Let’s talk about Halloween costumes for a hot minute. Growing up, my mom always made our costumes. Anything we wanted to be, she would make. So, naturally, when I had children, I intended to make all of their costumes. I don’t consider it a burden because I like crafting ~ sewing, hot glue, cardboard, fabric, paint. Whatever. No biggie.

Fast forward to 2020 when there’s a worldwide pandemic and it’s a huge pain to go to a craft store, wear a mask that fogs up my glasses causing me to shop without glasses on and therefore sustaining a huge headache by the time I leave the store, waiting in line outside because there is a maximum allowance of people in the store, Purell and wash my hands until they are raw, and inevitably, forget something and have to do this all over again. Shopping is not the fun experience it used to be. Oh, and add into that homeschooling and moving right before Halloween. So, this year, I decided to take a deep breath, squash my Pinterest dreams of making costumes every year, and purchase ones from Amazon. *insert dramatic sigh*

Eli and Ava were THRILLED to pick out their costumes online (those ungrateful tiny humans who don’t realize all the love that goes into a homemade costume!) Ava insisted on being Elsa ~ excellent! She already owns 3 Elsa dresses to choose from. Wrong! She insists she wants to be Elsa from Frozen 2 when she is inside the cave and her mother gives her a new dress. In other words, a dress she does NOT already own. Grrrr. I scour Amazon and finally find the exact dress she wants, we order, it arrives, Ava wears it every day and loves it. Check mark! One costume down, one to go. I kind of like this whole ordering pre-made costume thing! Ha!

Eli wanted to be a skeleton. Perfect! Lots of skeleton costumes to choose from. Me: “Hey Eli. Look at this costume.” Eli: “No, that doesn’t look quite right.” Me: “How about this one?” Eli: “It’s not quite what I have in mind.” Me: “Here’s another one.” Eli: “No, it has to have a mask that covers my face and gloves that cover my hands.” Whelp, this costume just doubled in price. Me: “Ok, how about this Skelebones costume? It has a mask and gloves.” Eli: “Yes! That’s awesome! Order that one!” I order the costume, it arrives, Eli loves it and wears it around the house every chance he gets.

That was a month ago. Now we are into October and since these costumes cost double what I would have spent making them, I’m determined to find more than just one occasion to wear them. When we told Ava she wasn’t going to have a big birthday party this year, she asked to go to “Boo at the Zoo” with our good friends. Yes! Perfect opportunity to wear the costumes! Then Ava asked if everyone could dress up in costumes for her birthday dinner (just my parents and 2 siblings in person and everyone else virtually joining us). Bingo! Occasion #2 to wear the costumes!

Zoo day arrives bright and early, kids are excited, costumes are all ready…. Me: “Ava, go put on your Elsa dress for the zoo!” Ava: “I don’t feel like being Elsa today. I want to be the rainbow fairy that I was for Halloween last year.” Ummmm WHAT?!?! You’ve got to be kidding me! Me: “Ava, you picked out the special Elsa dress and have been wearing it so excited.” Ava: “But I want to be a rainbow fairy. I think that would be a perfect costume today.” I walk out of her room in silence and fix my coffee. Can’t. Deal. With. This. I drink my coffee while Ava is putting on her costume from LAST YEAR and smile and tell her how nice she looks since it’s her birthday and nobody wants an unhappy birthday girl walking around the zoo.

Eli very willingly puts on his Skelebones costume and I’m cheering inside at one victory for the day. We arrive at the zoo and 10 minutes later I hear, “Mama, I don’t want my gloves on.” Stops me in my tracks and I turn to look at Eli. Me: “You don’t want your skeleton gloves? The ones you insisted you needed with your costume?” Eli: “Yea, I don’t want these. Here put them in your backpack.” Okay, okay, it’s just gloves. He still looks great in his mask and costume suit. We continue to the next trick-or-treat station and animal exhibit. Eli: “Mama? Here take my mask. It itches.” Me: “No, no, no, you love the mask, remember? You picked out a costume that specifically had a mask with it.” Eli: “I changed my mind and I don’t want it.” I look at Sam. Sam looks at me. Why do our children torture us so?!?!

The following day is Ava’s birthday dinner. Me: “Ava, Nana and Papa are here. Ready for your costume dinner?” Ava runs out of her room wearing the rainbow fairy costume. Again. Elsa dress remains hanging in her closet. Eli walks out of his room in the skeleton suit. No mask. No gloves.

Next year, costume choices are limited to the dollar store.