
OOooOOoOooOoo It’s October!!! The month of pumpkin patches and apple cider and gingersnaps! Some also find it a month to dress-up for various occasions. Let’s just get one thing straight first though. The history of Halloween. Are you familiar with it? Halloween is rooted in ancient Celtic traditions where costumes were worn to ward off ghosts. To learn more, check out this article: https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween .
Here in the United States, Halloween is often celebrated as a time where people (and pets!) dress up as whatever and there are fights over whether candy corn is the best thing on earth or the worst thing ever. There’s also lots of cultural appropriation with costumes and it’s important to understand what’s okay and not okay. Someone else’s culture is not your costume. Articles with examples are below in the “resources” section.

So now what? Well, there are lots of ways to dress up for fun (and not necessarily just in October)! Here are some ideas to get you thinking!

of the moon
a little egg
lay on a leaf.
(excerpt from “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle)




![[Image of a tall white Papa with a hammerhead shark hat thing on his head. He's wearing his sleeping infant son in a black and white damask pattern meh dai. He is standing in a Target store.]](https://i1.wp.com/babywearingtwincities.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/shark-head.jpg?fit=569%2C1024&ssl=1)
More Tips:
- Want to level-up (or just send some love to someone else that levels up to a whole different level??)? Check-out Tandem Trouble’s Facebook page not only for educational information related to wearing babies/children, but also for some INCREDIBLE cosplay (photo album, you don’t want to miss!!): https://www.facebook.com/tandemtrouble/ .
- Costumes made for pets can often loop over a carrier without putting strain/weight on the carrier straps (carrier straps aren’t tested for additional weight on random places!).
- Make sure you can still see your wearee’s face and that they can breathe! Same safety rules apply for wearing without a costume.
Resources
Babywearing Twin Cities Pinterest Board “Babywearing Costumes”: https://www.pinterest.com/babywearingtwincities/seasonal-babywearing-costumes/
“I Am Not a Costume”: http://www.lspirg.org/costumes
“10 Culturally Appropriative Halloween Costumes You Should Never Wear”: https://www.bustle.com/p/10-culturally-appropriative-halloween-costumes-you-should-never-wear-11941912
“How to Avoid Cultural Appropriation This Halloween
REMEMBER: SOMEONE ELSE’S CULTURE IS NOT YOUR COSTUME.”: https://bestlifeonline.com/halloween-cultural-appropriation/
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If you have any questions about babywearing, we encourage you to contact us and/or come learn in person at one of our meetings! Check out our Instagram @Babywearing.Twin.Cities and our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BabywearingTwinCities/).
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