Still on the haunt for a boo-tiful Halloween costume? Don’t be afraid to reuse.
Let’s take a silent vote! What’s the best part of Halloween?
- Picking out the perfect costume and steppin’ out of our real-life costumes for change.
- The actual tradition of trick or treating.
- Eating the hard-earned treats!
Regardless of how you vote, you still face the challenge of finding the costume of your (and/or your kids’) dreams.
Finding the perfect costume can go in lots of different directions, oftentimes determined by available time and money. Sometimes it is easiest to go to a retail store and get everything all ready to go—one-stop shopping. I get it. We only have so many hours in a day, and it’s nice to just close the deal without too much hullabaloo. No judgement.
Another direction for costumes is the homemade route. These are of course the costumes created by the crafty folks who magically assemble unicorns, human gumball machines and Superheroes – sometimes even from “junk” and “scraps” skillfully pieced together (i.e. cardboard in the recycling bin, and clothes from the grew-two-inches-taller-this-year bag in your kid’s closet). This option, while perhaps a bit more time-consuming, and supercharged with creativity, can be easier on the pocketbook and keeps one-time-use costumes in the shops.
A slight detour on the homemade costume route is the reimagined costume. You can create a whole new persona by just rearranging the clothes you have and wear everyday—newly inspired mix and matching. One example is the “western wear” option. You probably have jeans (check); and maybe some type of appropriate boot wear (check); a flannel or plaid-ish button-down shirt (check); a belt (buckle or no buckle, check); bandana (check); and lastly, a western-type hat or maybe a straw sunhat (ummm…well…errr…check). And Done! Even if you need to buy an item or two to complete the look, it can save on buying an entire costume. Any one of these home-sourced options can be a great opportunity for family teamwork to brainstorm, find, and share what you already have in your home.
Yet another path for costume designing is the thrift store shopping spree. This is definitely its own adventure! You get the suspense of never quite knowing what’ll find, the joy of treasure hunting, the reward of reusing and repurposing a lot of great items, and the savings—all the while building the costume you’ve always wanted (and maybe never knew it)! As you might suspect, Duluth and the surrounding communities have thrift stores-a-plenty. If this is a new option for you, these stores are tried and true: Goodwill, Savers, The Salvation Army, and the Dollar store for accessories…and ya’ know, the usual favorite haunts that we’ll keep secret (shhh).
Have a resourceful, safe and happy Halloween!
(Comment with your family’s costumes this year on our facebook post for a chance to win a reusable Chico bag, pictured below!)
