Why I’m Saying No to Halloween Costumes This Year

Halloween is coming up at the end of the month and with it the whole costume dilemma.

The costume dilemma has moved on from when I was a child, you wore a Halloween costume if you went trick or treating, no trick or treating no costume.  And that Halloween costume was a plastic witches hat with synthetic hair from the corner shop and a black bin bag over your clothes.  Voila a witch.

Instead, these days, we have more than just Halloween costumes, we also have costume day at nursery.  Not content with making parents sending their child in costume for international day (football kit), World Book Day (any boy from any book), random end of term parties (someone with a hat on??) we also have to do Halloween costumes.

Now, I aspire to be a Pinterest mummy.  I really do.  And I can do the rainbow spaghetti and the home made play doh (and I do).  I bake with the boys and although my creations aren’t pretty they are edible.  What I can’t do is create pretty costumes out of a bed sheet, 3 pieces of string and a marker pen.  Well I probably could give it a good go but I don’t think anyone, myself included, would know what it was.

Definitely more Pinterest Fail than Pinterest Perfect.  Like the time I fashioned a pirate sword out of tin foil and a wooden spoon (and never saw the spoon again).

2014-06-09 08.02.10

Or the “Christmas Tree”

tree

Yes costumes are my nemesis.  Not only that but the Toddler hates dressing up.

Hates it.

The last costume day at nursery resulted in a battle of the wills, mine forcing the costume on so I didn’t look like the mother who didn’t pay attention to the nursery notice board (I don’t) and him pulling it off as quickly as I could pull it on.  Screaming until he was red in the face.  Snot bubbling from his nose.  Tears dripping from his chin. 

Yep.  Not going to be winning Mother of the Year depositing a tearful, hicupping pirate to nursery that day.

Even more, when I went to collect him he was his normal, happy little self.  He was also no longer a pirate (and he’d lost my spoon).

That’s when it hit me.  No matter what the occasion.  No matter what other nursery mums think.  No matter if I all of a sudden become a Pinterest costume whizz. No matter if I think it is cute and adorable for the Toddler to be dressed up. If the Toddler doesn’t want to wear a Halloween costume he shouldn’t have too.

It’s his choice.

And that’s why, this year, you won’t see the Toddler as a ghost fashioned from a sheet and a bit of eyeliner.  Or a cat in black clothes with eyeliner whiskers.  Or a pirate with an eyeliner skull and cross bones (see the eyeliner theme here – told you Pinterest costume failure).  He will simply be a boy on Halloween.

A stubborn, wilful, independent boy.

And that’s ok too.

The baby on the other hand, well I’ve seen a fantastic lobster in a pot costume……

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18 Comments

  1. October 14, 2015 / 1:45 pm

    Lol as I read this, I can hear Elliot in the other room pretending to be Andy going on a dinosaur adventure, complete with a costume! xx

    • Laura
      Author
      October 14, 2015 / 2:05 pm

      Just shows how different they all are – I have never heard of a child hating dressing up until I heard mine. And heard him I did…. x

  2. October 16, 2015 / 2:57 am

    Love this post! My daughter also seems to hate dress up. She likes her fairywings but that’s all. I won’t force her to dress up either. Like you though, I have the baby….

    I love your blog. I’m a regular visitor. Keep up the great posts!

    • Laura
      Author
      October 16, 2015 / 10:26 am

      Start them young this time!!! Let’s get them liking dressing up 🙂

      Ahh thanks Tori! I love the Adultier Adult too, still looking for a more grown up grown up (generally it’s the husband!)x

  3. October 16, 2015 / 12:13 pm

    Oh yes – a black sack dress everytime for us! I have to say I really love Halloween and dressing my son (and myself up!) but if he protests and doesn’t want to I wont force him. The whole idea is its meant to be fun so if it stops being fun, there’s no point doing it x

    • Laura
      Author
      October 17, 2015 / 6:54 pm

      I think in a way I am secretly glad he hates dressing up as I would be rubbish at costumes!x

  4. October 16, 2015 / 2:39 pm

    I agree, the schools / nurseries like kids to dress up for every little now. It is good in a way but it puts so much pressure on the parents to have a perfect costume for every occasion! I’m not a fan of dressing up lol, bad mum!

    #effitfriday

    Gemma xx

    • Laura
      Author
      October 17, 2015 / 6:52 pm

      No I’m not a fan of dressing up, my costumes when I was little weren’t that great I wonder if its a genetic thing – passing on being rubbish at costumes!x

  5. October 16, 2015 / 4:49 pm

    It’s strange how kids react to costumes.

    All year, our youngest will not wear a costume, including Christmas nativity costumes. However, come Halloween, it’s the only time he WILL wear a costume.

    In fact, it’s been known for him to walk around dressed as a giant spider, just because he wants to. How they’re all different.

    Thanks for sharing #effitfriday

    • Laura
      Author
      October 17, 2015 / 6:46 pm

      I wonder if because a Christmas nativity costume is not his choice, whereas it is his choice to be a giant spider?

  6. October 17, 2015 / 12:44 am

    Matthew refuses to dress up, I also don’t like it, so I don’t make him. It’s fun, if they want to and enjoy it, but frankly, they’re going to “have to” do a lot of things in life, Halloween dress up if they don’t want to, and you don’t make them, isn’t the end of the world. I agree with you!

    • Laura
      Author
      October 17, 2015 / 6:44 pm

      Thanks Karen, it’s crazy isn’t it the amount that they expect! I just can’t do that to him, or my ear drums…..

  7. October 17, 2015 / 12:43 pm

    Yes I’m with you on this one.

    Ever since Buddy was little he knew what he wanted and didn’t want.

    Most costume days he wasn’t interested in. We’d send the costume with him in a bag so we weren’t the parents who didn’t bother. If he wanted he’d wear it if not it came home in the bag.

    #BabyPink on the other hand has no choice. Her nanny sent her a bumblebee and we have a monkey suit.

    Great post

    • Laura
      Author
      October 17, 2015 / 6:43 pm

      Now this I hasn’t thought of – send the costume in! Makes me a good parent for sending it in and it doesn’t cost the earth as I can send the same in every time, he won’t wear it it doesn’t need to fit……(I see sods law coming at me for this one!)

  8. October 18, 2015 / 2:16 am

    It does seem like everyone is going crazy over costumes in October. A few days ago – middle of October – I counted five children at the grocery store wearing Halloween costumes.

    We don’t celebrate Halloween at all, so to me it doesn’t seem like a big thing that your son doesn’t like costumes. It just saves you money making/buying costumes.

    • Laura
      Author
      October 19, 2015 / 2:21 pm

      It’s crazy. I’m not sure why everything gets earlier and earlier each year either! We will be hiding this Halloween!

  9. October 22, 2015 / 3:15 am

    I agree. I hate the expectation to dress up. The eyeliner bit made me laugh.

    • Laura
      Author
      October 24, 2015 / 9:56 pm

      Well it’s not making it to my eyes any time soon 🙂

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