The clock from the song “Hickory Dickory Dock”

Courtesy of Ali Alderfer

Ali Velez Alderfer from Powder Springs, Georgia. Mom of Rafael, age 5:

My then-3-year-old was obsessed with the song Hickory Dickory Dock. When I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, he said, very matter-of-factly, “The clock!”

He also said he wanted me and his dad, along with his Nana and Papa, to be the animals that went up the clock. That’s exactly what we did.

 I knew I wasn’t necessarily going to have the time or bandwidth to start from scratch. I searched for something long and color-blocked that I could use as a base and ended up buying what can best be described as a Moses robe dress, building from there.

I ordered some felt, fabric glue, elastic, a round styrofoam wreath, and other craft supplies. The package didn’t show up until the day before Halloween, so I stayed up late cutting, gluing, and sewing it all together. It was equal parts exhausting and exciting.

For the grown-ups, I ordered felt animal masks from Amazon.  

My son was so happy with the costume and sang his song as he walked up and down the block. Over the weeks and months to follow, he wore the costume any chance he got until he finally started to grow out of it.

As a full-time working mom, I had always done store-bought costumes, and might still do so in the future, but this was special. I felt pressure to get it right, not wanting to disappoint my son, but he was so happy to see his idea come alive that he wasn’t looking at the quality of my stitching or whether the felt was the right shade of gold.

In the end, I was proud of my work and satisfied that I could personally create something one-of-a-kind for my unique boy.