The Costume Hunt

Halloween is a big deal in our house.

Its our once a year opportunity to take one of our favourite past times outside the confines of our house. The kids - and on occasion, me - love to dress up. Ever since Dude was a lil' dude costumes, dressing up and imagination has been a big part of how our family rolls.

I try to be organised and plan costumes out in September but inevitably the day before the school parties I am running around looking for bits and pieces to complete the costumes. This is never an easy task as my kids rarely go with the trends and choose a costume that I can pick up in the store. Over the years I have made Viking, Musketeer, Jedi, Pirate (before pirates were cool) costumes as well as hunted online for hours finding TinMan, Dorothy & Max's Wolf Suit.

I don't mind the hunt too much. I love that the kids use their imaginations and choose a costume based on what they like. Looking back at the Halloween pictures I can vividly remember pulling together each costume and the fun we had knowing that it was unique. True to form we had a few unique requests this year.

I was a little afraid of the last minute scramble this year because small towns don't provide you with many shopping options. And this morning I was in near panic mode when, after trying three of the four stores within driving distance, I was still missing key elements of two of the costumes. I pulled into the thrift store parking lot, said a prayer and walked in.

Not only did I find all the pieces I was missing but it was 50% off day. Yay MCC Thrift Store!!! Disaster averted and a very happy Gangster, Hermione & Captain Kirk headed off to their Halloween parties.

Phew!