Halloween costume tradition

So ever since the older girls were toddlers, I have dressed them in a Halloween costume "theme" every year. It began as Husker cheerleaders and went on from there. As soon as the youngest daughter was born, then the fun really began. We'd sit down months ahead of time and start brainstorming themes that included three main characters. The first Halloween as a group of three, was a Peter Pan theme, with Peter, Captain Hook and Tinker Bell. It was adorable and I'm proud to say received many compliments. Because of such a positive response, I was determined to make this an annual tradition.

The next year the girls kept watching 101 Dalmatians, so appropriately, they went as Cruella Deville and two Dalmatian puppies. It was a little more difficult to outdo my Peter Pan theme from the year before, but with a lot of time and effort I managed to impress again and the costume theme turned out awesome!

By the third year, I sort of had a reputation to uphold and friends waited in suspense to see what theme we would present on Halloween night. The girls were really into Scooby Doo so they were Velma, Daphne and Scooby Doo. I spent even more time and effort to make the costumes perfect and thought it was a 100 percent success. However, one of the first houses we went to, the lady opened her front door and declared, "Well, look, it's Ugly Betty, a red-haired girl and Snoop Dogg!" The lady appeared to be in her early fifties and she didn't recognize three of the Scooby Doo gang, but knew who Snoop Dogg was? Apparently, she didn't catch on to the "theme" and thought my little girls randomly chose a rap star and short-lived television icon to be on Halloween, one of the most fun nights of a kid's year. Hmmm??

Last year, we started throwing around ideas for themes around the end of August. There were several ideas floating about until I suggested they could all be rock stars. They flipped at that idea and started yelling out different rock stars they wanted to be. When I said it, I was immediately thinking Cher, Elvis, etc. The big girls, however, yelled out, "I wanna be Lady Gaga! I wanna be Ozzy Osborne!" The youngest yelled out, "I wanna be Jusin Beiver" in her 3-year-old language. I laughed at all of them. "No ... those aren't really appropriate rock stars for little kids," I proclaimed. I then told them I was thinking more along the lines of Cher and Elvis. "Who's Cher?" they asked.

The idea was backfiring on me as they pleaded to be Gaga and Ozzy and rambled on about what they could wear and what their hair was going to be and so on. I finally gave in but shivered at the thought of how to make a 10-year old look like an innocent Gaga. I knew had my work cut out for me. Since the youngest was only three, I was able to convince her how cool it would be to dress up as Elvis. So come Halloween night, I had Gaga, Ozzy and Elvis ready for trick- or-treating. Although a little embarrassed by their choices, I worked hard to perfect their costumes and was still proud of the "theme" we managed to pull off.

So as autumn approached this year, the Halloween talk came up again. We happened to be at the Husker game when the theme was decided. While shopping for Husker gear, the 9-year-old begged to have an ear of corn hat, while her older sister was modeling a giant Herbie Husker foam hat. The 9-year-old shouted, "We should be Husker people for Halloween!" She was going to be an ear of corn, the older sister Herbie, and little sissy could be a Husker cheerleader. We all agreed and the beginnings of the costumes were purchased.

Since then, I've been gathering more items and planning the details so as to pull off this theme with rave reviews. However, out of nowhere, people in the house are starting to change their minds. Twice the 11-year-old has said sheepishly, "I kinda wish I was gonna be Taylor Swift for Halloween," and the 9-year-old has begged me a few times not to tell anyone she was going as a Corn head, for fear of ridicule, I guess. For the first time ever, they are doubting their decision to go together as a family with one theme.

Perhaps I'm wrong but I'm getting the feeling that the annual "mom's Halloween theme for her girls" tradition may be on its way to the graveyard this year!