By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com

CHARLESTON — When 4-year-old Ryan Kolling announced he wanted to be a piece of pizza for Halloween this year, his parents knew there would be no ordering out.

“We just went from there,” said Paul Kolling of Charleston.

After many hours in the garage cutting boxes and paper bags for the crust, shredding paper for the cheese and spray-painting Styrofoam plates for the pepperoni, Paul and Ryan — who was at his dad’s side the whole time — had thrown together a full-size pizza costume, as well as a smaller version for baby brother Alec, 1 ½.

“We just tried to make it as realistic as possible,” said Paul.

And a nifty get-ups aren’t the only results of such family projects. Experts and parents agreed making your children’s Halloween costume fosters creativity while cultivating family bonds.

“That would be an activity that both the (adult) family member and the child would enjoy,” said Frances Murphy, a child development professor at Eastern Illinois University School of Family and Consumer Sciences. “Children are most engaged when we’re tapping into their interests and their goals.”

She said the greatest yields from homemade costume-making come when parents follow the children’s recommendations. “That’s a great opportunity for communication, to get a window on what the child is thinking,” Murphy said.

Pat Mahler, a longtime textile design artist and award-winning educator with the Illinois Arts Council, said “everyday or recycled objects” make great raw material for costumes and provide the foundation for a crucial child development.

“You’re going through the creative process of looking at those things and saying, ’What can I make?’” Mahler said.

She added “inspired, problem-solving type costumes” made as a family also tend to be the most breathtaking. “You can see they’ve looked around and made the decision to make something out of nothing almost,” said Mahler.

Krista Snider, chair of the Jaycees Halloween Costume Parade in Charleston on Saturday, said contest judges often give more weight to homemade costumes. In fact, as part of the judges’ instructions from organizers, they’re asked “to remember the amount of creativity, time and effort (contestants) put into a costume.”

Murphy said the Halloween-costuming process offers a chance for parents to instill their values in their children by encouraging costumes that are “character-building, examples of a strong character, like a hero.”

She also advised parents to steer away from scary costumes for very young children.

And “homemade” does not necessarily equal “made from scratch.”

Angie Fisher and her daughters, Madison, 11, and Megan, 7, of Charleston utilize the services of local seamstress Shannon Strode to costume the girls and the family dog, Scout. The Fishers then scour department and discount stores together for accessories.

This year, the two girls and the dog are all going as “Bingo Babes.” Strode sewed the “old lady” dresses for them, while the Fishers secured gray wigs, pearl necklaces and reading glasses during their shopping trips to Champaign.

“Everything else came from Grandma (Shirley Anderson of Charleston),” said Madison.

“Putting this all together was really funny,” she said. “It feels great to see everybody looking at laughing.”

Not that homemade costumes can’t look store-bought.

Lerna resident Sandy Bowles has fabricated exquisitely detailed Halloween outfits every year for two generations of her family, starting with her daughters and now for her four grandchildren.

Charleston resident Shelley Dow remembers how much fun she and her sister had as children helping their mother plan out their costumes.

“I still remember the year I was a bubblegum machine,” Dow said. “Those are very special memories.”

Bowles said making costumes for her family “is the greatest thing in the world. I live for it.”

Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.

Published on Monday, October 29, 2007 12:11 AM CDT
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