| By :
Nick Messe
Halloween was the neighborhood highlight during the dreary fall months. With the start of school in September, the days dragged on until the calendar changed to October and revealed the 31st. Some parents were active participants in this holiday costume tradition, while others were bystanders and dished out candy to the trick or treaters. My mom took the path less traveled and allowed her daughters to plunder through her old trunks from college and pull out scarves, hats, dresses, and old costume jewelry to begin the wonderful holiday designs. What a great time we had trying on clothes and deciding what we could name ourselves in our mother's old get ups. It was a blessing that mom was a seamstress and we loved seeing her tear into her dresses with vigor, making capes out of skirts, and turbans out of petticoats. We were peasants and genies, hobos and princesses all on a shoestring budget. Mom would send us to grandma's to borrow old buttons and bows and to the neighbor next door for some of her exotic shades of lipstick and eye shadow. What fun we had, dashing from house to house in search of Halloween treasure. The relatives and neighbors also enjoyed rummaging through items in their make up boxes and jewelry cases they hadn't touched in years. As a young mother, I followed in my mother's footsteps and sewed Halloween outfits from old clothes from my teenage years for my four children. A Raggedy Ann outfit was made from an old pillow case and lace was used from a old slip. A toothpaste outfit was born from an old white lampshade worn on my daughter's head. A white sheet was custom tailored to resemble a tube with the letters of a popular brand of toothpaste printed down the center of the tube with an indelible marker. Those costumes for pennies conjure up special memories forever. Today my daughter takes a path that is marked by trips to many thrift stores and second hand shops. She begins months before the holiday to find just the right pieces and accessories for the costumes she designs for her three children. These stores offer a wealth of eclectic clothing choices to create costumes that are inexpensive. Costume shops have a huge selection of pieces and costumes that are a little pricey but certainly suitable for fancy adult parties. Theater outfitters can accommodate Halloween seekers with the perfect costume, but they come with a hefty price tag too. Online Halloween sites are by far the easiest and fastest means to purchase a complete outfit and have it delivered on your doorstep. For busy moms, this saves valuable time and energy. Special effect makeup can be found at these online sites and party stores to create scars, and life like oozing blood for the scarier enthusiasts. Dress for the Halloween season this year with a variety of masks, hats, wigs, and other options from inexpensive to pricey and pull together the perfect costume.
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