It is mid-October, and I’m totally overwhelmed with all the other regular things I have to do as a mama, blogger, podcaster, and dreamer to even figure out how to squeeze in the societal expectation that is Halloween. 

In Years Past…

Normally, I would spend the time to handmake the kids Halloween costumes like I did two years ago, or last year, but this year, f**k it. I make costumes because I don’t believe the cheap crap that breaks. 

Sure, I could save myself a ton of energy by just buying a Halloween costume off Amazon or at the local party store, but I why do I have to spend money I don’t have on a costume for 1, maybe 2 days of “fun”?

I could put something together using stuff I already own, but I’m not actually that creative, and it’s just taxing to my mental load. There are a million other things I’m expected to do right now, and coming up with Halloween costumes for toddlers is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

I just don’t have the mental capacity to deal with Halloween.

Like most things in motherhood, I think we should be open to the fact that we don’t need to do things that don’t make us happy and cause us unnecessary stress.

We’re going to skip Halloween.

Because it’s stressing me out.

It’s not an important holiday with any significant meaning other than being a Hallmark Holiday sucking my bank account dry.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the season, but Halloween is obnoxious because it’s not about whatever it’s supposed to be about. What is the purpose behind Halloween?

I don’t want to buy the kids single-use costumes they wear for one freaking day. I don’t want them going door to door collecting individually wrapped candy that just clogs our landfills. I don’t want to give it out either. Sure, you could give out pencils or non-food items, but that’s still just cheap plastic crap that’s going to end up in the garbage. 

I don’t want to do it. You don’t have to do it. It is not a requirment of motherhood. 

The Kids Don’t Care

Seriously, my kids don’t even know.

We’ll decorate a pumpkin, roast the seeds, and then feed it to my friend’s chickens. We’ll visit the local corn maze and Haunted house because it’s kinda fun, but otherwise, they don’t know that they are supposed dress up one day and go trick or treating.

His preschool is having a Halloween Party and even if he understood what was going on, it’s not worth the fight on Wednesday morning to convince him to wear his costume. He’d rather be naked or just doing his own thing. Maybe I’ll encourage him to wear an oranger shirt.

I’m not going to be damagingmy kids by skipping out on a holiday that is probably destroying the planet, filling our landfills, and just encouraging the over-consumption of cheap crap.

When my kids do get big enough to understand and care, then we can talk about it. I can encourage them to be their own creatives and create a costume that are zero-waste, and we can talk about the impact of buying individually wrapped candy. Did I buy a box of candy, already? Yes, I did. And I have environmentalist guilt about it already. 

Are you with me, or against me?

Let’s hear it below?

How do you manage this holiday without losing your shit, and keeping your values strong? I want to be zero waste, but Halloween is definitely not supportive of this dream.

Our Halloween plans will include turning off all the lights, turning on Hotel Transylvania, and eating some homemade popcorn. Maybe I’ll pick up a candy apple from the local chocolate shoppe to top off the evening. That experience will be more rewarding that draining my pocketbook on candy, costumes, and standing in the snow.

I think some of you will think I’m being a scrouge and being depressed. I’m actually a month in on a new antidepressant and things are pretty good right. I have a lot of motivation, passion, and dedication for the things I want in life. Turns out it also reminded me that Halloween is a holiday that is adding to my stress and not in line with my personal values.

You don’t have to do everything.

I’m crossing Halloween off the list.