A few years ago, I found a well-made, sturdy Belle dress at the Disney store, complete with shoes, faux fur wrap, and crown. Total cost: $150. Perhaps it was handmade by elves. Needless to say, this particular dress did not come home with us.
Over the years, many a costume has found its way into my children’s closets. Not all of them were created equal; I remember several Cinderella dresses that fell apart after a few weeks of intensive wear; most costumes are designed for wearing once or twice, and their design gives flimsy a whole new meaning. My daughter has never met a feather boa she didn’t like, and insisted from a very young age on wearing her costumes all the time. Only dressing up during Halloween and Purim? Twice a year? Puh-leeze. We’d indulge her during the after-Halloween sale, and bought enough princess dresses to last the year.
Still, I found myself sewing on ripped sleeves, arguing over dresses that were too short, too transparent, or weather-inappropriate (no, you can’t play in the snow wearing your Jasmine pants). So we changed our tactics, also because this habit of hers became somewhat expensive.
We ignored the ready-to-wear Halloween aisles, in favor of the thrift store. Isabella is delighted with this: her need for fancy costumes hasn’t diminished over the years, and so she is always on the lookout for some extra va-va-voom. At the thrift store, most things cost a dollar, and mommy rarely says no.
Nowadays, she no longer wants to be a princess for Halloween; she wants to be something cool. After all, she’s eight years old, which is practically adult; she’s not afraid of vampires and ghouls and monsters anymore. She’s even been carrying around her own private copy of Twilight for three months and has read at least 20 pages (Her second, by the way; she dropped the first one accidentally in the toilet, after which her dad –the sucker- bought her a larger edition). Enter the vampire costume: a 99 cent black velvet dress that would make Morticia Adams proud; all we have to get from the department store is the fangs, and maybe some fake blood. She’s delighted, and I’m not going broke, which makes for a very happy Halloween.
And, I can take all the money we’ve saved and spend it on candy for myself. I think some chocolate is in order.
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