Planning the perfect costume, only to have your child change his/her mind two days before. Pulling the kids off the ceiling from the incredible sugar rush as they ate their way through their trick or treat bag. Rushing out of work in your Kohl’s holiday sweater with the pumpkin pockets so you would never miss a single Halloween parade.
As I think back on these moments, I smile and realize it was my time with my kids, and look forward to the realization that my adult children will get to build their own memories and traditions.
Where we pulled ideas from magazines, they have Pinterest. We took dozens of pictures of the kids and their friends in the hopes we had a single keeper; they post directly to Instagram, Facebook, and share Snapchat stories.
In the end, parents both past and present gets to have their moment. And despite how we get there or how it is shared, it is a tradition that each family gets to build, and the way each family creates their own culture.
How to Make a 4th of July Costume
Whether you want to dress up for a local 4th of July parade or you want to go all out for a big Independence Day backyard barbeque, there are a number of getups that will show off your patriotic pride. What’s more, the costumes are not hard to make. Say happy birthday to the land of the free by piecing together the following 4th of July-inspired costumes:
Uncle Sam
Party like a real man by dressing up as Uncle Sam. Don’t worry if you don’t have a red, white and blue tuxedo like the one Sam donned in the old army propaganda posters. Instead, look around the house for a white button down shirt, red bow tie and a blue coat. If you don’t have red and white striped pants, make your own from a pair of cheap white sweats which can be embellished with red fabric. Or, you could use an old pair of white pants and attach strips of red fabric. Purchase a plain top hat from a costume store and paint on stars and stripes. Finish off the look with a fake white beard and white wig. This is the most comfortable American flag hat in the world.
Betsy Ross
Pair a white top, a red skirt, and blue apron to bring Betsy Ross back to life. Accessorize with sparkly star stickers stuck on the apron and a white sleep cap. You could also carry around red, white and blue fabric scraps to mimic Ross’ hard work sewing the first American flag.
Statue of Liberty
No other costume celebrates the joy of independence than Lady Liberty. The famous statue greeted millions of immigrants as they sailed into New York Harbor when the United States was still in its infancy. Now you too can look like the queen of sweet freedom by putting together a costume made from household items. Start by making a wig out of green yarn. Hold it in place with a green headband and a crown made from green poster board. Next, wrap a mint-green flat sheet around your body in a toga-like fashion. Then, make a torch from rolled up green construction paper. Use red and brown construction paper taped to the top of the torch to mimic a flame. Accessorize with a pair of sandals and a green notebook featuring the Declaration of Independence. Finally, use some light green face paint to cover your forehead, cheeks, nose, mouth and chin.
American Flag
Red, white and blue never looked so good. This is an especially appropriate costume for a young child, who might fuss at putting on an elaborate getup on a sizzling hot July day. Dressing like an American flag can be as simple as slipping on a shirt covered with stars and red and white striped pants. Otherwise, purchase a super cheap American flag shirt at a post-holiday sale and save it to wear the following year.
Why does that matter you might ask? So that many years from now, you sit around a holiday table, and laugh about how perfectly imperfect it all works out.
And you smile happy tears that you had those moments. They are after all, your new traditions!
Happy Halloween!
Tina Nocera, Founder
Nice thoughts Tina. Just the other day someone asked me if I was going to a costume party, I chuckled and said “been there, done that”. Now I sit back and think about how much fun my children are having with their sons and daughter’s, it makes me smile.
Karen