For many, Hallowe’en goes hand in hand with terrifying images of ghosts, ghouls and goblins.But in reality the holiday can be the perfect time for parents to bond with their children by making creative costumes, baking sweets or going door-to-door collecting the store-bought variety.Expert seamstress Liz Campbell is proof of the sentimental possibilities of ‘All Hallows’ Eve’. She made dozens of costumes for her three children while they were growing up and continues the tradition today with her grandchildren.As a girl her daughter Jennie wanted to have the best costume to win prizes at the Hallowe’en parties she attended.“So she would come home saying ‘I want to be a tornado or a longtail.’ It was usually after I had done a big show [designing costumes for Bermuda Musical and Dramatical Society productions] when I didn’t want to, but I would.”Mrs Campbell said her middle son Richard always wanted to be superhero characters as a child, like the 1987 hero He-Man.“We used a pink leotard that his sister had and I drew muscles on it with a marker and we used a blonde wig and a little pair of red underpants on top and a plastic sword.”That particular costume had people roaring with laughter as soon as he stepped into view. “We teased him about it for years,” Mrs Campbell said, adding that it became so popular people asked to borrow it later.Mrs Campbell began making clothes including her own school uniform out of necessity when she was 14 years old. “I was one of five girls so my mom taught me to sew,” she told The Royal Gazette.“Then I had some lessons at school and eventually I went to art college and decided to do some courses in art design. That is where I learned things like how to manipulate fabrics. Up until then I sort of fiddled around.”In 1983, when her children started getting involved with BMDS summer camps Mrs Campbell decided to lend a hand with costume-making.Since then she has made scores of costumes for local productions and just recently finished making more than 90 garments for the hit production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society.“I love to make costumes and it’s really very satisfying,” she said.Over the years she has also made countless costumes for her children including Batman and Robin, Peter Pan, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dracula’s mother, pirates, Care Bears and Kermit the Frog. They are almost all tied to special memories and she finds it impossible to pick a favourite one.“The important thing is to let them be what they want to be. Let them choose and have fun and create it with them. You just look at what you have and use that.“I made fairy costumes out of old dresses of mine. You just use what you’ve got and just learn to think outside the box.”She said thrift stores like The Barn, Bargain Box and the Bermuda Red Cross’ Upstairs Closet are great resources.Mrs Campbell said it’s best to go with an idea of what you want to be and think it through beforehand. That way you don’t get overwhelmed or buy things you already have at home, she said.But making fun and crazy costumes isn’t possible every year, due to time restrictions or the child’s own preferences.“One time my son wanted to buy costumes so I let him. He was sick of mom making his costumes and just wanted to look like everyone else.”She also warned that it’s best not to spend too much time on difficult accessories that fall off or are uncomfortable.“You can put a lot of work into something and sometimes they do not bother with it. So it’s best to keep it simple.“Always make sure the kid is comfortable in the costume, if not they won’t wear it for long.”She keeps a majority of her costumes in an accessories room and two sheds at her home. She said sometimes “it hurts me to throw some of them away”.“I put work into them and they look good for what they were designed for, but sometimes they take up too much space so there is no way I can keep them.”She encourages others to try their hand at making costumes one year if only so they are later able to enjoy special memories with their children.“Have fun with it and don’t take it seriously and use your imagination because there are no rules.“You do not have to be the best sewer and it doesn’t have to last forever, but your kids will appreciate you making something for them.“They don’t care how good it is; just make it fun and [as a parent] become part of the process as well.”