Lara Shriftman: Halloween is my favorite holiday. Last year I was so excited for my son's first Halloween that I bought his costume in the middle of summer! Now that he is almost 2, he thinks he is Lightning McQueen and is obsessed with all things cars. Naturally, he will be dressing up as a race car driver for Halloween.

When August rolled around this year, I started my search for the perfect costume. There were so many fun options, but I had to search high and low to find him a costume that was smaller than a size 2T. I finally found three different ones, and of course had to buy all of them!

After hearing about his great costumes, all of my son's friends want to be race car drivers for Halloween too, so they are going to dress up as a team! Now with all of these great costumes, I have the perfect excuse to have another Halloween party for my son this year!

Here are a few of the things I've learned:

• Be sure to shop for Halloween costumes early. The best ones sell out fast!
• Try not to pick one from a local costume shop. Chances are, your kids will have the same outfit as your neighbor, and it will be a big boo-hoo for them both!

Another great option is to get creative and make your own costume:

• You can combine a few new pieces with things you already have around the house.
• For my son's costume, I collected several vintage Penske racing patches to sew onto his outfit.

Finally, here are some great places to find Halloween costumes:

Luxury, fashion and lifestyle expert Lara Shriftman co-founded Harrison & Shriftman in 1995. The agency specializes in public relations, marketing and events for high-profile luxury brands. In addition to serving as a correspondent for Extra with her own segment, Party Confidential, Lara and partner Elizabeth Harrison have authored four books on entertaining, Fete Accompli , Fete Accompli Workbook, Party Confidential and Party Confidential: New Etiquette for Fabulous Entertaining . www.partyconfidential.com