Halloween is one of those holidays that’s easy to love- it’s a chance to stay local, spend time with neighbors and check out all of the creative costumes.
The costume catalogs are already flooding our mailbox and my kids have spent endless hours discussing and debating what their Halloween costumes of choice will be this year. So far the top pics include a banana, ninja with two swords and a zombie. It’s hard not to get caught up in their excitement and imagine how adorable they’ll look in each costume.
But it’s hard to rationalize buying these brand spankin’ new costumes. They’re usually worn once and they’re pretty crazy expensive (the banana costume is $35).
Good news: There’s a way to make this Halloween eek-o-friendly by participating in a National Costume DayTM swap. Time to put a little green into our Halloween.
What is a National Costume DayTM Swap?
This year Green Halloween, Kiwi Magazine and Swap.com have partnered together to promote National Costume Day TM Swap on October 8, 2011. There will be costume swaps taking place all over the country. It’s your chance to bring your slightly used Harry Potter costume and trade it in for that much needed banana getup.
Why Swap?
Swapping half the costumes kids wear at Halloween would reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons, equal to the weight of 2,500 midsize cars! Costume swaps can be a lot of fun and are a great way to kick off the Green Halloween® season. There is no cost to you-just bring an old costume to swap!
How to find a swap
Take a peek at the extensive list of swaps to see if any are happening in your neck of the woods. No worries if you miss the October 8th swap day-new swaps will be registering every day right up to Halloween.
No swap near you-host your own
It’s easy to host a swap and there is no cost to register. There’s even a great list of Costume Swap How-To’s with simple steps for creating an eek-o-fabulous event.
So…what’s it going to be? Are you ready to swap? Anyone have a banana costume-size 12?
[Photos used under Creative Commons from vdrg dansschool and vdrg dansschool/Flickr]
Great post, and LOVE the photos!! I’m cracking up at the little witches 🙂 Keeping an eye out for banana costumes!
Love this post and LOVE National Costume Swap Day! Yes, Amity, that picture is too cute!! Love the zombie look!
Thanks Amity-there are some pretty awesome costumes out there. Let me know if you see a banana in one of the swaps!
Thanks Tiffany-I love seeing how creative kids can get. We used non-toxic face paint last year and it was incredible to watch my kids paint their faces.
Those photos are great! Luckily this year all 3 of mine have decided to be something we already have! Next year, I am going to have to check out the swap though.
Thanks Brenna! You are very lucky that your kids are willing to reuse. Mine have very set opinions (banana!). I’m hoping someone has three gently used costumes to share.
LOVE IT! This is a brilliant idea. I wish this worked for adults, too, but the party I go to each year features a (non-scary) theme so specific that no generic costume will do. Luckily I can piece my outfit together using items I’d wear any day… separately… 🙂
I agree Andrea-it is a brilliant idea! It could work for adults..why not?? We could have a big swap for costume pieces-rather than the generic, store bought costumes. It could be fun to piece together another costume. Can’t wait to see a photo of this years costume-you’re posting one right??
peace.loves.swap organizers hold family-friendly maternity and kids clothing and gear swaps on an ongoing basis. We have several October swaps that include adult and kids Halloween costumes, accessories, and decor. Visit peaceloveswap.com find a swap near you!
Thank you so much for sharing your site! I see that you have swaps in California, Arizona, Colorado, DC, Ohio and Virginia. That’s great! There is also a way on your site to start a swap in other areas. I also really like that you have swap options for teens. It seems there aren’t many opportunities to reuse teen clothing. Thanks again for posting such a great resource.