Halloween Preview

Can you believe it?? We are talking about Halloween and it is mid-September?!?!?!?! I had absolutely NO desire to think about Halloween but in order to save a little money I had to head out to the stores before everything was picked over. How is that possible you might ask???? Well, the only thing I needed to buy was a red wig....had to get one before the red wig supply was depleted.

So, to answer the question that I am sure is on your mind, Madeline is going to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid. We have yet to*ever* buy a Halloween costume for Madeline. They have either been borrowed or a hand-me-down. This year, Madeline has more of a clue as to what is going on so I have to be a little more particular.

Since going to Disney last year, Madeline is in 100% princess mode. Her latest kick is Ariel. Lucky for me, we have a hand-me-down play dress-up costume (complete with the fin) of Ariel in our dress-up clothes. The good news is that this stuff was tucked away in our storage unit (that was just emptied out this past weekend). So, although this is a hand-me-down, the fact that it was in storage makes it "new" in Madeline's eyes. (BTW, I can't remember who we got this from.....either my niece, Kate, or the daughter (Hannah) of a co-worker of David's.) Since bringing the outfit out of storage Madeline has been playing dress-up in it a lot. Certainly the costume would be too cold to go out trick-or treating in unless.....mom intervened. Today I bought a $5 pair of light purple leggings (which she needed anyway and can use all winter) to go underneath and that matched perfectly. I also bought a $10 Ariel wig. She can carry her toy Flounder (which we have at home). Last step, I will need to buy either a white long sleeved t-shirt OR a white turtleneck that can be worn under the costume....again, one that can be used all winter. Considering the "re-usability factor", the only thing that is extravagant is the $10 investment in the Ariel wig. Not bad considering that Halloween costumes run for approximately $40 and are typically not functional at all past Halloween night. Now you know why the sense of urgency on snagging an Ariel wig. And, for now, after trying everything on to show Papa, the costume can no longer be used to play dress-up. Mama-Dirtyfoot packed it away until Halloween so that it still feels special to Madeline to wear it. Wish me luck on that one!!!