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Two Sizes to Grab Before Halloween Photos and Thanksgiving Both Sneak Up The stretch between late October and the end of November is short, and both end...
The stretch between late October and the end of November is short, and both ends of it want a photo. Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, which means costume pictures in the morning and probably a trunk-or-treat that afternoon. Then Thanksgiving shows up before you've had time to think about it, and now you need something that looks nice at the table and holds up while cousins chase each other through the backyard.
Here's what makes it easier: you don't need a closet full of new pieces to cover both. You need two, sized right, bought before the calendar catches up with you.
For the Halloween end of things, the piece worth grabbing early is a warm layer that reads as fall in a photo, not the costume itself. A pullover, a knit cardigan, a corduroy overall set. Something that works over the costume when the sun goes down and works on its own the next morning for a more everyday shot.
Size it one up from what your little wears right now. That sounds obvious until you're standing in the store trying to remember whether the 3T from last winter still buttons.
Kids gain most of their length through the trunk and legs going into fall, and a layer that fits snug in October will be pulling across the shoulders by the time the first real cold snap hits Youngsville, usually right around the time everyone's setting up for the holidays. One size up gives you room without looking borrowed. Roll a sleeve if you have to.
The Thanksgiving piece is the one that fools people. A dress or a nicer set for the table photo feels like it should fit exactly, so the instinct is to buy true to size.
But true to size in early October is often snug by the third week of November, especially for the under-fives who seem to grow overnight. If the photo you care about is the one at the table, you want the piece to still fit that day, not the day you bought it. Go true to size only if you're buying within a week or two of Thanksgiving.
Buying now, in early September or October, size up one.
There's a second reason to give a little room here. Thanksgiving in Louisiana is not a sit-still holiday. Somebody's frying a turkey, somebody's watching the game, and the kids are outside until they're called in.
A dress with a hair of extra room moves with a kid who's running. A dress that fits perfectly at 2 p.m. is uncomfortable by 4.
The temptation is to buy something for every event on the calendar, and there are a lot of them packed into these six weeks. But most of what happens between Halloween and Thanksgiving is casual, and a good fall layer handles almost all of it.
The pullover you grabbed for Halloween night works for the pumpkin patch, the school fall party, the drive to grandma's, and the low-key days in between. The Thanksgiving piece handles the one moment you actually want dressed up. Two pieces, two sizes, and the middle takes care of itself.
That's also the reason to think about color while you're at it. If your Halloween layer is a rust, a deep gold, or a soft cream, it photographs as fall without shouting Halloween, which means it doesn't look out of place in a November shot either. You get more mileage out of one piece when it isn't locked to a single date.
Most of the time you're shopping without the little one in tow, which is exactly why the sizing question feels harder than it should be. A quick way to steady yourself: think about what fit at the start of the school year, then move up one.
If a 4T buttoned comfortably in August, a 5 is your Thanksgiving number for a piece you're buying now. Kids who are already at the top of their current size in early fall are the ones most likely to grow out of it before the holidays, so lean up rather than staying put when you're not sure.
For shoes it's the opposite instinct. Buy those close to now and close to true, because a shoe that's a full size too big turns into a trip hazard on the same slick evening you most want a kid steady on their feet.
There's a real payoff to sorting this in September or early October instead of the week before each event. The fall pieces are in, the sizes are still deep, and you're picking from a full rack instead of whatever's left.
By the third week of November, the popular sizes in the popular colors are the first to go, and you're either driving further or settling. Grabbing the two pieces now, at Littles Boutique or wherever you like to shop for your kids, means the outfits are hanging in the closet while everyone else is still deciding.
It also means the only thing left to do on Halloween morning is get the costume on over the layer, and the only thing left to do Thanksgiving morning is smooth the collar and hand somebody the camera. That's the version of these six weeks worth setting up for.
Two sizes, bought a little early. The rest of fall gets a lot quieter.