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No Costumes Allowed: Halloween Cancelled

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No Costumes?

I had a completely different post planned for today, but I was completely caught off-guard yesterday. I received an email from my son’s teacher saying there were no costumes allowed in school. What?! He had an awesome costume party last year in pre-school. I was actually even planning to dress up when I went in to volunteer at his art class.

No Costumes are allowed at school. Since when did fun become outlawed?

No Costumes Allowed

I don’t normally post about controversial topics, and I didn’t even think this was one, but it got me a little upset. Why couldn’t my child dress-up in a costume on Friday? They are actually having a “Harvest” party on Thursday, and someone must have asked about wearing costumes for the party, which prompted the email.

I really didn’t understand, so I called his school this morning. I asked if it was a school policy that the children couldn’t wear costumes on Friday. The woman who answered the phone said that they “don’t do that, and haven’t done it for a couple of years.” I asked why, and she said it was because there are many different beliefs. I totally get that, but you don’t have to “believe” in Halloween to have some fun and wear a costume. Now, if it was some kind of safety issue, I could get behind that. However, she didn’t even offer that as an excuse.

I guess if you go back to the “true” meaning of Halloween waaaay, way back when it originated, maybe some people would object. However, Halloween has become so commercialized, I really don’t think that is why people dress up anymore. It’s just a fun thing to do. Kids dress as super heroes, princesses, TV characters, etc. It doesn’t have to be something scary or evil.

In fact, couldn’t they just make it a “dress like your favorite character” day, if they were that worried about offending someone?  I also don’t think it has to be a requirement, so if it does offend you, don’t dress up.

Past Costumes

costumes

Are those really offensive? How about these?

no costumes allowed #Halloweencancelled #Halloween #NoHalloween

I guess the thing that bothers me the most was that Halloween and dressing up was one of my favorite memories from elementary school. We would get to wear a costume to school, then parade through all the other classrooms. Everyone clapped and cheered and had a great time. No one was worried about offending anyone.

Let’s Play Dress-up

Dressing up has always been one of my favorite things to do. My mom had a huge tub of her and my Grandma’s old clothes, and I would occupy myself for hours dressing up and playing pretend. Isn’t play and pretend play something that’s supposed to be celebrated in school?

I’m just a little sad that my son doesn’t get to wear the cool costume we had planned and play pretend at school.  I was looking forward to seeing silly costumes as I walked in to volunteer on Friday. In the grand scheme of things, t’s really not that big of a deal. I’m just a little bummed.

I just wish everyone didn’t have to be so serious all the time, and worry about every little thing.

You’re only in  kindergarten once.

Costumes have been outlawed at our school. Since when did fun become a bad thing?\

How we celebrate

You can bet we will all be in costume on Saturday. If you dress up, I’d love to see pictures on my Facebook page wall.

If you don’t, I’m not mad at you. Just don’t ruin my son’s fun.

Do your kids dress up at school?If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers

 

Comments

  1. I couldn’t believe it either when my 10 year old started school. I remembered loving dressing up when I was a kid and even the teachers dressing up. So many fun memories. I was completely surprised this year when we were told that our kindergartner was able to wear his costume to school. He is being a hammerhead shark. . .not sure this is a good idea since his costume is a bit big, but he is super excited. I saw let them dress up!

    Reply

    • Yes! Our teachers used to dress up too. That’s awesome that your son gets to dress up. Love that he’s a hammerhead shark. Send me pictures!

      Reply

  5. It’s crazy at how politically correct everything has gotten. I could see maybe putting guidelines on the costumes. Like nothing scary or sexy but super heroes and princesses or cowboys and doctors should be completely fine.

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  7. That is sad – I still love dressing up to this day, and I, like you, grew up with tubs of dress up clothes and costumes. Dressing up for grade school Halloween was always such a fun, special time, and it’s sad that it’s being taken away from most schools.

    Reply

  8. I think this is a bunch of BS. I know that I was allowed to wear costumes in elementary school but they since canceled it at that school about two years ago. I think everyone just needs to lighten up a bit…

    Reply

  11. My kids have never been able to dress up for Halloween, but they do character days at different times during the year. It’s really frustrating because honestly it’s the adults that are so concerned about “offending” some group. It’s ridiculous. The kids don’t care about any of that, they just want to show off their cool costumes to their friends. In our schools we get a lot of “some families may not be able to afford to participate” which I understand, but if that’s truly the school’s argument they shouldn’t allow “dress up” days EVER!!!!
    Great post!

    Reply

  13. That is so sad! Halloween is the most popular holiday with kids today, it is so much fun, dressing up, playing, chatting with other kids about their costume. My 2.5 year old is so excited and asks EVERYONE about their costumes. This would be a shame if they made it wide-spread. No reason kids can’t dress up in costumes!

    I totally just wrote a post about the origins of Halloween 🙂 But you are right, it is so commercial now, it really has nothing to do with its origins.

    http://www.raisingfairiesandknights.com/samhain/

    Foster kids imagination and independence, encourage them to dress up and play pretend and choose what they want to be. Such a shame! I would probably be the parent that sent my kid in some form of dress up outfit in protest regardless!

    Reply

  15. DISLIKE! I think costumes should be allowed. I think it’s fine to adhere to some guidelines like no masks, certain lengths, no weapons, etc. But I still think you should allow dressing up. Some of my favorite memories from school are Halloween costume parades and parties in class. Boo!

    Reply

  16. My son is not allowed to dress up either, and he is in first grade. The kindergartens can dress up and do a parade.. but then they have to change into regular clothes. My daughter can dress up for the morning but she is still in daycare. (Love the new look of your site BTW)

    Reply

  17. I absolutely love dressing up. Honestly, this makes me a little mad. I don’t feel like Halloween is a religious holiday so I don’t get the idea of banning it. I do storytimes in local preschools here and there are one or two Catholic schools where we can’t even mention Halloween and have to be careful with the books we choose for the preschools because they’re not even allowed to talk about it – apparently because it’s seen as sacreligious with witches and “dark magic” and all that. Ugh.

    Reply

  18. I enjoyed dressing up in school too, but I can actually see why they have that policy now. I know enough people who didn’t grow up seeing Halloween as a time to dress up and have fun and instead grew up knowing some of the darker roots that people have issues with and are incredibly offended by it. And there’s so much competition between kids for what they’re wearing these days… I dealt with a lot of that when I was younger and I think it’s even worse now. So I can see issues coming up if someone’s costume isn’t up to par with the others… I can just see how it could create issues that schools wouldn’t want to deal with it. I think dressing up around Halloween would still be seen as dressing up for Halloween even if they called it something different, but it would be cool if they had a “Dress as your favorite character” day or something at another point during the year so that the little kids can still have the fun of dressing up in costume. I remember one winter in 2nd grade, I think, we had to dress up as our favorite character and it was so much fun to come to school dressed up on a day when you usually wouldn’t. Also, we also had to be more creative because we couldn’t go to the store and pull a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume or something else like it off the shelf.

    Reply

  19. The schools around here made that move sometime between me getting out of elementary school and my brother entering it. My mom was so upset I actually remember her crying over it. They wouldn’t let the kids have holiday parties at all anymore. And I remember my mom and some other mothers storming off to the school to argue that a party to celebrate winter and having a couple weeks off of school wasn’t going to offend anyone, and to let the kids stay kids. They felt like the school was robbing them of one of the best parts of elementary school. I agree! I know the schools in Chicago don’t allow it either which makes me sad.

    Reply

  20. I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. No costumes allowed because of beliefs, blah blah blah. I personally think it’s ridiculous! I dressed up in school, and if you didn’t “believe” in Halloween, then you just didn’t dress up. Simple as that. I hope you post pictures of the boys’ costumes this year!

    Reply

  21. That’s pretty sad and crazy. Even my 12 year old can dress up at school & he’s in middle school! I just think it’s sad that everyone has to be so serious and politically correct all the time. I wish that people could just understand the fun in it all and let kids be kids. I hope y’all have a wonderful Halloween on Saturday!

    Reply

  23. Halloween is all about the fun and costumes are part of that fun. It’s not just the treats. Those were some of the best memories of Halloween when we all dressed up in costumes at school!

    Reply

  24. Unfortunately, I was one of “those” kids that never got to dress up because Halloween was evil. So, we always went to church to a festival. That wasn’t so bad, but I never understood as a child what was so wrong with it. Same with Christmas. My mom sat me down at 3 and told me Santa wasn’t real and it was Jesus birthday. I get all that, but as a child, we want to pretend and dream about Santa coming and things like that. We learn a lot growing up. My kids will definitely be dressing up….heck, I threw my Pantry Doctor apron on my dog and took him to the Monster mutt mash this year! 😉 He was a Pantry Dog!!

    Reply

  27. Our school has superhero shirt day & if you like you can make up your own superhero & put it on a shirt!
    I think it’s a good compromise- I’m sure some of the costumes get out of hand and can cause problems.

    Reply

  28. Ahh that’s so sad! I don’t get why it’s an issue.. surely the kids who want to can dress up and those who don’t can go in regular clothes. I don’t get why it has to be turned into a huge thing!

    Reply

  29. We aren’t in school yet but I can’t believe all the fun they are taking out of school these days. As long as the costume is age appropriate and isn’t a safety hazard I don’t see why they can’t. If someone doesn’t believe they don’t have to participate it was never mandatory.

    Reply

  30. I hate that!! I grew up in circles of people who thought dressing up was satanic. I’m so over the ridiculousness! Great post!!!!

    Reply

  31. My son’s school allows kids to dress up but they wouldn’t care if kids wore costumes on a normal day! 🙂 Their dress code is very loose.

    Reply

  32. Hi Shann,

    I remember my kids were able to dress up on Halloween when they were little. I’m with you in that if it were a safety issue I could understand them not allowing it. Well, if they won’t be able to wear their costumes you can make it an extra special Halloween for them at home. 🙂

    Hope it works out hun!

    Cori

    Reply

  33. No dress up at our school here either. Last year my son’s class had a Vocabulary Parade the same week as Halloween where the kids could dress up to match a word. (This way they were pre-approved costumes) My son went as Ninja vocab word Covert. There was quite a few Regal and Royal aka Princesses. It was a nice way to still let them dress up, but keep out all of the controversy.

    Reply

  35. That whole thing is bogus. I can so easily get on my soapbox over issues like that and how we make dumb “blanket” policies to avoid offending people all the time instead of just saying “If you don’t like it, don’t participate!” ugh. I’ll spare you the rest of my rant! lol!

    I homeschool my kids and they come to class in costumes whenever they want to. Today my 9 year old is dressed as a ninja and wielding at least 7 “weapons.” I asked him to please remove the swords from his back so he could actually SIT in the chair and he responded by telling me “Sorry, mom. But a ninja’s gotta have swords. Know what i mean?”

    i couldn’t argue with that!

    Reply

  36. Wow, that’s really interesting! I didn’t realize it was a thing that schools weren’t doing. Growing up we would parade around the school so we got to see EVERYONE’s costumes. It was something fun that we looked forward to every year. I wonder if it comes down to some costumes being to gross or dangerous? I know we couldn’t have any “weapons” that went with our costumes (no swords or guns, etc) but otherwise it was just a fun thing.

    Reply

  37. Our school doesn’t allow costumes but I teach middle school, so it’s a little tougher. I hear you though…it’s frustrating when they limit what the kiddos can do because they want to be politically correct in a way. Especially in elementary! The kiddos just want to dress up and play!

    Reply

  38. Wow, I can’t believe that.
    I have so many fun photos from Halloween when I was in elementary and we got candy and a little Halloween party complete with costumes.

    xoxo, Jenny

    Reply

  42. My son’s preschool doesn’t allow it, but it’s for potty reasons not something ambiguous like “beliefs.” I would be upset if an elementary school had a no costume rule, why do school take all the fun out of being a kid?

    Reply

  43. My kids’ school lets them dress up for the Halloween Party, but not the entire day. Then they parade them around the playground. My Kindergartener wanted to wear her costume all day, so I let her. Mind you, I’ll let her wear her wear costume dresses as a dress on any given day. She once went to church in a Tinkerbell Dress.

    I don’t follow school rules too well. Never did. In high school, I used to leave, mid class, to get a mocha latte on snowy days, or Diet Coke when the teacher’s lounge was out. I put my cigarette out on the tobacco free zone sign. I hate rules that have no reason for them. I can’t stand them. Unless there’s a safety issue, don’t tell me what to do.

    Reply

  45. I taught preschool for years and we always dressed up on Halloween. I think dress up is great for imaginative play and building creativity. – Trish

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  46. My kids aren’t allowed to dress up at school day. Instead they have a spirit day and dress in black and orange….it is foolish. All dress up is is playing make believe. What kind of parent or administration takes issue with children using their imaginations and having fun?

    Reply

  47. No costumes at our school, either. I am ok with it, though. Not all kids can afford one or whatnot, so I wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out. For the record, no outside food other than what the kids pack for lunches is allowed into the school, either, so no parties.

    Reply

  48. This is happening at a lot of schools and it is sad because I think most if not all of the KIDS enjoy it. I think it’s become so much about the parents that we forget who we should be focusing on in schools…

    Reply

  50. I have never heard of ANYTHING like this! Growing up, the most fun part about Halloween was dressing up for school and we would even have a Halloween parade where we all went from classroom to classroom to model our costumes. I’ve heard that a lot of schools are saying that kids are welcome to wear costumes or pajamas if costumes are against their beliefs, but I’m shocked that his school banned dressing up all together. Sometimes we just need to let kids be kids!

    All the Best,
    Allison | http://www.LiveLifeWellBlog.com

    Reply

  51. no kids here, but that sounds depressing! I loved dressing up as a kid and going to school in my costume. Even having classroom halloween parties were tons of fun as well. I feel like people will find any reason to be offended or upset and make it something it’s not. Like you said, Halloween has become highly commercialized ; it’s not all “bonefires” and “pagan sacrifice” anymore. It really sucks for the kids who miss out. Sorry to hear about this, but I’m sure you guys will still have fun trick or treating on the big night!

    stop by and chat with me ♥ http://StorybookApothecary.com

    Reply

  52. I am one of those people who tries to see both sides of the coin, but honestly if they don’t want to dress up , then don’t why should my child pay for what someone else doesn’t believe in?

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  53. It’s such a bummer too because the inside costume times are the best in Wisconsin! Saturday is supposed to be cold and rainy. Which means winter coats and umbrellas and covered up costumes! We always look for a few other fun inside opportunities to wear our costumes so they don’t have to pack layers underneath or over just to stay warm!

    Reply

  56. We were never allowed to dress up in school growing up for halloween. We did have a “recreation” of the thanksgiving dinner. Where half of the class dressed up like Indians and the other half like pilgrims… I can only imagine that wouldn’t fly anymore. But, it was good time.

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  57. When it comes to adult functions, then the “if you don’t approve then just don’t join in” applies, but when it is kids you have to think about the kids who have parents that will not allow costumes which leaves them instantly left out. We do halloween, and love costumes every day of the year for that matter, but I always feel for the kids who want to do things but are forced to remain outsiders for whatever reason (when I was a kid it was because we couldn’t afford the things other families could…)

    Reply

  58. I homeschool my daughter so she does dress up for her parties. They are usually through a co-op or something we throw ourselves. I think it is a bummer that kids are not allowed to dress up, I remember looking forward to it when I was little. I know my daughters friend was allowed to dress up as long as they chose a story book theme and they based it around a unit they were doing. Maybe you could suggest that next year. Dress up is such an important part of creative play for little ones.

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  59. Seriously, this is a little silly. As you said, Halloween has become an “event” – it’s no longer the act of a belief system. If the children tried to conduct a wiccan ceremony in the corner of the classroom by the art supplies, THAT is in the realm of infringing on people’s beliefs. But dressing up as a cowboy or Elsa? No one should be offended by that, unless maybe you didn’t like Frozen… and even then, you should just “let it go.”

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  60. Unfortunately this is becoming more and more of a problem in the schools. 🙁 I am very saddened by it. Even though I know everyone can’t possibly make the choice we did to homeschool, this is just another example of the many reasons we made our decision.

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  62. My sons school only allows pre-k and kindergarteners to wear costumes. I don’t like that they do that but I get why they do. It can get out of hand with some kids and I can only imagine how hard it must be to deal with and teach at the same time.

    Reply

  63. I find that reason a bit off. I totally agree with you. Because Halloween is not associated with any religion.

    Reply

  64. I remember when I was in elementary school, it was totally okay to wear costumes. In fact, we did a school costume parade kind of thing haha it was always so much fun! It sucks that some schools have policies against them.

    Reply

  67. I saw your post yesterday and wanted to leave a comment almost immediately but i was too busy! Our school reminded us about NO Customes halloween party. I said WHAT? They said due to religion restrictions 🙁 I left

    Reply

  69. I might be the only voice hear that is not saying this is a travesty of justice to not be able to dress up for Halloween. My position is not based on being an immigrant, one of the “others,” etc. It is simply this – I don’t believe in Halloween. Now, I am not saying that others should not and ought not be able to dress in costumes. I did not allow my child to dress up and we did not go trick and treating in the 14+ years that we have lived in North America and in our years living in Europe. I simply do not endorse or wish to participate in this celebration.

    I no longer have a child in my house and so that is not an issue for me any longer. I know my daughter is going to be challenged by it as she has grown up not endorsing the celebration but now she has a child of her own, born and will be raised in Canada. She however will have to sort that out.

    When I got into work yesterday, there were all kinds of Halloween activities going on around me. I did not become a scourge or anything. I just smiled and was polite with all the participants. I even had some candy.:) What bothered me though was when someone jumped in my path dressed in character that totally goes against my beliefs and expected me to jump with them. No. Then, as I went to my office, a motion detector mask started shrieking in my ears. I was terrified. These are simple, maybe even petty to some, reasons why I do not like or participate in Halloween. I have no desire to be terrified, scared, being a ghoul or have any such representations in my personal space. As another visitor wrote, if the schools gave guidelines about the costumes that were less offensive for a wider group called “the community” maybe they wouldn’t have to outright ban or disallow costumes. We live in a changing world, whether we like it or not, and that world is more inclusive of all cultures. Just as I would not expect a person wearing – let us say a niqab – serving me in customer service role in Canada, so too I am not to happy to have “devils,” ghouls, and bloodied costumed people jumping in my face even for a day.

    Sorry for the length of my comment but this is one of those issues that has troubled me – not in schools but as I visit blogs and being demanded to comment positively on something that I simply do not enjoy. Thank you for your patience.

    Reply

  70. I believe that we are all entitled to our beliefs but Halloween-which originally derived from pagan rituals- has become commercialized to the extent that all kids of different backgrounds participate in celebrations. As a community the school should foster a united spirit and Halloween is a national celebration that should have been advocated by the school. The school is not going to have legal issues with the religious or cultural groups that don’t believe in Halloween because the majority enjoy the festivities for the sweets rather than the meaning behind the day.

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  72. This is one thing I love about living in a small town. Everyone dresses up, including the teachers. The elementary school has a big parade that goes around the outside of the school lead by a school bus that is dressed up as a space shuttle. Even the police and fire trucks participate.

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  75. I would be so disappointed! Many different beliefs means celebrating different beliefs not stopping them!!! This would make me so upset, especially considering Halloween is a secular holiday!

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  76. Ughhhh this drives me nut!!! Literally. My daughter is in preschool and her teacher had to kinda fight with the school to let the kiddos dress up for there party last Friday. But the teacher and the aids had to put the costumes on the kiddos the last 45 minutes of school. The rest of the school didn’t do anything for Halloween. I hate how some people have to take things so personal and ruin something so comercalized for everyone. Halloween is about candy and playing dress up these days. If you really think we are all worshipping the devil or something you are surely mistaken -_-

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  77. I love to wear those costumes when I was a kid…but I also understand also some policies not to allow any costumes especially if they site about beliefs and history

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  79. That’s pretty lame. I’m a Christian and I love Halloween to bits because to me any excuse to dress up and eat candy is a great day. A lot of holidays and events we celebrate and observe today have questionable origins – are they gonna water those down too?

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  80. Dressing up is fun… I work in a school district where some schools allow it and some don’t I always feel bad for the kids who can’t ! Great post!

    Reply

  81. The past two years at my daughter’s school did not allow Halloween costumes…BUT for some reason this year, the principle allowed it. I think it may have to do with different cultures and religion…not sure.

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  82. Kind of off topic but I went to a private school when I was little, we weren’t allowed to dress up…but it went further than that. They tried to teach how evil the day was to a bunch of elementary school kids :/ I had a lot of issues as I grew up and eventually left private school but I know I will never send my kids to private school.. I do find it odd that a public school won’t allow dressing up though. My daughter goes to a pre school that is srt of tied to a church, and they got to dress up today.

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  85. Dressing up is fun, and it sucks, but I think I can see why a school wouldn’t allow it. There are a lot of issues with cultural appropriation, kids dressing up as Mexicans, Indians, Asian (being Asian myself, I do find it offensive when people dress up as “sexy Asians” or “geishas” however, Mulan is totally okay), etc. Then there are some costumes which are just plain scary and may scare other kids.

    So I guess instead of writing a letter with what your kid can or can’t wear, it’s easier to just say no costumes because you know there is always going to be that one parent that has to cross the line and ruin the fun for everyone.

    Reply

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