Oh, tomorrow is the big day. My kids have been counting down the days for weeks. Time for costumes and trick-or-treating and coming home with a bag full of candy. In their eyes, life doesn't get much better.
They don't know how good they have it.
Halloween was a lot different when I was a kid in the 70s. Very, very rarely did we get store-bought costumes. It was up to our parents to make us something. And it was a genetic roll of the dice if we had a parent who was creative enough to come up with something that didn't make us cringe with embarrassment or roll our eyes with disgust. I'll never forget the angel costume my parents designed for me in third grade, complete with the enormous tinfoil wings my dad crafted for hours. Wait, maybe I was a fairy. Either way my costume was big, over the top, and sparkly. Just the way I like all my accessories. I remember my teachers oohing and aahing over me in the Halloween parade, when I won the best costume award.
It almost made up for the year before when in a moment of last minute panic, my parents decided to design my costume at my grandparents farm. My grandma Tillie decided that my cousin Jena and I were going to go as gypsies. For whatever reason, I was not happy with that choice. No amount of dangly earrings (made out of Mason canning jar lids) or rouge on my cheeks was going to make me feel better. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have a fancy costume (just green corduroy bell-bottoms), or my hair was laid flat under a bandanna. Who knows. It was 1977; reason and logic were not part of my vocabulary. I found a picture of the three of us - me, Tillie and Jena. Between my grandma's monster mask and death-like grip on my arms (who knew she had the strength of ten Russian soldiers), the only one in that photo truly excited for Halloween was my cousin. Look at her face...true bliss.
"I think I want to be Ninja..."
"I'm going to be a Rock Star Witch...with fake nails and blue hair extensions..."
"Mom, can I order the Renaissance costume? It's only $60."
What? Are you kidding me? Costume prices are insane. But I'll be honest...I started indulging their greedy little consumerism traits for this holiday before they could walk. With four kids, it was always great fun to do a theme.
And we've done some good ones...
Wizards of Oz
Super Heroes
Pirates
It makes me a little ill to think of all the money we've spent on costumes and decorations over the years for Halloween, but when I pull out old photos of them smiling from ear to ear, dressed in matching dalmatian puppy outfits, I don't have a single regret.
It'll be interesting to see what Halloween is like for the next generation. Do you think creativity will even play a part? Will everything come from a store? Or will there still be parents sitting around a table, drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and trying to come up with a quick and easy solution?
Hmm...it'll be interesting to see, that's for sure.
And just in case anyone is struggling for ideas... I know where you can fashion out a pair of earrings from of a jar of tomatoes.
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