Dragon Tales

On finding the perfect Halloween costume

I love living in a city where the seasons change.

Sure, it might be a toasty 90 degrees outside as I write this article, but soon enough the temperatures will cool and fall will come to Sacramento.

The leaves will change colors and litter the city's streets. It will be time for a trip to Apple Hill, time to carve pumpkins, time for Halloween.

One of the great things about being a parent of young children is how much they enjoy holidays. My daughter gets excited about every festivity from Valentine's Day to Christmas. She often acts as my conscience reminding me when I am due to decorate our home.

Not so long ago Barcelona refused to accept it was the Fourth of July because “mommy hasn't put up decorations yet.” Shortly thereafter I was digging through boxes in our 200-degree, three-car garage in search of all things patriotic. But I digress...

The other day I was in my neighborhood craft store where holiday-related paraphernalia had taken over the center aisles. My children were duly fascinated and asked question after question about the orange-and-black themed decorations. At one point, my daughter asked me how many more days until Halloween.

“Three months,” I told her.

“Three months!?”

Even to a 5-year-old this answer seemed absurd. Technically, though, it was true. It was still August.

To prove my point I recited the months of the year with my precocious kindergartener placing a lot of emphasis on August, September, and October.

Excitement about the pending holiday quickly overshadowed our conversation and even my 2 ½ year-old son Berkeley started chanting “Halloween, Halloween, Halloween” in his little toddler voice.

My daughter informed me, “I'm so excited for Halloween! I want to be a fairy!”

“Fairy,” my son echoed.

For about half a second, I considered reminding my daughter she dressed up as a fairy last year, but my inner voice quickly interrupted me saying, “What are you thinking? You won't have to buy her another costume this year.”

With an audible sigh of relief, I outwardly praised my daughter's choice of costume albeit a bit on the early side. At the same time I hid my crossed fingers in hopes she would not change her mind in the weeks to follow.

That left finding a costume for Berkeley.

Up until this year, my son has worn his sister's hand-me-downs. His first Halloween he squeezed into a giraffe getup and last year he was outfitted as a duckling. Were he to wear Barcelona's costume from her third Halloween, he would be dressed as a ladybug.

Although I personally have no problem putting my little boy in a ladybug costume, I know in my heart the little guy would not go for it. I am constantly reminding him “ladybugs are our friends” in an effort to keep him from killing these tiny beneficial bugs.

I wondered what kind of costume to get Berkeley until I had an “aha!” moment a few days later. I was flipping through a children's catalog when I saw a precious dragon costume. I was really excited – until I saw the price.

“Eighty-nine dollars!” I said aloud to no one in particular. The costume was cute, but definitely not worth the price. So I started searching the Internet.

I was browsing web pages one afternoon when my telephone rang. The caller was a woman I asked to speak to one of my mommy groups. We exchanged pleasantries, then she asked me what I was up to, and I told her.

“Are you kidding me?”

Turns out Isabel's daughter dressed up like a dragon the previous year. Not only did she still have the costume, she had just dug it out to sell at an upcoming consignment sale.

Suddenly, I felt like Isabel was my new best friend. What are the odds she would have exactly what I was looking for? I thanked her profusely for agreeing to bring the costume with her the following week when we were to meet in person for the first time.

A week later I instantly fell in love with the fuzzy, three-piece costume complete with little dragon wings. I knew my son would love wearing it. Knew he would want to live in it once he saw it. And you know what I loved? The fact it only cost me $10.

Happy Halloween!

Parent Tales Column ~ October 2006