A Good Halloween Costume for Fathers

I hadn’t worn a Halloween costume in many years until last night, when my kids — Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and a man-eating shark, respectively — encouraged me to do so.

I tried to think of something that would take almost no time, effort, or money. The idea came to me in a flash.

With my kids, I sometimes pretend to be a guy we call “Mean Daddy.” I’ve been kicking around the idea of writing a kids’ book on this theme. Mean Daddy is me, but much meaner, and only appears when his kids are misbehaving.

So for my costume, I typed the words “Mean Daddy” on my computer, printed it out in the biggest font available, and duct-taped the paper to my T-shirt. I got so many compliments on my costume that I will probably wear the same thing next year. Maybe I’ll even go to the trouble of having a T-shirt made with “Mean Daddy” printed on it, but that might kill the effect.

If you are a father who’s looking for a good, easy, cheap costume next year, I strongly recommend you try this one. (Unless, of course, you really are mean.) I would also think it works fine for moms — maybe even better?