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Family life

Halloween redux

See Tracy's kids on Halloween? Sure, it's still a week away for her family, but for them, it's all over but the trick-or-treating

By Tracy Chappell
Halloween redux

About a month ago, I came across the costumes the girls wore last year in our downstairs closet. Anna was a sparkly witch (“a good witch! A princess witch!” she insisted) and Avery was a fairy (with “no hair thing!” she insisted). Usually I put our Halloween costumes in our dress-up dresser post-celebration, but these were kind of “fancy” and I wondered if we’d get more use out of them (read: so they wouldn’t get ruined from my kids’ desire to wear them in some strange unintended way, or while sleeping or making mud pies — or having too-big kids squeeze into them).  
 
The girls were over the moon when I pulled them out. Oh, the dress-up joy! I had thought that Anna’s witch costume would be for Avery this year, but they both fit into last year’s disguises and couldn’t be happier at the thought of wearing them again.
 
“You really want to wear the same costumes as last year?” I asked, pleasantly perplexed. The answer was a resounding YES. Ummm… OK. Halloween —  check!
 
“I a faaaaiiiiiry!” Avery sang — with much, much more enthusiasm than last year. I remember tears. I remember pouting. I very vividly remember “no hair thing!” because the costume came with a little headband. Avery’s all over the headband this year. “I can fly and dance like a faaaaaiiiiiiry.” Perfect.
 
Anna’s sparkly witch costume is my all-time fave, so I’m thrilled to get another year for Anna out of it, and still be able to pass it on to Avery, if she’s so wickedly inclined next year. I bought it for my niece three years ago, knowing it would eventually trickle down to my family (though we had to sort of sneak it away for Anna because she loved it so much too).
 
So Halloween is all sewn up — the easiest year ever, and no artistic face paint required. Sometimes I wish I was one of those make-your-own-awesome-costume moms, but then I look at the girls’ faces — perfectly happy and bootiful — and realize that’s all that matters.  
 
However, next year it would be nice to delight at least Anna with some brilliant options. She might be out of the “I want to be sparkly” phase and onto something more sinister or funny. Do you have any great ideas that are sort of easy and don’t require sewing?

This article was originally published on Oct 25, 2011

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