Dressing Up!

As a toy store owner, I feel kind of lame about how little of the estimated $5.8 Billion Halloween dollars I capture. I mean, it's primarily a kid's holiday right? Maybe it's my bad attitude. Because, I not so secretly feel the best Halloween costumes are the home made kind.
There are trick or treater's that do as little as they have to (sometimes nothing) to run amok and score candy, and then there are the people that I go out to see. These people make their own costumes and their children's costumes, and for them, Halloween is an opportunity to entertain us all, a quiet competition with all the other ghouls and greats that roam the streets All Hallows Eve.
These costumes are not to be confused with "dress up" which is what we call our costumes at hopscotch. Halloween costumes are like (and sometimes include) a corset. Uncomfortable, impractical, and can lead to stumbling and shortness of breath. A child can not conduct imaginary play in most Halloween costumes. Take my son the ding dong for instance. There may be two hula hoops in there, but I can assure you, there will be no frivolous play taking place.
Just as much as I hate cheap big box store bought Halloween costumes, I love selling Dress Up. Especially boys dress up because it is often overlooked, and our little boys LOVE to dress up. They want to be astronauts, knights, superhero's, and in my nephew Paul's case, Captain Underpants. He had his mother shave his head and spent an entire summer in underwear and a red cape. Clever boy. Girls want to dress up like princesses, fairies, and fairy princesses. There is no one place in hopscotch as gender specific as dress up. Good quality dress up is as comfortable as every day attire, it has stretch and comfortable seams. It can be put on and taken off with ease by a four year old. Good quality dress up is the best accessory for that crowning jewel of childhood, the vivid imagination. It should be even more durable than regular clothing because there are some who will put it on every single day, and many who will try to convince their mother's that it should be worn to bed as well. It will be worn on the most grand adventures. Adventures that will often include mud, and the rough bark of trees, dog slobber, and bicycle chains. Yes, durability is a must. But then, that goes for most good dealings with an active childhood.