Walking into a Halloween store or even the grocery store is scary this time of year. There are costumes and candy and various levels of crap being peddled all over the place. As the mother of a 3½ year old, he wants it all, which is cool. I get wanting things. I always want things. But how do you manage that without a full out war in the middle of Kroger? It's all in the pitch.

I don't mind getting my son a Halloween costume. I actually look forward to picking it out with him and planning things with him. And while my tactic may or may not work on an older child, it totally does on preschoolers. Below are the top 5 costumes according to various Halloween websites and the like.

#5 Spiderman: I know little boys love super heroes. But these costumes are so cheaply made you'd be lucky to have them last through trick-or-treating. My son was easy, because while he wanted to be Spiderman, he didn't want to wear the mask over his face. Plus I told him it would make his face sweat and smell like old potatoes. That was enough for him to move away from Spiderman and all of the super hero costumes really.

#4 Angry Birds: This was another one my son wanted. I didn't mind it so much but it was ugly and it looked hot. But kids love Angry Birds. I explained both the heat of the costume and told him that since it was round, he might not be able to walk up steps or fit in the doorways of some homes, making his candy intake a lot smaller. He caved pretty quickly.

#3 Monster High: My son doesn't know about this show, but I imagine he would if he was either a girl or possibly a little older. If he asked for it, I would simply tell him no since these costumes look like tween hookers wearing glitter makeup and fangs. And really, who wants their little girl dressed like a sexy Frankenstein or a sexy werewolf? That wouldn't happen in my house. It's a Disney princess or nothing.

#2 Buzz Lightyear: My son wanted to be Jessie last year. I convinced him that wouldn't work because his hair wasn't red. Then he wanted Buzz Lightyear but that costume was super ugly. So I told him they didn't make it in his size. He settled for Woody. That costume was ugly too and cheaply made. So I used a pair of jeans, plaid shirt and boots he already had, bought a super cheap cowboy hat for $1 and spent $20 on this marvelous horse that he got to step into that hooked over his shoulders like he was riding Bullseye.

#1 Harry Potter Characters: My son decided on Harry Potter, which is easy, cause I just have to buy a few things and draw a scar on his forehead with eyeliner. But he was picky about his cloak. It had to be the school cloak, and it had to have the crest on it and he had to have a certain wand. I made his father take him costume shopping to keep from loosing my mind. All in all it feels like a Mommy win this year.