I was standing in the empty Halloween aisle at Target, trying not to cry. Everything good was sold out or ridiculously expensive. My eight-year-old daughter looked up at me and said, “Mom, maybe we could just make something?”
It hit me hard. It’s been three months since the divorce, and I’m still figuring out how to make every dollar count. Halloween used to be Jeremy’s thing. He’d take Sophie to the fancy costume store and tell her to pick whatever she wanted. This year it was just me, a twenty-dollar budget, and zero crafting skills.
Sophie wanted to be a rain cloud. At first, I thought there was no way. Then I remembered some leftover polyester batting from an old project. We found a yellow raincoat at Goodwill for eight dollars, and grabbed blue felt and ribbon from the dollar store. Total cost: twelve bucks.
That night, we turned the kitchen table into our little workshop. Sophie glued the batting onto an old party hat while I cut out raindrops. She was so focused, and for the first time since the divorce, we were doing something together that didn’t end with her asking when Daddy was coming home.
When I posted the finished costume on the Tedooo app, just to see if it looked okay, dozens of moms jumped in with love and ideas. A few even asked if I could make costumes for their kids. By the end of the week, I had sold two more cloud costumes.
On Halloween night, Sophie glowed with pride every time someone said, “What a creative costume!” She’d smile and say, “My mom made it!” and I swear my heart nearly burst.
Sometimes the best moments happen when you can’t afford to buy your way out. Jeremy can keep his credit cards. We’ve got imagination — and that’s worth a whole lot more.
Credit to the original storyteller ❤️