About Distracted Daddy
Distracted Daddy is a working father with a two-year-old daughter, a focused wife and a flatulent pug. When he’s not distracted he blogs about poop, parenting and other things at distracteddaddy.com.
The Pressure to Decide on a Costume
distracted daddy: costume commotion canada
(Oct.27.11)
Halloween is almost here. After Christmas and No Pants Day, it’s my favourite holiday. You get to dress up, you’re legally required to consume candy, and zombies roam the streets. It’s awesome.
Dressing up is the best part. During my pre- and post-teenage years I would spend months thinking about a costume. (Dressing up for Halloween is lame during your teenage years). The costume had to be original and it had to get a lot of attention. Going to the store and buying a costume was not an option.
Now that I’m a father, all the detail that I put into my costuming is now transferred to my toddler. She’s only been trick-or-treating once. Last year she dressed up as a monkey. This year we have to trump that.
There are a few things I know her costume is not going to be. It’s not going to be cute. Moms dress their daughters in cute costumes. Dads dress them in costumes that the dads find funny and the kids don’t understand.
Sorry Disney, but my daughter is also not going to be a princess for Halloween. Or a witch or a cat or any of the other default girl costumes.
What is she going to dress up as? That’s the more difficult question.
Should we go topical? Send her out dressed as a hippy with an Occupy Daycare sign? Or maybe she’ll be Steve Jobs? Or Zombie Steve Jobs? As a rule, making any costume a zombie version makes the costume infinitely better.
Pop culture is always a great source for costumes. She could be a little Lady Gaga, or a taller Snooki or Ke$ha or Beyonce. Ooh, maybe she goes as Beyonce’s baby bump. Kate Middleton is probably a popular choice this year, but that violates the “No princesses” rule.
Then there’s the combo costume option. She gets to dress up. I get to dress up, for her sake of course. If last year’s monkey costume still fit, I could find a pair of yellow pants and a large yellow hat. Thus completing the Curious George/Man in Yellow Hat combo. Or she’s Batman and I’m Robin. Or Thing 1 and Thing 2. Depending on her temperament, Oscar the Grouch may work and I would be the large nameless garbage man who carries the Grouch around.
Here’s a crazy idea; ask my daughter what she wants to dress up as for Halloween. She may just be a toddler, but she’s full of opinions.
So I asked her.
“What do you want to be for Halloween?”
“Uhmm…”
There was a pause as she thought about it. The possibilities were endless.
“Elmo,” was her response.
“Elmo?”
“Elmo!”
Okay. Zombie Elmo it is.
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