Halloween: From Scratch

October is a month full of many things. Yellowing leaves, pumpkin spice everything, abnormally hot weather (thank you, San Francisco), and last but certainly not least… planning our Halloween costumes. Halloween has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. As a kid, Halloween was not just a night to fill my pillowcase with candy while trick-or-treating. It was a day I could dress up, down, sideways, and no one would look twice. Unless it was incredibly niche, nonsensical, or very scary. Proudly, a Candy-Corn Witch three years running.

Back in those days, we didn't have Pinterest or Instagram for inspiration; all we had were our minds and unrestricted access to Mom's craft supplies. I miss that about our youth. Let’s go back to that. How can we, as parents, foster and inspire our kids to come up with different ways to dress up for Halloween without social media? 

Let’s begin with some brainstorming. Asking your little one open-ended questions is a great way to get the creative juices flowing; What is your favorite movie/book/comic/thing? Who is your favorite character? Who do you look up to most? What are you obsessed with? Chances are, everyone knows the answer to this one. Anything in your little one’s mind is coming out sooner rather than later. 

Using these questions, let’s see what we can put together.

Space Monkey…

Creative coincidence? A cultural deep cut? A Frankenstein-ed costume if we’ve ever seen one. Combine a monkey onesie costume with a space helmet salvaged from another. As it turns out, monkeys accomplished space travel before humans made the journey themselves.

What you and your kid come up with doesn’t require a combination of costumes. Don’t be afraid to shake it up and experiment. There are plenty of different ways to execute these unique ideas, and with the array of local craft stores here in San Francisco, the opportunities are endless.

Teddy was in the closet the whole time.

Costumes can come right from your closet. Grab a few fluffy and brown items, and you can make the cutest fuzzy friend costume. Some of the most unique ideas can be brought to life using what you already have. Whether it’s for a last-minute pumpkin carving plans or for Halloween night itself, your kids' closet will always have your back when it comes to amplifying their costumes while making them feel comfortable and spooky.

We can’t wait to see how imagination strikes.