Saturday, September 12, 2009

Halloween Costumes Anyone?


I am still in shock that fall is knocking on our door so soon! I have to tell you though, that I absolutely LOVE this time of year. It is probably my most favorite season, because the Oklahoma heat cools off at the same time the leaves on the trees begin to change and eventually fall to the ground. Something about the weather lifts my mood and spirits as the holidays approach...and it all starts with Halloween.

I'm sure we all have memories of Halloween and the costumes we wore during our childhoods. I am no different. While I had many costumes throughout the years, the one I remember the most is from when I was in probably 3rd or 4th grade - my parents decided that I could have a Halloween party at our house and go trick-or-treating that evening with my friends. I was so upset because my mom insisted that I didn't need to go and buy a costume, because she had the "perfect" one for me. Her vision of perfect was me dressed in a HUGE stuffed pumpkin costume. If that wasn't bad enough, she made sure it was complete with green tights and even a green hat for the vine stump! Sure, I laugh about it now right along with my friends who were there to see me in it - I have made sure that all pictures associated with that night went MIA. However, as funny as we find it now, I assure you that at the time it was not a laughing matter!

Well, now I have a 2 year old and am starting to feel the excitment of picking out his costumes...you know, before he can protest and be scarred for life from the memory. I have decided that this year I am going to try and save a little money while picking out his costume. There is a store in our town that is hosting the first annual Halloween Costume Exchange Sale. The concept is that you bring in your child's slightly used Halloween costumes between September 21st and October 9th and, in exchange, you receive a coupon if you come back on October 10th and purchase another costume from the store. There will be no new costumes there, just the ones that were brought in from parents during the specified dates.

I personally think this is a wonderful idea - especially for those of us with young children who we want to look cute, but have no desire to spend a lot of money to make it happen. Plus, my son's spider costume is still hanging in the closet from last year. As you can see from the picture above, it was just as big around on him as my pumpkin outfit was on me - and even was completed with a black hat with eyes...I decided to not make him wear tights though. This costume exhange and sale has provided me with the perfect way to free up that closet space and also see that it gets worn again. I don't know if any of your communities have something like this for parents, but if not, I am willing to bet - monopoly money of course - that it would be a pretty successful thing to get started!

2 comments:

Mystery Mom said...

I think that the costume exchange is a GREAT idea! I wish there was something like that near me.

DelRae said...

Maybe it's something that you can get started! :)