Putting the Howl back in Halloween

I know I'm not the only Gen X Mom who loves Halloween. What's not to love? It involves dressing up, hanging out past bedtime with friends and eating sweets-- three of the best things in the world. In addition, it does not involve any of the more problematic elements of some other holidays: visiting with annoying relatives, sitting in church or spending lots of money on people you don't know very well but with whom you're somehow obligated to exchange gifts.

Retailers, however, have caught on to Halloween's hip potential, and capitalizing on the suburban zeitgeist of "no occasion is truly great unless we've dropped a wad of cash at Target," turned this holiday into a 6 Billion dollar industry, second only to Christmas.  Now you can buy Halloween lights for your Halloween tree, animatronic Halloween displays for your yard and Halloween accessories for your Halloween themed and decorated events.  Several years ago, as this themed merchandise began to trickle into the aisles, it was exciting. I thought, "Yes! This is my holiday! Let's celebrate! Let's buy!" They had me right where they wanted me. Now, as all this spooky plastic landfill fodder has become more and more aggressive, appearing earlier each year, taking up more aisle space, all the while getting cheaper and more generic, I say enough. 

In the Halloween of my childhood, part of the fun of Halloween was the weeks leading up to the holiday when you got to decide what you wanted to be and then put together the costume from bits and piece gleaned from your Mom's closet, the kitchen cupboard or the basement. One year, I was a bag of jelly beans (netting and balloons). Oohing and Ahhing over each other's costumes was part of the standard Halloween post-mortem along with a careful analysis of which houses had the best treats and whose mother was the creepiest witch. Now days your Mom orders your costume from Baby Gap and you and 4 of your friends get to be the cutest little ladybug money can buy.

How many Moms have I heard lamenting, "I got little Max the most adorable monkey costume, but he won't wear it." Do you know why? Because it might look cute, but when you're a kid, it's not fun. What's fun is wearing a bandana and an eye patch, drawing on your face with Mom's eyeliner, tieing a stuffed parrot on your shoulder and saying, "Argh! I'm a pirate!"

Not only is it fun to create your own costume, it also develops creativity and critical thinking skills-- those magic qualities that make we all want our children to embody. Instead of saying, "You want to be a monkey? Great! I'll buy you'r costume next time I'm out." Try, "You want to be a monkey? Great! How could we put together a monkey costume? Let's see...we'll need a tail and some ears..." This is also a great way for kids to express individuality. Instead of going as the 3rd Thomas the Tank Engine of the party, you child can be a Fire Dragon or a Pogo Motorcycle driver. What's that? I don't know, but your child does.

Maybe you're saying to yourself, "Yea. That's great, but I'm not crafty." or  And to that I say, you don't have to be crafty. You do not have to sew an Italian Renaisance Damsel costume to qualify for this job. Ask you kids for ideas. Look on the internet. Don't be afraid to let your child walk out the door in some weird get-up that only she understands. Explaining to the adult handing out candy that "I am a 'butterfly-mermaid-race car driver.'" will develop confidence and concersation skills.

So get out there and be creative, watch out for the spooks and ghouls, get plenty of candy, and don't forget to brush your teeth.