Costume Contemplation

Each fall, a Disney Store mail-order catalog arrives in our mailbox and starts the annual costume debate for my daughter. As her oohs and ahhs over the Cinderella gown turn to the "that's so cool" comment about the Little Bo Peep accessories, I have to chuckle over her excitement. I know that for the next few weeks, she will agonize over her decision for the perfect costume.

How does your family decide on their Halloween costumes? Do they choose their costumes from a store, catalog or website? Are they in search of their favorite super hero, or are they happy putting together a home-made costume? Perhaps they have a costume that they love so much that they wear it year after year. However they decide, why not create a layout about it?

Here are some great ideas for how to capture the costume decision-making process in your scrapbooks:

1. If you are online shoppers, take photos of your family gathered around the computer. Include web addresses and cost information for future reference. Be sure and keep a notebook handy to record reactions and conversation about the costumes.

2. Make color copies of costume ideas from magazines and use them on your layout. Or, create paper piecings of the costume designs.

3. Create a timeline to show how your child changed his/her mind on a daily basis about what costume to wear.

4. Remember to use your camera to capture details of a costume being made. From fabric selection to final alterations, photos added to a mini album on your layout will help tell the story. The same idea could be used when choosing a costume from a store, using the dressing room as your background.

5. When adding your journaling, keep in mind the things that you would like to know about your own childhood costume debates. You might recall what your costume was when you were eight, but do you know why you picked that one? Was it your first or second choice? Do you know that your Mom stayed up all night sewing so that it would be finished in time? Providing this kind of information now will make your layout more meaningful and enjoyable years down the road.