Sunday, September 19, 2010

Dragons vs Princesses

I should have known it was too good to be true. A few weeks ago, Sophie found a couple of dragon costumes that my aunt and uncle had given to us years ago stashed away in a box in the basement. She became immediately enamored of a super cute burgundy-colored dragon with shiny golden wings and a big head complete with eyelashes and pink eye shadow. A girl dragon! Not only did Sophie look adorable in the costume, but it was a heavy fleece costume, perfect for trick-or-treating in Minnesota. The weight/warmth of a costume is of utmost important up here in the great Northland. Sophie triumphantly announced that she had found her Halloween costume. She was going to be a dragon. In the interest of both saving money AND avoiding the trek back and forth and up and down the costume aisle at Target with my indecisive daughter, I was thrilled beyond belief! As I said, however, I should have known it was too good to be true. I should have seen in coming. In actuality, it was my stupid mistake that ruined it all. I have no one to blame but my own shortsighted self.

As I've indicated here in the past, my son Nicholas is obsessed with all things Wii...Mario Kart in particular. His favorite character is Luigi. A few weeks ago, I found a Luigi costume for a great price on eBay. Nicholas instantly fell in love with it and after a few days, I had to put it away for
fear that he would destroy it completely before Halloween by wearing it 24/7. Since Nicholas is going to be Luigi, Lucas has decided to step out of his usual "superhero" box and choose something different for Halloween this year. He wants to be Mario. So Friday night, I sat in the living room chair with the laptop on my lap and three kids perched precariously on the arms and back of the chair, breathing down my neck as we looked at Mario costumes on eBay. I hate the thought of paying $40 for a Halloween costume, so I am hoping possibly...just maybe...I can find a used one in good condition on eBay. So I typed in "Mario costume" and began scrolling through costumes. However, I learned rather quickly that when one types in "Mario costume", not only does it pull up actual Mario costumes, but costumes of all of the characters from Mario Kart. For the most part, the characters are greasy-looking Italian men (good guys and bad guys), turtles, and strange-looking creatures of unknown parentage....except for one. That's right....Princess Peach. Sophie immediately latched onto the gorgeous, pink, flowing Princess Peach costumes she saw on my small 15-inch computer screen. Never mind that Sophie has never once played Mario Kart and has absolutely ZERO interest in video games...if the boys were going to be Mario and Luigi, Sophie wanted to be Princess Peach. And of course, as my luck tends to go, Princess Peach is the rarest and therefore costliest of the Mario costumes. Of course!

So....I have a difficult task ahead of me in the next four or so weeks. I must convince a four-year-old little girl...a diva, even...that dragons are cooler than princesses. I have yet to figure out exactly how I am going to make my argument convincing. Princesses marry their Prince Charming and live happily ever after, while dragons live alone, guarding dark dingy castles in desperate need of a makeover. Princesses get rescued by handsome princes, while dragons (who are much wiser and realize that they can rescue themselves) simply eat the princes and go about their merry way. Princesses get to wear beautiful flowing pink gowns of taffeta and satin, while dragons, for the most part, go naked. Hmmm...that may not work as a selling point with my fashionista daughter. How about a dragon's ability to fly? Princesses are pretty much Earthbound....that is, unless you are talking about a fairy princess. They fly, right? Regardless, I don't think even something as spectacular as the gift of flight will compensate for a dragon's lack of fashion options.

As it stands, she's not buying my arguments....but I am working on her. Wish me luck.

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