation about the all important costumes several weeks in advance. I was doing pretty well, I thought, to get the boys involved and to take ownership of their holiday. I wanted to make their costumes because, after all, doesn't that make it mean more? (Whomever fed that line of hooey to frazzled moms must've been insane, a male businessman, or the one who stole all my time!)
Every day waiting in the preschool carpool line I asked probing questions about what each boy would like to be for Halloween. It would've been nice had they come up with ideas that I could've actually made or put together. Instead, Drew wanted to be a skeleton or a spider. Owen wanted to be a pumpkin. How do you make those things? I thought about putting Owen in orange tights and stuffing an orange shirt but figured Jay would not be pleased with the tights part!
Maybe I just don't have enough imagination and I certainly don't have any sewing skills....I just couldn't dig deep enough to make my boys' costumes. So, defeated, I marched off to a discount store with the oldest boys in tow.
We arrived before the doors even opened and we waited. The only way I could feel better about buying a costume was to make an event out of it. So we ate candy corn and chatted about our costumes. Owen insisted that I couldn't be a princess like I suggested but that I had to be a pumpkin. (I explained that a pumpkin wouldn't be figure flattering but that argument was met with a blank stare. He's a boy...he wouldn't get it.)
After passing the 4 racks of girls costumes we finally arrived at the one rack of boys costumes. (This is pretty typical when shopping for boys.) We quickly perused the options and the boys made their selections. I was surprised at their choices because it was nothing like what we had discussed. But if a boy wants to be a gorilla or a chicken, far be it from me to stand in their way!
The only snag in the costume plan was when Drew discovered some vampire teeth in our Halloween box.
"Wouldn't those look good for a gorilla to wear?" he said.
"You would be ferocious!" I said. Which pleased him a lot.
Not to be outdone, Owen was very adamant that he wear some ferocious teeth, too. I told him there was only one set of plastic teeth and Drew got to wear them. This was unacceptable and I sensed a melt-down approaching.
I prepared myself for a tough sale and quickly thought of some reasons why he couldn't wear the coveted teeth. (Besides the obvious...that they were already spoken for.) This was the best I could do...
"Chicken don't have teeth!"
That is the truth.
Melt-down averted. Score one for the Mom!
1 comment:
How fun for your boys to pick what they get to be. That's always the best! They looked like they had fun.
What did your costume end up being? No princess then? :)
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