For me and my wife it’s a topic we bring up constantly throughout the year. Keep making suggestions and refining the ideas. Then October comes and of course he haven’t written anything down so we completely forget all our ideas.

Then two weeks before Halloween we say “ok we’re need to get costumes. It’s close”. Then we’ll come up with a very elaborate idea that we both know won’t happen, but we agree anyways.

Then 2 days before Halloween we check Amazon/spirit Halloween and do our best surprised Pikachu face when all the good costumes are gone or need more than 1 day to deliver and we end up settling on something dumb and get angry.

Repeat next year for some reason.

For me it's because I wanna make something really cool but then I wait too long to do it lol

Can also just be decision paralysis I think

I don't want to wear the same thing as last year, and I don't want to half-ass it because it's my favorite holiday, so I start planning it in July, and the plans get more and more elaborate, until finally it's October 29th, I'm scheduled doubles the next two days, my perfect costume is elaborately planned... but I haven't actually started on making it yet.

For me personally, they are a thing I get excited for, have dozens of ideas on what to wear randomly throughout the year. Then on October 31st suddenly realize it's Halloween and I still don't have a costume. Now I have to panic to find something that doesn't look rushed, usually on a work day, and I need to get candy to hand out like I promised my significant other I wouldn't forget this year. And by the time I make that happen, it's a stupid costume and some lame last minute bag of candy, and I know it screams that I put it all off until the last minute again, and wearing it stresses me out because now all I can think about is how it's a visual manifestation of my inability to manage even the simplest tasks.

So yeah...

How are they not stressful for anybody?

And don't hit me with the "I just go as the same thing as last year" that's cheating

Because it is.

I discovered a cheat code though: inflatable suits. T-Rex, giant unicorn, alien abduction, sumo wrestler....you name it. All you do is get in and turn on the fan.