What Is The Right Age For A Kid To Stop Wearing A Halloween Costume?

2 years ago, when my son was Mario for Halloween, was the time we told him to be his last year of wearing a Halloween costume and trick-or-treating. I mean he could still accompany his sister and be part of the merriment of it all but we figured it was time to let the little ones take first dibs on houses with candies and chocolates wearing their cute or scary costumes. But then last year, we decided, OK, 1 more year. So my talented and artistic husband turned our son into a zombie.

Hubs did the makeup really well and my son gamely played his character too when I took the pictures. This year he could walk along with his sister and father while they go around the neighborhood trick-or-treating. I’ll be left at home giving out candies. He’s really not happy about not wearing anything for Halloween. I am kinda feeling guilty about that but yah know, we figured there has to be a cut off limit for kids. Like when you tell tell them Santa is actually Dad, and Easter Bunny is just someone in a Bunny costume scaring little kids in the mall, unintentionally of course, so the parents can have pictures of their children with the Easter Bunny. I am proud to say I never subjected my children to that commercialism, Heh! We didn’t tell him all of that about Easter Bunny of course. Just that he’s not real, short gist of it all. We try not to be too cynical all the time. 

I reminisced this weekend by collaging my sons Halloween pictures since he was 1 yr. old. I don’t have his pictures from when he was 2 and 3 on file and I was lazy to go through my boxes of pictures, then go underneath my office table to pull out the scanner, plug it in then scan. Therefore, 2 and 3 are missing.

1. 1. Elmo – he was such a hit in the neighborhood.
2. 2. Bob The Builder – no one recognized him. They just thought he was a regular ol’ carpenter.
3. 3. Steve from Blues Clues – he loved those striped shirts. It was the easiest costume conceptually but the hardest shirt to find. It had to be the right Steve striped shirt. I pinned a Blue plush toy in his shirt so they’ll know he’s Steve from blues Clues.
4. 4. Superman – too many Superman that year.
5. 5. Ninja Turtle Leonardo – he was in a TMNT phase.
6. 6. Ninja Turtle Raphael – still in the TMNT phase.
7. 7. Darth Vader – he knows everything about Star Wars.
8. 8. Nascar Driver (Dale Earnhardt Jr??) – he went through a Nascar phase too.
9. 9. Black Spiderman – always in character.
10. 10. Indiana Jones – that costume transitioned nicely into Fall outfits. I was a happy Mama.
11. 11. Mario – other kids recognized him for sure.
12. 12. Zombie – my favorite of all.

When is the right time for kids not to wear Halloween costumes? We could easily indulge and let him wear one if we go to a Halloween party of course, but for trick-or-treating? Probably not. Should there be an age cut-off?

I am going to go on today, until Halloween day constantly thinking if my husband and I are being bad parents and tight wads for deciding that our son shouldn’t wear costume anymore this Halloween. I can see us surrendering a week before Halloween and end up buying him a mask of some kind. Le Sigh!

Oh, and no offense to those parents in the mall with the Easter Bunny…