Growing up in a large family with a stay at home mom, available income earned by my father had to be used wisely in order to accommodate our basic living needs for a reasonably comfortable lifestyle. We had a decent home, plenty to eat, suitable clothes to wear, and all of the other necessities of living.

One of my favorite holidays is Halloween. Each year when the summer heat gives way to cooler autumn breezes, the first thing I think of is All Saint’s Day and how our family will celebrate it this year.

When I was young and of the trick or treating age, as the excitement grew regarding the upcoming holiday, my siblings and I would start giving thought to what we would dress up as when the Halloween holiday arrived. With five school aged children in my family in those years, ready-made store bought costumes were out of the question.

It was up to us to create our costumes from what we had available in our closets, in the garage, and in the attic. The more time we spent working on our ghoul day outfits, the more excited we became about the holiday.

I remember my older sisters were quick to help us younger ones. Cosmetic makeup was borrowed from my mother’s vanity to create our Halloween faces. Mascara was great for freckles and mustaches. Dippity-do was used for mad hair creations. Dad’s old weekend overalls were altered to make scarecrow and hobo outfits.

I remember some years simply dressing up “tacky.” This involved wearing different colored socks, pants legs rolled up to varying lengths, one of my Dad’s shirts half tucked in, and maybe a brightly colored scarf from my mother’s accessories.

To complete the hobo outfit, we’d lay a large material scrap flat on the floor and fill it with other fabric scraps and old nylon stockings. We’d then knot this up into a small “bag” and tie it to an old stick. This was our hobo “knapsack” or “bindle.”

We had more fun preparing for the Halloween holiday because of the fact we did have to tap into our resources, imaginations, and creativity for our costumes. It taught us resourcefulness and ingenuity, and we had a lot of laughs and enjoyment working together to get five children prepared for trick or treating.

I will always remember those years fondly. Even though my husband and I are fortunate enough to have the means to buy the ready-made costumes for our children, we still go the do-it-yourself route most years because of how much fun it is, and the kids enjoy it just as much as we do.

Halloween is only a few weeks away, so there’s plenty of time to start planning now for a fabulous do it yourself Halloween costume. Start plundering through those closets, attics, and garages now and see what kind of costume makings you can find. Happy Halloween!