Costumes for Halloween

My kids are dresser-uppers. If given the choice, they would play dress-up and make-believe all day long. Some days I have a princess, a Jedi and a superhero sitting at the table with me for lunch. Because of their love of dress-up, I don’t mind spending a little more on Halloween costumes. Unlike some families, our costumes don’t get packed away during the first week of November. Rather, our costumes get added to the dress-up bins, which are currently overflowing.

This year I allowed the kids to spend up to $25 on a costume. Some may find his excessive. Technically, I could classify our Halloween costumes as an educational purchase because they are used so often and for what I feel is an educational purpose. There is a great deal of research showing how pretend play is very important for all aspects of development in young children.

Jake dressed up as Anakin Skywalker. He would specify that this particular Anakin is from the new Clone Wars (animated) movie, not any of the other Star Wars movies. He decided to buy the matching light saber with his allowance money because his costume cost $25.

Jolie chose to be a black cat. She got a bodysuit from an older homeschool friend and I spent $6 on some black ears and a black tail for her. I used some eyeliner to make her whiskers and some lipstick to make her pink nose. (Good choice, Jolie!)

Jensen went with Spiderman…then Indiana Jones. I bought him the Spiderman costume for Halloween, spending $20. We got him an Indiana hat and whip for his birthday. He decided at the last minute to switch from Spiderman to Indiana Jones.

I don’t mind spending a little more on costumes at Halloween time because my kids will wear them until they can’t be worn any longer.