My favorite thing about Halloween has to be homemade costumes. My mom made our costumes nearly every year when we were kids. If she bought something at the store, it was something like cat or bunny ears, or something to make into something else. I was a costume freak back in the day. I’m sure my mom dreaded what I’d dream up every year because I would get so excited about getting the costume just right. I went through a slew of characters back in the day–the statue of liberty, Scarlett O’Hara, Mary Poppins and even a picnic (most awkward costume to wear ever!). One year I decided I wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I begged my mom to make me a costume just like the one from the movie, so she watched the old VHS tape over and over to note all the details of the dress in order to make her own pattern (I was OCD about accuracy…yep, I have a flair for the dramatic!).

To this day, homemade costumes steal my heart. So when my friend Lindsay told me her son was going to be Sheriff Woody for Halloween and that she was making the costume, I begged her to let me photograph him in it. The only catch was that her little boy didn’t want to wear the awesomeness that was the Woody costume. Lindsay was bummed. After all the effort of making the vest and assembling the costume and she might not be able to talk her son into wearing it.

Well, I don’t know what happened, but the day we planned to go to the pumpkin patch arrived and he put on the costume without any fuss. We had such a great time at the patch and I couldn’t help but think of all those years my mom spent making our costumes. I will always remember that being the fun part of Halloween, even more exciting than getting all that candy.

Here’s a look at my session with Sheriff Woody at the pumpkin patch. Hopefully he’ll be up for wearing the costume one more time for trick-or-treating! Happy Halloween everyone!