We love halloween. My son has been asking most every day – “Is it halloween yet?” The one problem with Halloween, as we see it, is that it can get expensive. If you haven’t been lucky enough to 1) score a cheap costume that your kid will wear at a thrift store, or 2) have a kid who will wear whatever you score, then you are probably, about now, thinking “I have to spend HOW MUCH on a $#%& costume?” (insert costume idea of your kid’s choice).
We ran across this posting on some good cheap (or possibly even free) costume ideas. I personally LOVE the jellyfish costume and plan to use this for myself sometime in the next few years when I no longer have to hold a baby. The oldie-but-goodie Highway idea would be easy enough for a kid of any age (black pants, black shirt, yellow electrical tape). We’ve had fun in years past with one of dad’s white shirts (for a lab coat), a pair of old lens-less glasses, and some gel in the hair for a mad-scientist.
And a green halloween? We thought these tidbits were interesting:
- Conventional pumpkins are a highly “treated” crop. Consider buying from a local farm instead of the grocery store (unless you know they are organic). And make sure you compost it when Halloween is over instead of putting it in a landfill. We usually just put ours in the garden and top it with leaves and by spring it’s nearly vanished.
- Use a recycled costume (ie items from your or your friend’s closet or dress-up box, thrift stores)
- Use recycled cans to make lanterns for your home (think hammer and nail, patterns, candles)
- Use a solar powered flash light when out and about, or sew reflective tape to the costume
And finally, here is a good link for a FAKE BLOOD RECIPE (fabulous) and other home-made face paints!
-Ellen