Parenting Perk: Choosing Your Child’s Halloween Costume {Free Halloween Printables}

My husband Jeff teases me because my Halloween costumes always require an explanation. And the ideas for them usually evolve out of me not wanting to put ANY effort into making them. A few years ago, I got halfway dressed for a Halloween party (partial makeup, a velcro roller in my hair, pajama pants, and sparkly top). When people asked me what I was, I just said that I was “Getting Ready.” That was my costume. I never cared enough to try to come up with a cool costume. That is until I had a baby.

Choosing Your Baby’s Costume

In my opinion, getting to choose my son Ben’s Halloween costumes is one of the greatest perks I have gotten during the first two years of parenthood. By the third year, your child is likely to have an opinion of his own, but during those first two GLORIOUS years, your children have no idea what’s going on. You get to dress them however you want to. {Well, not however you want to. If your relationship is like mine, then your partner will insist on having a say on the costume as well. That is why Ben isn’t going to be dressed as Shirley Temple this year, with Jeff and me as lollipops. Come ON! Let me put him in a dress for just one night!}

Last year, Jeff and I dressed as Lady and the Tramp. Ben was the spaghetti they shared. This Halloween, Ben will be Marty McFly from Back to the Future. Jeff and I will also be dressed as Marty McFlies – well, Irish flies named Marty. {McFly…get it? Like I said, my costumes always require an explanation.}

Next year, Ben may want to choose his own costume. It will most likely be a humorless, store-bought one for which he begs. That’s okay. One of my favorite Halloween costumes ever was a Rose Petal costume of classic 80’s quality – a plastic mask attached by a rubber band and a shapeless, vinyl dress. While I won’t be able to choose Ben’s costume forever, I can always choose mine.  And it will ALWAYS accessorize his, whether he likes it or not. “Oh, so you’re going to be Iron Man? Okay, cool! Then our family will have a Robert Downey Jr. theme this year! Dad will be Robert Downey Jr. from Tropic Thunder, and I will be Robert Downey Jr. from Chaplin. GREAT idea, son!”

Free Halloween Printables

Whether you are still choosing your children’s Halloween costumes or simply purchasing/making whatever they’ve requested, one thing that all parents will certainly be doing on Halloween is snapping pictures of their little princesses, superheroes, and ghosts. Below are a few printables that you can use throughout the Halloween season, as well as a spiderweb chalkboard background for your own creations!

The “Boo Dat” and “My First Halloween” designs can print on labels up to 6″ in diameter. The “Halloween 2014″ design can print up to an 8″ x 10″ resolution. The plain spiderweb chalkboard design is for your own creations and can print up to 8″ x 10”.

What are you and your children dressing up as this year? Do you still choose your children’s Halloween costumes? What has been your favorite costume over the years?