One of the things I remember most about growing up is my Nana – Jeanette Warber – and her love for Halloween. Just seeing her so enthusiastic about the holiday made it my favorite holiday, as well. Every Halloween costume my sister and I had growing up was made by Nana, and every costume has been memorable.

“It was exciting for me,” Nana said last week when I asked her about the costumes she has made, “because of how excited you got about making them.”

When it came to making costumes, I loved that I could choose anything I wanted to be and that no other child was going to have a costume exactly the same as mine. I would spend weeks thinking about what I wanted to be, from every detail, down to the jewelry and shoes I was going to wear. When the time came to start making the costumes, Nana and I would go to the fabric store together and pick out a pattern, fabric, ribbon, buttons and anything else I needed.