I remember when I was growing up, most of the halloween costumes in local stores consisted of a very flimsy jumpsuit in polyester with a plastic face mask. Now they have so many choices, so many amazing, inventive costumes, from giant hamburgers to zombie skeletons.
My son, of course, picked a costume you can’t find in stores. Since I love making costumes, that’s fine with me. He wants to be a video game character. He’s been Mario before (which you can buy in stores but I made the costume) and he’s been Ash from Pokemon (I did a mix of buying and making). This year it’s Time Kid. Yeah, I had no idea who that was either. A Hat in Time is a new game, with a pretty interesting history. Time Kid is a girl, but the costume seems like a magician’s outfit with some embellishments- a purple top hat with yellow band, a yellow cape (with a giant zipper pull??) and a purple tunic.
My honorary niece has chosen Dino Dana, and her Mama is frantically trying to pull the pieces together. Unlike most children’s shows, this live-action show about dinosaurs (available on Amazon prime here in the U.S.) has absolutely no licensing with it. NONE. Not even a coloring sheet. Dino Dana wears a different costume every week that comes out of her magical backpack, and earns badges for helping dinosaurs. I helped out by making the t-rex badge, copied from looking at a screen shot. If you are a crafter looking to sell, consider looking up making crochet hats, backpacks with tails and felt badges related to this show. My friend is a talented crafter, but doesn’t crochet and has very little time, so she commissioned a hat.
If you’re a parent struggling to put together your child’s costume so they can have a magical day of pretend play, I salute you. If you’re not a crafter and bought a costume, it’s ok too. Treasure your child’s imagination, it’s an important life skill.
