A Mom's Journal on Halloween Costumes
Preparing for my kids’ Halloween costumes is one of the “mommy tasks” that I always look forward to. I figured that donning Halloween costumes would only be enjoyable for my kids when they are young, so on years when I could put in time to prepare for it, I really put in big effort to make it memorable for them.
I’ve always wanted them to wear fun and unique costumes. Store-bought costumes were pretty scarce and expensive back at the time my oldest was younger. So I really had to put my creative skills to use.
From all of their costumes, two of my favorites are the Elvis costume and the Transformers costume. The main reason is that I made these costumes from scratch, putting in hard work on researching and planning how to make them.
For the Elvis costume, the idea hit me a month before Halloween when I saw a TV commercial of a kid in an Elvis style costume. Having three boys, I thought of how cute it would be if all three of them would have the same costume. I told my kids about my idea, told them who Elvis was and they agreed. I’m not really skilled into sewing. These costumes were actually my first clothing projects as the previous fabric costumes of my sons were sewn by a relative for me. I purchased inexpensive fabric and sequins and worked on them for two weeks. One of the things I like about costumes made from fabric is that they can be used many times. My youngest son was even able to use his brother’s Elvis costume two years after when he was invited to a costume birthday party.
For the Optimus Prime Transformers costume, the movie was shown that year and the kids were just crazy about it. I saw some videos on the internet on how some have made transformers costume for themselves and I figured that of making one for my second son. I showed the video to him and he agreed to it. I enjoyed making this costume because having the costume to “transform” posed a challenge for me. The costume also turned out to be inexpensive, as I was able to recycle a cardboard box. A few pieces of styrofoam, garter, packing tape, glue and paint were everything else that’s needed.
In some costumes, I had the help of my sweet relatives who had better sewing skills than I did. They helped me with the food costumes.
I also had help from them making the Star Wars Jedi costumes. Not only was it used for Halloween, but also for my youngest son’s birthday party.
When making costumes, cost was a primary factor. I really didn’t want to spend too much so I really had to plan and think of inexpensive materials and still make it work. If I can recycle materials just lying around in the house, I would. If I can re-use parts of their old costumes, I would. That Star Wars Jedi costume has been converted into a shepherd’s costume for a Christmas program, a Japanese costume for a United Nation’s program.
Time was another factor. There were years when I was busy and could not put in a lot of time into making the costumes. So in those times, they’d rotate previous costumes (younger son would wear the costume that the older one wore the previous year… a plus for having 3 boys!) or wear a costume that’s simple to put together. It’s also great that there are more inexpensive ready-made costumes available now at the stores. I have purchased a few for my older sons in the last couple of years.
Well, my Halloween costume-making days are numbered. In fact, this year may be the last. My two older kids don’t want to wear costumes anymore and they just want to use a mask for trick-or-treating. It is only my youngest son who will be having a Halloween school event. Hmm… what would be a good costume for him? Better get that think tank going now…
Have a Happy Halloween!!