Am I The Only Parent Who Hates Picking Out Halloween Costumes Super Early?

It was August when I first heard my kids talking about the dreaded topic of Halloween costumes. “What should I be?” my 10-year-old quizzed her older sister as we drove to the beach. While the girls debated between dressing as rollerblading or cowgirl Barbie, I quickly tuned out. Because I knew that between now and October 31, they’d change their minds 100 times.

Not that fantasizing about costumes is a bad thing for kids to do! But here’s my very humble advice to parents out there who give in to such whims: Just say no. 

Case in point: Today co-host Jenna Bush Hager proclaimed in mid-September that her brood had already selected their Halloween costumes. As reported by People, while speaking with Hoda Kotb, Bush Hager shared the kids’—albeit hilarious—decisions about what to dress up as. 

"Hal wants to be a New York City rat. Not just a rat, but a New York City rat, so a special kind of breed,” the celebrity mom relayed about her 4-year-old son. She went on to share about her 8- and 10-year-old daughters, "Poppy is going to be the character from Clueless, which she’s never seen. And Mila, the last I checked, was going to be one of Taylor Swift’s albums.”

I love these costume ideas! But can we please put a moratorium on discussing Halloween costumes until at least October 1st? It’s not that I’m all bah-humbug about the holiday. I love eating 15 peanut butter cups judgment-free as much as the next parent. I guess I’m just sick of how early we are diving into each upcoming season, from back-to-school to Christmas. Indeed, I saw school supplies at Target in early July for heaven’s sake. 

Even though my children started school in mid-August, I felt somewhat affronted by the aisles of pencils, binders, and notebooks staring at me during prime pool season. Then by the time you actually need school supplies, the shelves are bare!

Can we not just enjoy the moment we’re in, retailers? Why must you showcase Halloween decor in August? I’ve already seen Thanksgiving decor, and we are only a few weeks past Labor Day! Not to mention Christmas is on full display at Costco and Target. I swear that we’re getting closer to those Christmas trees being displayed next to barbecue grills pre-Memorial Day (incidentally, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t already used the “Santa’s watching” line on my kids a few times already).

Other than rushing seasons translating into a failure to focus on the now, what I don’t enjoy in this case is that advertising Halloween costumes as early as August leaves months for kids to go in different directions. It can happen as fast as my 2-year-old being obsessed with Paw Patrol on Friday, while as of Monday, life is all about PJ Masks. If I’d purchased a Chase costume for him last week, this week I’d have to return it or buy a second costume for Catboy. Now I’m wasting time and money on the impulses of a toddler, and driving myself crazy in the process. It’s no different with my older kids. My 5-year-old has already told me he wants to be a ninja, Catboy, and Spider-Man—and that’s just today. 

On the flip side, I get that if you wait until the last minute, you’re stuck choosing between a costume that won’t fit your kid, and something they don’t want to be. But perhaps this wouldn’t happen if stores didn’t start selling costumes more than two months in advance. 

Bottom line: Do what works for you and your family. If you’re a planner and getting a costume squared away six to eight weeks pre-Halloween helps you sleep better at night, more power to you. I’ll be over here, embracing the last-minute scramble that apparently comes with boycotting our increasingly too-early Halloween celebration culture—by choosing to think about costumes, gasp, in October.