One spin around the web for every week of the school year
by Jennifer Binford
This week: Ghosts in the machine
Forget roads and bridges. Maybe some federal stimulus dollars could go toward R&D for a Halloween costume that transforms from a pirate to a firefighter to Darth Vader and back again. Because between now and October 31, I’m gonna need that more than a bridge.
Yes, they’ll tell you that they’re absolutely, positively, without question, cross their heart, very very very SURE that they want to be Tinkerbell and that they’ll never, ever, ’til the end of time, in no way want to be anything other than Tinkerbell. So, devoted parent that you are, you’ll shell out to buy the costume or spend hours wrestling green tulle so that she’ll have the perfect Tinkerbell costume on Halloween. And there’s a word for a parent like you: sucker.
If experience is any guide, they’ll choose the night before Halloween to tell you that under no circumstances will they consent to be whatever they swore to be—just as the shelves at Target are picked clean except for random accessories and costumes of obscure supporting characters (“It says here he’s Boba Fett’s cousin’s landspeeder’s driver! Isn’t it great?!”).
Luckily, the craft store is still open. And you, resourceful parent that you are, have the ultimate wellspring of homemade Halloween costume ideas: Coolest Homemade Costumes. Actually, there are a few good sites for homemade costumes, including ones with no ads and no, ahem…adult costumes. But for sheer variety, you can’t beat this place. Want to dress your child like a John Deere tractor? Here are TWELVE different versions, complete with photographs and instructions submitted by parents. You can even submit your own homemade masterpiece.
Believe me, it’ll save your sanity this year when your kiddo pulls the ol’ bait and switch. Next year you’ll be older and wiser and you’ll…still fall for it. Spooky how that happens.
See you next link!
