10 Years of A Family Costume Rule, And What We've Learned From It (In Pictures) · Talitha Seibel

Our first year on the farm, we went for Winnie The Pooh, from our own Acres of Woods!!
2017

This should not be a surprise to me. Here I sit, about 10 hours from T&T time, just like the last ever-so-many-years. Still, I am baffled by my predictability in the well-honed art of procrastination. I still have 3 of 8 costumes to finish, a pot of stew to make for sharing with friends tonight, and honestly?
I’m pretty sure this year’s family theme is going to STINK!

No worries. I say that every year.
I do this every year.
At this point, I acknowledge it with a nod and decide I even have time to write a blog post about it.

So before waking up my brood, I’m going to sip my coffee and I want to remind myself why these tacky costumes matter.

NOTE: I don’t have time to edit this post for the grammar and punctuation police. I’ll come back to it later, post-sewing-session and coffee, m’kay? Just sharing blub-style right now.

The first year that I made group costumes for my kids was 2007, I think? It’s the only year that I bought a pattern at Joann Fabrics with the appropriate corresponding fabric and notions and went to town following directions. I hate patterns and following directions. That says a lot about me, right? I also don’t have a single photo as proof of my labor. I’m pretty sure I was sewing until 4am the night before for that one, and my Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Lion won the costume contest at the huge church in Atlanta that we took them to. See? There are benefits to having three kids in 3.5 years. Group costumes!!!! And not sleeping until 4am feels normal to you.

I believe the prize was a gift card to Toys R Us. We never used it. Really.

I never intended to make a “Thing” of it, the family group costuming, and the next year we didn’t. I don’t remember what we did in 2008, other than that I lost more sleep because I was baking another baby. Oh!! That was the year I painted my belly like the globe to be Mother Earth. Afterward, I lamented that I hadn’t thought to make my husband dress like Father Time. That was 10 years ago. I’m still annoyed by that missed opportunity.

I haven’t got the time to get long winded today because I still have those 3 costumes to finish, one of which was almost there on Monday, until I sewed the bottom half inside out and backward. I now need to rip the entire thing off.

Note: Undoing your work, ripping out seams, takes 3x as long as making them and you have to be so careful not to damage your fabric. Ohhhh…. to have the time to pray and write the spiritual parallel there, for you all to enjoy!! Maybe another day.

Anyway, it is 2018 and my kids can now help with these. It’ll get done in time because it has every year. But for now, I’m sitting and enjoying the quiet and coffee as I look at these years of faces.

Every year we struggle with, “Will this be the last?”, will someone be too old or cool or angry and being in this wild family to want to do this? It comes up as a whisper of possibility every year, but then out oldest kids stun us with their desire to think creatively as a unified group. Maybe next year?
These kids who love the bond of finding a group costume theme that ties all of our family members together. They don’t even realize how they are encouraging each other as they say, “Oh, you’d be sooo good as such-and-such!” or “This would look great on you!” Sure, that can happen with any costume shopping together but the intentionality of fitting 8 people into one theme makes it a longer discussion, sometimes lasting all year long
It helps us evaluate personalities and strengths as we say, “Hey, you’re smart and confident like Rabbit.”, or “Come on, you know you make a good emo Eeyore with all this growing up grouching you do.” (The kids said those, not me. 😉
With our oldest is half way through high, we are closer to the inevitability that we only have so many years to do this, create these types of memories, and reinforce the fact that we may be one of those “weird big families”, but we all fit, and we have fit into a theme that is killer-awesome every.single.year. There is power in that.

Homestar Runner Cast, with Johnny and June Cash 2009

Homestar Runner Cake 2009

The Princess Bride, 2010
Princess Buttercup, Wesley, Inigo Montoya, Fezzic, complete with a Shrieking Eel and R.O.U.S

S’Mores and a Campfire, 2011
A marshmallow, two graham crackers, a chocolate bar, and parents on fire.

Star Wars 2012
With an Ewok and The Death Star Dress

The Chess Set, 2013
King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Castle, and Pawn

Off to Neverland, 2014
including Peter’s Shadow and Hook’s Hand with Tic-Toc

The Incredibles, 2015
with Edna, Mirage, and Syndrome
Notice that Dash was soooo fast that there are TWO of him in the photo. Cough, cough, wink