Halloween is a time when parents can sport costumes and relive the days when they could pretend to be someone else. But when you’re a parent, you can no longer go out on Halloween in your underwear and a cape and call yourself Superman. You have to dress up like an adult. Your costume has to be something cool and creative, or funny and ironic.
That is, until you have kids of your own. Then you become responsible for more than just yourself. Now you have to worry about coordinating costumes with your spouse so that your whole family looks awesome together. (And if you’re a single parent, you’ve got it even worse.) And then there are the family photos: the ones where everyone’s smiling because they want to get this over with as quickly as possible so they can go out and collect some candy.
Here are 14 costumes families go through when they decide it’s time to dress up like someone else.
1. The “Awkward Family Photo” costume
It’s not really a costume, but it’s a classic AF tradition to wear an old-timey bathing suit or sweater vest for the annual holiday card.
2. The “This Is My Kid’s Costume” costume
Let’s be real: Your kid is dressed up as Minnie Mouse, and you’re just in black scrunchies and red lipstick with ears on your head. I mean, c’mon, we’ve all done it.
3. The “We’re All Wearing This Costume” costume
There’s always that one family member who just wants everyone to match, so they’ll dress the entire family up as something like Disney princesses or the Mario brothers.
4. The “I’m Trying to Be Funny” costume
This is when someone shows up in an inappropriate outfit, like a sexy vampire or pirate. And that person is usually your dad.
5. The “Please Don’t Ask Me About This One” costume
Yeah, you don’t really know why your uncle showed up to the party dressed as a clown, and he probably doesn’t either. Just let him have his moment and keep on walking …
6. The “My Parents Are Way Too Old
The “I don’t want to go trick-or-treating but I’m not allowed to stay home alone so I’ll just wear this sweatshirt over my head and hope nobody sees me” costume.
The “My mom is making me do this but I’m going to roll my eyes the whole time so everyone knows I don’t want to be here” costume.
The “I really wanted to dress up as a sexy mermaid but my parents said it was too slutty so this is the best we could do” costume.
The “Halloween is supposed to be scary, but also, my dad didn’t sign up for this, so we needed to make it something he would get on board with, which meant no ghosts or witches or monsters or anything like that, so now he looks like a pirate, I guess? But still pretty scary though, right?” costume.
The “This is the only thing in my closet that would work, sorry!” costume.
The “My mom tried hard, but she can’t sew very well and all of the store-bought costumes were too expensive for us” costume
1. The Family Photo
It’s a tradition to get a family photo in front of the Christmas tree every year. It might look forced and awkward, but it’s a tradition.
2. The Awkward Photo
Then you try to get a photo with your whole family when you’re all dressed up for Halloween, and that’s when things get really weird.
3. The Costumes
You all start off happy, picking out your costumes together, thinking this will be the best Halloween ever! Then you realize it’s actually pretty hard to find one costume that fits the whole family…
4. The “I’m Not Wearing THAT!” Costume
The adults have an idea of what they want to dress up as, but your kids put their foot down and refuse to wear anything even remotely related to what you’re wearing. You can’t force them to wear something they hate, so you have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to make this work.
5. The “I’m Not Wearing ANYTHING” Costume
You thought that once the kids were old enough to pick their own costumes, everything would be easy-peasy. You thought wrong! They refuse to wear anything at all for Halloween and demand that their “cost
The one where you’re too old to go trick-or-treating, but you still have to go with your younger sibling.Oh, the joy of Halloween. You’re old enough to have a job or go out with friends, but you still have to take your younger sibling trick-or-treating. How awkward.
The one where Mom and Dad try to be cute and match their child’s costume.This usually leads to an argument between parents about whose costume is better and/or who wore it better (because Mom always wins).
The one where Mom makes everyone in the family dress up as the same thing. Why?
The one where you’re forced to dress up as a character from your sibling’s favorite show or movie.”We’re all going as Power Rangers!” Noooooo!
The one where your parents dress up as the exact opposite of the character they’re supposed to be portraying.”I’m not just any superhero, I’m Super Dad!” “You look nothing like a superhero, Dad.” “Thank you…?”
The one where your parents dress up as a pop culture couple, but they’re not really a couple in real life at all.That’s weird…why are they dressed up as Edward and Bella? They don
As a kid, I loved dressing up and playing make-believe. My mom would help me pick out the perfect ensemble for whatever I was trying to be that year. From a poodle to a princess, she made it all happen.
My mother was an expert costume designer and seamstress. The only thing better than having a mom who could sew, was having one who wanted to sew. She would glue and sew, cut and iron until everything fit perfectly. My mom was a mom on a mission!
And then came the awkward years of middle school…
If you were anything like me, you probably remember those awkward years oh so well. Trying to be just like everyone else yet simultaneously stand out as unique. It’s crazy how we can long to be different while also longing to fit in.
At home my parents tried their best to keep me in line with what they believed made sense for me. This included clothing choices, hair cuts, activities and if necessary even church attendance! (I grew up going to church every Sunday.) Because of this I often felt that I had no choice but to find ways to express myself “outside” of my home environment.