Our usual way of deciding on Halloween Costumes? I point to the dress-up bin and say PICK ONE! Not this year…

It should be no surprise that my girls wanted to be Anna and Elsa for Halloween this year. They declared it during last winter. But I thought it would go away. It didn’t. Stella has a spring and fall piano recital and MANY girls played “Let It Go” this past spring, but Stella chose a different song. I was happy. Then I learned why. She was already thinking ahead to the fall Costume Recital. Not only is she playing “Let It Go”, but she also plans to sing it while dressed as Elsa. So she BEGGED for an Elsa costume because she would wear it to that event as well as Halloween. Once I was finally convinced that this was really going to happen…well…all of the size 7/8 Elsa costumes were MIA. Not one to be found…in store or online.

I searched Etsy and found an Anna and Elsa dress store with great reviews. And comparatively, the price was reasonable. However, I don’t think like most people. If you’ve known me long enough, you understand I do NOT pay for Halloween Costumes. However, I will happily stock up AFTER Halloween and pay for dress-up clothes at 70% off to give as Christmas gifts as use the following year as costumes. HA! And we have an ENTIRE black trash bag full of costumes from previous years and hand-me-downs. So the thought of actually spending money on a requested Halloween costume made me throw up a bit.

I gave the girls a choice. Andy and I buy them three presents for Christmas each year. If they really wanted these costumes, the money would come out of that fund. They would still get three presents, but the budget would decrease. It was their decision. Stella tested the concept by asking, “So we might get a $10 gift instead of a $30 gift?” She understood. Still, Anna and Elsa won and I completed the order.

Their costumes came and I FELL.IN.LOVE. They were much better than I ever expected. Even I was excited for them to wear them. We were getting ready for our first costume event last Friday night and I couldn’t believe my ears. What?!?! They didn’t want to be Anna and Elsa. WHAT!?!?!? The Frozen costumes remained tucked in the closet awaiting their grand entrance one day.

For real. They had a number of excuses and I just wasn’t in a mood to fight it. So instead I ended up with a witch (too windy for her hat to stay on) and a ladybug. Henry was the most difficult. He changed FOUR times before deciding on a size 2T Superman costume. Nice.

We are headed to another event tonight. Cannot wait to see what they choose. Oh parenting, how you get me every time.

What are your kids dressing up as this year?

{Many thanks to West Chester Corporate Photography for the free family photo at the event we attended. There were MANY great costumes. You should check them out.}