Bad halloween mum

[Hughsie]

Just dropped ds1 at nursery with some face paint on for halloween party only to find that all the other kids in his room had pre bought outfits and all looked fab. Poor ds was sadly lacking. Have since phoned to check he is not feeling left out and apparently he is fine but I feel terrible. i did make a bin liner cape but dh thought he would be too hot in it so i didn't bother in the end but now think I should drop it off for him.. he is probably fine but I feel like a crap mum - I'm really not very good at all this sort of stuff probably as he is still too young to know hat it is all about too - or is he???? he is 2.5 yrs

Hughsie - we are going to a halloween party this afternoon and I have made dd1 a 'cat' costume - frankly, its crap. But she thinks she looks great in it (its a black sweatshirt and black tights with a stuffed stocking for a tail, and a black hairband with ears). I know all the other girls will have fab bought witches outfits on. Oh well, hey ho. My point is that I know she won't care, I am sure your son won't either, I really don't think they do at that age. But I know how you feel

Our nursery is brilliant about 'dress codes' they always say no dressing up for any occasion, hurray, so noone feels left out.

Hughsie go and drop his stuff off

I feel really inadequate and I was actually quite excited about the fact that I had attempted face paint until I got there!!! Your cat outfit sounds lovely actually and I'm sure your dd with look lovely.

I'll probably feel even worse if I take a sad bin liner in now - the woman in his room assured me he wasn;t bothered but who knows?

Hughsie - pre-bought outfits are not in the spirit of fancy dress, I think, especially for kids. Honestly, don't worry about it.

Remember that the ones with pre-bought outfits are sometimes the ones whose parents were too busy to spend time making things with them. I don't think my ds cares what he is wearing, he just wants me to pay attention and be interested in what is happening at Nursery. I also don't want him to grow up expecting me to throw money at these events. When I am really pressed for time and can't make anything and can't afford a fancy costume, I have explained to ds, and we have scouted around the house for something symbolic. One year everyone came with really fancy Easter bonnets and I had had no time till the evening before, so we got out all the woolly hats and spent time talking about Easter and he happily took a woolly hat with him the next day!

My ds, 2 and one month, would have absolutely no idea what he was wearing unless it was his 'Happy Camel' t-shirt
He's too young to worry, so don't you worry either.

Don't worry - I dropped ds1 off in a prebought something or other outfit - I was stunned he wore it actually. When we got to nursery he insisted on taking it off (he has a thing about coats at the moment-they have to be taken off- and he thought his outfit was a coat.) I kept telling him it was a costume not a coat but he was having none of it. SO I left him in a room full of fancy dress wearing jeans and sweatshirt. I wouldn't worry about it.

I spent ages making my ds (1.9 at the time) a fab roman soldiers outfit with strappy legs things and all sorts in May for a carnival. He took one look screamed for 20 minutes - I got upset and said he had to wear it - my PILs were cross with me that I could even expect him to wear it -it was a complete bloody nightmare - face paint will get my vote from now on!!! I had a 10 minute battle over a stripey top this morning let alone a costume. You are not a crap mum - they don't care - he is probably laughing at the others at being made to dress up in silly costumes and thinking that he is the only cool one!!!!!!! Buy him a ghostly gingerbread man on the way home!

Thanks everyone - I'm slowly getting over it and deciding not to walk over the hot coals today!!!

And at £20 or so a time, for something they will only wear once or twice, whats the point! Not a crap mum but a bloody sensible mum if you ask me - he won't care at all

Thanks Lisa - my dh is saying we should go out and buy an outfuit now but I feel they are a con and usually plastic or nylon anyway so I refuse to be duped by that - I do ish I had gone down the bin liner route and will do next time. I cant say I approve of halloween really anyway and the trick or treat thing is bizarre and just begging really - it wasn't that big a deal when we were little.

Hughsie - been there, got the T-shirt. Your ds will be perfectly happy without an uncomfortable outfit on that is probably 'itchy' anyway!
I so hate halloween and feel all the more inadequate because my neighbours relish in it and have decorations up for a couple of weeks before. They are having a party tomorrow which I will have to dress up for (or do I?).
I dread halloween every year because I don't have the energy or skills to craft outfits for the kids. I hope that it will die a death soon as it is becoming less and less common to have children 'trick or treating'.