The days are getting shorter, the leaves are falling, and kids everywhere are getting excited about loading bags full of sugar and preservatives packaged in small plastic wrappers – Halloween is just around the corner!

Okay, I admit it, I don’t discourage my son from loading his bag full of candy. And I eat my share. But I feel guilty about it… sometimes. Not often. But since we don’t keep a lot of sweets around the house on a regular basis I rationalize this one holiday focused on eating as much free candy as possible. Also, I have found Tupperware containers in the cabinet in past years that contain the remains of our his haul, so I can feel better knowing that we don’t even eat it all…

Do I sound desperate? Let’s get off the candy subject and move to my favorite part of Halloween – COSTUMES!

When I was a kid costumes were not the awe-inspiring source of revenue that they are today. In fact, the history of Halloween costumes is centuries old, but until the 1930s, costumes were all DIY. How things have changed. In 2013, Business Week magazine reported that Americans spent approximately $2.6 billion on Halloween costumes – and the bulk of that was spent on adult costumes. It kind of cracks me up to also learn that $330 million was spent on pet costumes. Wow.

So… for this week’s writing prompt, let’s talk about costumes! Write about your own memories of your favorite childhood costumes, your office costume contest, your kids’ costumes, or quick and easy costumes you make out of stuff you find around the house – it’s all good.

I am changing the format a little, so you’ll link your posts below and the link up will be live through next Tuesday, October 28th. Thanks for sharing, I can’t wait to read your stories!