Costumes for people who dont like to wear costumes

[IAmJack]

My son is 13. He claims he is done with Halloween.
This is probably his rebellion against me, as I am a Halloween fanatic!
Last year it was like pulling teeth to get him to wear a costume for our family trick or treating ( i also have 2 younger boys)

this year, we settled on this http://www.rockworldeast.com/store/Nigh ... _I_Am_Jack , which i think is a good compromise, and he can wear it often afterward

Is anyone else having a hard time getting their kids into costumes this year?

[NeverMore]

Those are cool! Your son sounds like Max in Hocus Pocus. Tell him not to light the black flame candle!!!

Just remember, you push him too hard he's likely to rebel even more. Once he's to that stage where he's not trying to be cool around his friends he may come back into the fold.

[Demonic Duck]

It may be a losing battle IAmJack. Though I think you were on the right track with keeping it simple. Also perhaps reminding him no costume no Trick Or Treating no Trick Or Treating no free candy. And no taking your siblings candy that they "worked hard" for.

[jadewik]

Awe, don't force your son to dress up if he doesn't want to dress up. Nevermore is right, it might cause resentment.

Your son is at that age where a lot of people resent giving candy to him and will shoot him dirty looks because they feel he's "too old" to ToT. Happened to me when I was twelve... people give ya dirty looks when you're a teen out getting candy.

If you really want to get your son involved in Halloween, you'll likely have to change your approach. What if you let him have a party? Put him in charge of passing out candy and scaring kids? Let him have a year off?

... I guess the best way to approach it is ask if there's anything he wants to do for Halloween? Sometimes, we forget that kids at that age have their own plans and they want to start their own traditions. Who knows, maybe he's a closet Halloween fanatic but doesn't want to step on your toes? =)

[Demonic Duck]

I'm not positive but i'm pretty sure I went until I was 13 or 14. When I was 17 I wanted to go again and my parents put their foot down. I regretted stopping as I think many kids end up doing.

[IAmJack]

You know what, i never thought of it that way...
thanks so much for the insight you guys, I think your ideas about asking him what he wants to do are brilliant. I was thinking about it from the "you are a part of this family and must participate" side of things, but i would be completely fine with him celebrating in his own way by having a party and I would be even more thrilled if he was in charge of handing out the candy.
sometimes its hard to think of our babies as people with their own agendas. He is a great kid, so I think he will respond really well to these ideas

thanks again you guys.

[Demonic Duck]

We are always glad to help out a fellow Halloween fan. I see you are new and joined probably just to post this question. We hope you stick around. You can get great ideas and just have fun in general with fellow Halloween nuts.

[The Duchess]

I got into costuming late in life. When I was little and up to my 40's, I would not wear a costume.

A girlfriend got me to go in a costume to a party ( and I could not get out of it without offending my friend) so I did unwillingly.

I had such a good time and enjoyed it so much I really got into this costume thing.

I now have close to 20 costume characters I do.

And if you don't think that I really changed, I also have several women characters I do.

Here I am in a full hoop skirt, bloomers, wig, makeup and purse. This character is called The Spinster Lady in Red.



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However my favorite female character is The Domestic Diva, Martha Stewart.



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THE DUCHESS

[Murfreesboro]

Awe, don't force your son to dress up if he doesn't want to dress up. Nevermore is right, it might cause resentment.

Your son is at that age where a lot of people resent giving candy to him and will shoot him dirty looks because they feel he's "too old" to ToT. Happened to me when I was twelve... people give ya dirty looks when you're a teen out getting candy.

If you really want to get your son involved in Halloween, you'll likely have to change your approach. What if you let him have a party? Put him in charge of passing out candy and scaring kids? Let him have a year off?

... I guess the best way to approach it is ask if there's anything he wants to do for Halloween? Sometimes, we forget that kids at that age have their own plans and they want to start their own traditions. Who knows, maybe he's a closet Halloween fanatic but doesn't want to step on your toes? =)

Brilliant advice. I hate it when my kids feel they are too old to TOT, which may be my daughter's option this year for the first time (she is 15). If she had a group of friends going out, she would probably join them, but it is no longer cool to TOT with Mom *sniff*

OTOH, my older boy, who stopped when he was barely 12 yrs old and in the 7th grade, gave the most awesome costume party on Halloween last year, in his off-campus apartment. (He was 22.) He told me he must have had about 40 guests, and they swooped out to go to a haunted attraction, then came back to party some more.

So just because an adolescent is fearful of seeming too babyish, that doesn't mean he or she won't regain the spirit in a few years' time.