I have a philosophy when it comes to boys and Halloween costumes. Boys are only soft and squishy for a short period of time. You can get away with sweet and adorable costumes for only so long before you start fielding requests for vampires, demons, ghouls, and other scary creatures. The way I see it, mothers are entitled to carte blanche Halloween costume selection until children have a solid opinion on the matter.
With this in mind, I dressed Mikey as my favorite animal, the elephant, without nary a complaint from the peanut gallery for his first Halloween. And much like his costume, he was sweet and soft with delicate pink ears.
And on his second Halloween he was a fuzzy-wuzzy puppy dog. The nose of his costume would pant and bark when you squeezed it.
The following year, with Mikey almost two and a half years old, I could feel my reign as supreme costume picker-outer coming to an end. So, I decided to go out with a bang. Luckily, I found on ebay a costume that represented Mikey’s personality perfectly.
And I was right. In the midst of a desperate addiction to all things Peter Pan, Mikey announced he wanted to be none other than Captain Hook. This happened the year Pirates of the Carribean came out, so Mikey was one of 10,532 pirates roaming the neighborhood Halloween night.
Nicholas was Peter Pan. Turns out Peter Pan costumes are hard to come by in infant sizes. I bought all the material to make one ahead of time, but ended up waiting until the last possible minute. I made his costume without a pattern by holding yards of fleece against his squirming body. To use technical sewing terms, the hat was a bitch to make. Note the drunken stitchery! That’s what you get when you have 20 minutes to make a costume.
This year, Mikey has been unwavering in his costume selection. Since August, there is only one costume worth wearing. No amount of me showing him various catalogs or websites could change his mind. No, he knew exactly what he wanted to be and how he was going to look, down to the twisted circle in his hair, thanks to all those Superman Grilled Cheese Sandwiches he’s been eating.
Parenting Dilemma: What should Nico be? He’s young enough for me to have my way with him, and I’m not too excited about Mikey’s idea to dress him as Spider Man. The peacock is too big, so we will save it for next year. Should I reuse the doggie costume? It would fit him perfectly. I just wonder if he should have his own costume based on his personality, rather than his brother’s hand-me-down. I know it doesn’t matter, which is why I am torn. What do you think? New or old costume?
Aww, adorable. Yes, having a girl, I also deal with this. She always either wants to be a fairy, princess, or a kitty cat.
The same dilemna I am facing….funny since our boys are the same age. Aiden was a cute little dinosaur, Mickey Mouse, a horse, and last year a fire fighter at his request. This year? Buzz Lightyear (UGH). Thankfully our landlady had an extra Buzz costume hanging around, yay!!! Now Riley….well I’d love for him to be something different but finances being what they are I am forced to put him in the horse or a hand me down Monkey that he worse last year as well. Sigh…..man I love the peacock and even tried to get one on Ebay. No luck though. What size is Nico in? We could do a mail trade!
I have no good ideas for costumes (other than the waaaay cool King Kong one I made for my son from a Family Fun issue). All I know is that, if you haven’t already, you need to IMMEDIATELY put that elephant picture in a frame, preferable a big one with a very large mat to highlight its deliciousness. I LOVE it!
I’m all for getting a new costume if it suits your younger son better than the dog. I’m a bit of a sucker for Hallowe’en and I just love costumes. I’m one of those annoying adults who dresses up for Hallowe’en. When else would I get to?
So, yes, buy a new costume if you have time and money, but no worries either if he’s the dog!
Beth
http://www.bethsfavouritethings.blogspot.com
I’m sorry, I can’t respond to comments right now because I am horrified that I wrote “weighting” instead of “waiting.” What the?? Freudian slip, anyone?
that peacock costume is the cutest thing. ever.
i say stick with the dog costume for this year. why spend the money to go out and get a new one when you already have it and it fits him perfectly? unless you are shopping and happen upon one you can’t live without, go with the puppy. :)
I really heart the peacock too.. I say recycle that cute puppy. Super dog?
My Guys were 1st a carrot and then when # two came, a carrot and a bunny. The third was the same in turn and then, clown, witch (boy witch?), Fred, George and Ron Weasley,, see here-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beckyoh/933940508/in/set-72157601746976918/
We even had Igor from Young Frankenstein one year..
I dress up and stay home to give out candy. I usually yap with my neighbors and the guys go treating with the kiddos.
You?
Hey Miss mainehappymama, I have a Riley too.. in NH : )
A TINY BABY PEACOCK? I just let out a “twenty one years old and no boyfriend and no real desire to have kids anytime soon but OH MY GOD THAT IS SO FREAKING CUTE I THINK I JUST FELT MY OVARY CONTRACT” squeal. i’d say go with the puppy, but I like becky o’s superdog idea or something like that. that way you’re just altering, not starting from scratch.
Love that elephant costume. My daughter wore the same for her first Halloween and was SO CUTE!
The cheap (and only) me says use the darn doggie costume! LOL He won’t have a clue! It’s all good. And he’ll need something to talk about in therapy later in life, right?
OMG – that elephant photo is simply priceless! My kids are too old to trick or treat this year (or at least they should be!). I remember the days of costumes of M&M's, butterflies, a doughnut and a bag of groceries. :-)
Oh my God! Those are the sweetest costumes ever. You tell Mickey that he makes the best Superman that I’ve ever seen. That puppy costume is adorable and I think Nico would make a great puppy. If you are thinking about a new costume Old Navy has a very cute monkey. Either way, he’s going to be cute as a button.
OMG- too cute! Around here, we’ve done bees, puppies, teen titans Robin, Cap’t Jack, Itsy Bitsy Spider and a Power Ranger. This year, the eldest wants to be Batman, middle boy wants to be a kitty (he’s obsessed with kitties), and youngest is going to be a kitty. Well- it’s a black outfit with a cat face on the tummy. No choice for him, ha ha ha. He’ll only be a month!
OMG- too cute! Around here, we’ve done bees, puppies, teen titans Robin, Cap’t Jack, Itsy Bitsy Spider and a Power Ranger. This year, the eldest wants to be Batman, middle boy wants to be a kitty (he’s obsessed with kitties), and youngest is going to be a kitty. Well- it’s a black outfit with a cat face on the tummy. No choice for him, ha ha ha. He’ll only be a month!
OMG- too cute! Around here, we’ve done bees, puppies, teen titans Robin, Cap’t Jack, Itsy Bitsy Spider and a Power Ranger. This year, the eldest wants to be Batman, middle boy wants to be a kitty (he’s obsessed with kitties), and youngest is going to be a kitty. Well- it’s a black outfit with a cat face on the tummy. No choice for him, ha ha ha. He’ll only be a month!
Oh Lord, we are having our own costume drama up in these parts as well. Troy is 10 months and Zoe is 7.5 (going on 36) and I want them to coordinate costumes, like Tinkerbell and Peter Pan or Salt and Pepper.
Zoe wants to be something different every 10 minutes. I am about to lose it.
And I’m totally stealing this post idea simply because I want to post Zoe’s Halloween costumes from the past!
Oh, and I would get Nico a new costume for this year. The puppy costume is adorable, but think of all the cute possibilities before he wants to be Batman next year!
This just cracked me! For years, I always made my kids’ costumes, and just loved doing it, even when it came down to the wire! Your post brought back a lot of fond memories–thank you!
I don’t know which ones are cuter? The elephant and that sweet little smile on his face? The peacock? The Peter and those little legs? Mikey’s pose as superman? Your kids are so lucky to have a Mom that cares so much about them and doesn’t think a pillowcase with holes cut out in the eye area is an acceptable costume…You rule!
Thanks for all the feedback. Right now I am leaning towards getting Nico his own costume. Zachary reminded me this is really my last year to get him a totally obnoxious, adorable costume. Next year he’ll be the Peacock, and the year after he’ll probably want to be a ridiculous franchised character. Blech.
Although, Cara does bring up a great point regarding therapy… ;)
I vote new costume. However, you could always make him Underdog in the spirit of superhero’s LOL. My girls are going to be Elmo, both of them. I’m not big on ‘characters’, however they do so love him, and the squeal of glee from them both when I put them on this afternoon was totally worth it.
That peacock is the CUTEST costume ever!
You have the cutest stinkin kids.
Nico should be Wonder Woman!
My daughter wants to be a blue hammerhead shark. Huh?
Thanks, Lisa! Too funny about the blue hammerhead shark. She’s such a character. I love to read about her latest exploits on your blog. My current favorite is the “slighted” picture from a few days ago.
My SIL thinks Nico should go as a sock monkey because I got the boys sock monkeys from Textile Fetish last year for Christmas. The costume is on the Target website. :)