I did it. I succumbed to the fear… nay, the reality, that the dinosaur costume my 5-year had to HAD. TO. have for Halloween might not be hanging in Toys R Us later this month.
Yes, I bought the overpriced green fleece ensemble complete with plush claws… last month… shortly BEFORE Labor Day.
OH YES I DID!
I am that mom.
The one other moms can blame for purchasing the one and only size 5 dinosaur costume Toys R Us decided to carry in our local store.
I swear there was only one left when we got there.
Yes, I am that mom.
The one, who actually buys (not just has their kid look at) Halloween costumes, when it’s 90 degrees outside, and the only reason you are in a store looking at costumes in the first place is because you want to enjoy the free air conditioning.
I am that mom… out of necessity.
I am the mom who learns from her mistakes. Namely ones that force me to drive to dozens of local costume shops and scour the Internet the week of Halloween looking for the exact giraffe getup my daughter fell in love with during the last week in August.
August… as in still summer, nowhere near fall, and miles away from Halloween.
Who in the world buys a Halloween costume in August?
Not me! At least not two years ago.
Big mistake!
One that I have never forgotten.
See, I used to be the mom who refused to believe that anyone with half a brain would actually purchase a Halloween costume prior to the new school year starting.
When my daughter was two, she tried on a giraffe costume at Toys R Us and refused to take it off.
I eventually got her out of it, and promised that we would return to buy it in a few weeks.
There were seven size 2 giraffe costumes hanging on the rack. Why wouldn’t at least one still be there when I came back in October?
Why?
Because the “that moms” of the world know better than to wait until October to buy Halloween costumes for their kids.
Needless to say, my daughter’s beloved giraffe costume was not there when I returned to the store in mid-October, and she refused to consider similar spotted, long neck animal costumes from Target, Old Navy, The Children’s Place and Pottery Barn.
Tears were shed, bad words mouthed and lessons learned.
Hence my transformation from mom to that mom.
And as for being someone who would allow her young, sweet, precious daughter to dress up as a flesh-eating tyrannical lizard king for Halloween… yeah, I’m that mom too.
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