Children grow up fast today. They are engaged in more sports, have more homework, and really have just less time to be carefree. While lamenting such a fate for our children, it can be important to remember to do our best as adults to keep them as young as possible, for as long as possible.
Halloween is a time of year when kids can let loose and have fun. Whether we like it or not, many of the “people”’ children look up to are of the cartoon variety – from what we used to call Saturday morning cartoons to what children now acknowledge as cartoons through either the 24 hour cartoon channels or video game programming, these are the most influential inspirations for costumes for today’s youth. Let’s withhold our judgments and remember, “times they are a’ changing”.
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When many of us were younger, Disney was the authority when it came to cartoons and, therefore, costumes. And even though many decades have passed, (well, for some of us at least), not much has changed. Disney is still quite influential in the lives of our children and the cartoons they choose to admire.
One such cartoon “hero” would be Buzz Lightyear from the movie Toy Story. A toy astronaut, Buzz is one of the top toys and costumes of the day. The Buzz Lightyear Halloween costume is readily available in all speciality stores and most online businesses that specialize in children’s costumes. And Buzz is not alone in his Disney fame; many Disney costumes are still popular long after their corresponding movies have been released, such as Pocahontas, Jasmine and Aladdin, Peter Pan, and The Nightmare Before Christmas crew, among others.
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That is not to say the market is cornered by Disney. Not at all. Another very popular choice for costuming, which has grown given the recent advent of a hit movie, is dressing up as one of the Smurfs. Those loveable, blue, cuddly creatures have seen a resurgence in interest since Neil Patrick Harris starred alongside them in the 2011 Hollywood movie. Smurfs Halloween costume options became very popular since this time and are a hit. That kids can choose to dress as a Smurf who fits their personality (Brainy or Clumsy, anyone?). It’s a “smurfy-good” way to add to the fun.
More Than Super Mario Brothers Costumes
Since the advent of video games, costume stores have also catered to the notion that children would choose costumes of anything they love. Pacman, Tron and Donkey Kong costumes all saw their day, and the Angry Birds Halloween costumes are no different. A simple game where birds are used to knock down structures, now turned viral, has ended up also being a boon for the costume industry. Something of note, however, is that Angry Bird costumes have also become a hit with adults. Smart phones seem to have legitimized video games and this particularly addictive one is loved by children and adults alike.
There is no reason for children to behave as if they are adults. Creative costumes that reflect things they are interested in is a great way to keep things fun for kids, while showing them that their interests matter.
For my age group it was almost always superheroes, and maybe yours was more rock stars or true Halloween gore; whatever the genre, kids know what they want and, really, when it comes once a year, giving them the pleasure of dressing up as their favourite cartoon character or video game avatar for Halloween should be an easy endeavour.