Every year seems to bring on a new level of Halloween costume anxiety. It comes for both me and the kids. We are thinking about this months in advance, but it always comes down to the final week of Halloween before decisions are made. Tell me I’m not alone!

3 Ways to Get Through Halloween Costume Anxiety

1. Store-bought or handmade

Either way, it’s okay. Because I’m a crafty, I’m supposed to make it right? Dust off the sewing machine, get out the glue gun and go for it. You’d think I always feel this way. But I’ll be honest, I don’t! Dun dun duuuuuun. Yes, I’ve just shared… I’m not always crafty. Sometimes the easy way out is the best course of action for costume anxiety, especially if it will save us all from a Halloween nightmare. And it’s okay. I don’t beat myself up if I have to buy a costume, even if it’s last minute. There are even places to join a swap. Read up on a saving some cash and finding a Halloween Costume Swap.

Here are the results for last year’s costumes: My middle daughter was a vampire, store-bought. My littlest was a ballerina princess, store-bought. My son is a robot, which we did make. Boxes with tinfoil taped all over and dryer vents for arms and legs. That was pretty awesome and made me feel 100% Halloween success!

– and yes, they are all wearing rain boots, we live in Seattle!

2. Resolve to wear something you already have

Sometimes I buy, sometimes I make. And sometimes we scrap it together with stuff from around the house. Don’t get me wrong, I love to craft. But I don’t kill myself over it for the costume anxiety. I learned that lesson when my son was 5 and wanted to be a mummy. I tried to cut and sew a crazy amount of fabric strips to thermal jammies and it looked like he should be in an insane asylum. We resolved to wearing his little league football uniform and he was a football player. Phew!

3. It’s never to soon to get started

One of these years I’ll remember what we go through and stay ahead of the game. I should decide, prep, and gather the day after this year’s Halloween. Realistically, I think I’ll ask my kids to watch what other kids are wearing and notice if anything catches their eye. We can talk about it after we trick-or-treat, and then I’ll write it down in my calendar for October 1st, 2014. That will give us 30 days to execute, hopefully buttoning it all up by the 31st! Here’s a few ideas on our Halloween page if you’re looking for ideas.