I buy my children’s Halloween costumes, and I bet you can guess if I bake their birthday cakes too.
My husband and I both grew up with mothers who made our Halloween costumes every year. My mom would ask me what I wanted to be for Halloween, and she made it happen, even the year I wanted to be Queen Amidala from Star Wars. We went to JoAnn Fabrics, found a costume pattern, picked out the fabric, measured, took out the sewing machine, and made a costume. It was always fun and exciting.
I continued to go out on Halloween through high school with homemade costumes. Even though I wouldn’t trade that excitement, I have no interest in making Halloween costumes. Like everything else in motherhood, the mom guilt will come because you feel inadequate compared to the mother who made the perfect costume for her child. I simply do not have the want to do it or the time to do it. feel my time saved by not making their costumes was worth the $30 I spent on buying them.
Furthermore, I was able to resell their twice-worn Halloween costumes on Poshmark and make back about half the money I spent. My son had a blast wearing his Halloween costume to the Indianapolis ZooBoo and around the neighborhood for trick-or-treating. He had just as much fun as he would have if I made his costume. The unrealistic expectations for mothers to do it all weigh on our conscious and put a damper on our ability to set boundaries. I am the first to admit my plate is too full between a full-time job, graduate school, two children under the age of four, friends, travel, family, and maintaining a healthy marriage.
Sometimes, something must give, and, for me, one of those things is making a Halloween costume. In the future, we’ll see if I need to borrow a sewing machine and download a costume pattern. For now, I will enjoy the ability to click, ship, and unbox. It’s okay to buy the Halloween costume, the store-made birthday cake, the toys with batteries, or whatever you need to do to help you survive this crazy world of motherhood.
I will support you and give you a head nod and smile as I see you walking with your kids on Halloween. Plus, who are we kidding? You will probably be carrying the baby while pulling the wagon and carrying the two bags of candy while the kids sit in the wagon eating said candy. Either way, I’ll smile and wave and yell “cute costumes,” knowing that it is more important we are out there giving our children experiences than how much time we put into their Halloween costumes. That is a win, and that is what you should be proud of.
