“Mom! I need a costume tomorrow!”- every kid during deployment
We’ve all been there. You’re making the night-time rounds, turning off all the lights, and you hear the panicked shout of a kid who needs a costume…tomorrow. I have found that my children have a keen awareness of just how tired I am and, at any given moment, they are ready to pounce with a last-minute request or an un-communicated need which is, by all intents and purposes, life or death.
While I like to think of myself as a woman who plans ahead and faces the unending challenges of the holiday season from a place of preparedness, there are times where I am completely failing at life. It has been in these times that I have learned to really lean into my resourcefulness and conjure my last ounce of optimism toward the goal of producing a last-minute Halloween costume.
Here are some of my personal fav Halloween costumes:
The Lumberjack (or Scarecrow). All you need to turn your child into a lumberjack is an old flannel, some regular jeans, and a felt tip eye liner pen. Maybe borrow some of dad’s suspenders or add in a knit hat and you’ll really be in business.
Ice Bags. Ok… I actually have done this one in a spastic attempt to stifle a sobbing child, I grabbed a handful of white plastic grocery sacks, stuffed them into a clear garbage bag, and (sloppily) drew the word “Ice” with a Sharpie marker on the front. It wasn’t my finest moment.
Emoji. Have a yellow t-shirt and a few craft markers lying around? Most of us do. For the discerning toddler or teenage girl who needs a little DIY costume action, you can’t go wrong with their favorite emoji. *Bonus points if they get to draw it on the shirt.
Gumballs. I don’t know about you, but I always seem to have random un-inflated balloons in craft boxes and junk drawers. Grab a pair of red leggings, a clear garbage bag, and blow those bad boys up for a quick and easy “Gum ball” dispenser costume.
For those of you a little more put together, a hack I used for years involved grabbing all of the costumes at 90% off at Target when the holiday was over, storing them in a back closet somewhere, and waiting for my moment in the sun…saving the day with a new emergency costume.
Whatever your jam- DIY costumes or store bought, as long as you keep the Snickers bars coming, I’m sure the kiddos won’t even notice the thrown together and impromptu dress ups concocted in the last minute. In fact, grab a few candy bars yourself for pulling it all together.