The look I should have given halfway through

This year and costumes for my son…. We will just say that it has been a little chaotic this year. We actually went through the great costume throwout earlier this year to clear out everything Lex has outgrown. Since he still likes putting on costumes, the last few years we usually pick up a few in the after-Halloween clearance. Over time these start to add up and are outgrown. Some were broken, some were torn, but most were just too small. These are all “play” costumes – so they don’t count as “Halloween” costumes. Even when he was Darth Vader 3 years in a row, he had a new costume each year. He did however use the same mask and lightsaber. His Star Wars trick-or-treat bag is also the same one he started with four years ago.

Last year was the first move away from Darth Vader and Star Wars. He wanted to go as Iron Patriot. We obliged and off we went. This year, however, Lex decided to revisit Star Wars and go as Kylo Ren. This was decided on Force Friday in September, he wanted to get a new Kylo Ren lightsaber. As part of the lightsaber purchase, he was going to dress up as Kylo Ren for Halloween. Life was good. We would pick up the costume later in October and we would be all set.

We went to the Halloween store earlier this month to pick up the costume. They did not have a single Kylo costume. We browsed the store for anything that leaped out at Lex. He saw a few things, but he wanted to be Kylo. We told him that it was ok and we would go to another store. We managed to find a Kylo costume at Target. Crisis averted, costume purchased, and everything was right in the world – until we got home.

After we got home Lex decided that he wanted to be a Bobble Head Pumpkin that he saw at the Halloween store. He said we could return the Kylo costume. Since this costume was more expensive he agreed to pay the difference (which, I was honestly impressed by a six-year-old for doing this). Xie found it on Amazon and marked it to order later. A few days later she went to order the costume and it was out of stock. Lex was upset but settled on Kylo Ren for the season.

A week later I was flying back from a business trip. On the way home I stopped at a Halloween store, they had the Bobble Head. We knew that he wore a small, but might be able to squeak into a medium. They had a medium in stock and I called Xie. The big reason Lex had to commit was I couldn’t return the costume. They talked it over and decided that Lex was still willing to pay the difference and he wanted the Pumpkin Head costume.

This was two weeks and that following Saturday he would be going trick or treating at the campground my father calls a summer home. Thursday night when I arrive home and start unpacking I noticed something about the costume. Instead of the medium they had, I grabbed the large. There was no way he was going to fit into the costume. I couldn’t return it and we had to tell Lex that he was back to being Kylo Ren. We will save the Pumpkin Head and hopefully, he might be able to make it workable next year.

His trick-or-treating at the campground went off without a hitch. He loved his Kylo costume. We were a bit worried since because of timing we shipped him off with Grandma and Grandpa without ever doing a test fitting. Lex decided when city-wide trick or treating occurred (tomorrow) that he would be Kylo again.

Yesterday we found out that he would have his school Halloween party this Friday. We ran into a snag. Anything he wore to school could not be violent, it could not have a mask, and he could not wear makeup. This put Kylo Ren and a salvaged Pumpkin Head from being used at all. There were a couple of discussions of what to dress up as. The first was Doctor Who – which would be going out and buying more pieces to make it workable. The second was Marty McFly, Lex had worn that outfit out shopping last weekend for the heck of it. Lex however came up with the final solution.

Lex insisted he had a Superman costume upstairs. He had one in the past, but we were pretty sure that he had outgrown it. He was insistent though. Yesterday we were prepared to go out on the costume trail (once more into the breach), but if he had a costume that would work he should go try it on before we went any further. It turns out that as part of the clearance sales last year, he did have a fitting and working Superman costume.

If for some reason this is considered “violent” by the school, I’m prepared to object. Superman is the biggest Boy Scout in the comic book universe. His other costumes have masks – and even if we tried to spin the Kylo costume as a simple Dark Jedi, he would still be more violent than Superman. You never know though in this day and age. Earlier this year there was a story going around about a girl’s lunchbox being banned because it’s Wonder Woman on it. Lex has a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle backpack and lunchbox he takes to school every day. If they raise an eyebrow I’ll point to all the other comic book characters that are more violent that adorn kids’ clothes and backpacks every day. I think though, that we will be fine.

Let’s hope next year is an easier one when it comes to costumes. We do still have the Pumpkin Head………