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12 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • October 2018 12 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • October 2018 WRITTEN BY MEAGAN RUFFING Ask my 4-year-old daughter Ellie what she wants to be for Halloween and she'll tell you a cat. Ask her the next day and she'll tell you a witch. Wait a few more days and then ask her again. She'll tell you a mermaid-cat-witch. You get the idea. I've dealt with this costume conundrum for the past 10 years with all three of my kids. It's been one of the most hilari- ous and expensive Halloween-inspired parenting battles I've experienced thus far. As cute as it is to see my little girl change her mind about what she would like to be for Halloween, I'd like to celebrate this year's holiday with minimal tears in the costume depart- ment. Tackle the aisles of Target and Walmart this month like a pro with these 5 simple tips. WaiT unTiL The LaST MinuTe. Yep. Seriously. You might think this is a bad idea but unless your child is 100 percent sure she knows what she wants to be for Halloween, wait it out. We've all had those years, OK maybe two, when our child goes through a Princess Sophia or Sheriff Callie stage. When that season of character obses- sion comes along, by all means…get the costume. But your child will someday move on to like a variety of characters and mythical creatures (unicorns anyone?) and every time I have been to the store right before Halloween, there has always been a costume my child will wear. It may not be the exact costume she wanted, but since she couldn't make up her mind to begin with, she's easily swayed into being the best Princess Leia on the block. Wear CoSTuMeS ThaT You aLreadY haVe aT hoMe. Who doesn't love a fun game of dress-up? I know my kids do and we've had some of our best memories chasing each other throughout the house with me in a Ninja costume and my three kids piecing various bits of random costumes together. One time I saw Ellie come downstairs with a Spider-Man mask on her face and a cat costume on her body while riding a stick pony. I know you can relate. Kids always want to wear their Halloween costumes before Halloween. To avoid telling my kids no and to prevent get- ting spaghetti sauce stains on their new costumes, I let them wear the previous years' costumes whenever they want. Because let's be real, we all know the month leading up to Halloween dressing up is THE most important thing to our kids. Who am I to squash their playful imaginations? I've actually coined myself the best-mom-ever (courtesy of my kids) for keeping every single costume we've ever bought so they can indulge in as much dressing up as their hearts desire at no additional cost to me. Tackling the CoSTuMe Conundrum