It’s Enviro-Mama Thursday here on Strocel.com. Last week I promised you a post about cow power, but that’s going to need to wait until next Thursday, because right now I want to talk about Halloween. It’s still September, but I drove by a field filled with orange pumpkins the other day. If you don’t want to be up late at night trying to pull a costume together on October 30, you may want to spend some time now thinking about what you and your kids will be doing.
When it comes to Halloween I’ve done it all – I’ve pieced together costumes from stuff we had on hand, I’ve bought pre-packaged costumes from big box stores, and I’ve sewed everything from scratch. But the greenest, cheapest and easiest way to go may be an idea I heard from my friend Robin of Our Big Earth. Costume Swap Day Canada offers a great alternative. You bring your old costumes, other families bring their old costumes, and you swap. No last-minute panic – or sewing – required. You can see the simple brilliance, right?
The concept reminds me of my favourite of all sources of kids’ clothes: hand-me-downs. Finding someone with a kid just a little bit older than yours is sort of magical. What’s even better is when you have someone with kids born in the opposite gender order of yours so that you can swap. I have an older daughter and a younger son – I’ve been able to trade clothes with one of my friends who has an older son and a younger daughter. It really is a total win-win situation. I love the idea of incorporating that into Halloween planning.
The Costume Swap Day folks are still looking for people to set up swaps in communities across Canada. The big day is October 13, so if you want to plan Halloween fairy (or Great Pumpkin), you have a month to plan.
As for our family, I’m still trying to nail down my kids. I am hoping that I can convince them to go with something easy that isn’t going to require sewing on my part. If I’m actually going to sit down at my sewing machine, I’d rather be making something for myself. My kids are currently on a Star Wars kick, so it could go either way. We have stuff for some of the costumes, not so much for others. I’ll keep you updated on how it works out for me.
Now I’d like to hear from you – what do you usually do when it comes to Halloween costumes? Are you crafty? Do you order online or head to the local Wal-Mart? And how do you keep it green? Tell me!
PS – While Costume Swap Day is an advertiser, I was not compensated in any way for this post. I just think it’s a cool (and green) idea, and I wanted to share. Plus I’m hoping one of you will organize a swap near me, so that I can take advantage of it.
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I can’t sew to save my life, other than sewing buttons back on, which I find enjoyable and kind of soothing, so we either pull something together from odds and ends around the house or buy from the big box store. We go to a friend’s Halloween party every year where everyone has to be in costume or risk the dreaded Penalty Drink, so even if we buy the kids’ costumes, my husband and I piece stuff together, which is often fun and hilarious. The swap thing is a great idea.
I love the idea of a swap! I wish they had that where I live. I am fortunate to have older nephews and my SIL is very generous with the hand me downs. My 1 yr old’s costume this year will be entirely made up of hand me downs. My 4 yr old really wants to be Batman this year so I bought some Batman pajamas (which he can wear again and again for sleeping – no single use costume here) plus a Batman mask/cape set that he likes to play dress up in.
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