Last Minute Halloween Costume Finds Save Money and Reduce Waste

Finding inexpensive and eco-friendly Halloween costumes for your kids, just a few days before Halloween, is easier than you might think. It takes a little planning and a little hunting to find them, but it isn't difficult and it definitely is not impossible. The 5 costume hunting secrets below will save you money and help reduce landfill waste.

1: Online Recycling Groups for Costumes
Turn to local online recycling communities like Freecycle. Yahoo has plenty of them and they are free and easy to join. These free online recycling communities allow you to post want ads for things you want, such as gently used Halloween costumes. The only catch is that you must post an offer too. You can offer any gently used item you have and no longer want. It's that easy, but be cautious. Don't open your doors to people you don't know. Leave your offered items on the porch to be picked up.

2: Halloween Costume Swap Party
Throw a Halloween Costume Swap party with all the moms you know. Every mom brings gently used Halloween costumes from previous years to the party and then everyone swaps for new gently used costumes. If several moms want the same costume they can flip a coin for it or put a name in a hat. The chosen name wins the costume.

3: Resale and Thrift Stores for Costumes
Shop for gently used Halloween costumes at resale shops and thrift stores. Be careful of spiked prices. Some resale shops will raise the prices right before Halloween. A resale costume should come at a resale price. Sometimes the best deals come after Halloween. These costumes can be saved for next year's Halloween celebration

4: Charity Costumes
Shopping for costumes at places like Goodwill help your local community and the environment. Goodwill profits help the unemployed find employment. So, shop early, but not too early because Goodwill will often wait a week or two before Halloween before placing them on the racks. Your best bet is to make friends with one of the employees at your local Goodwill and then call her and ask her for a good time to come in for costumes.

5: Make You Own Halloween Costume
Make your own Halloween costume. The Internet is filled with many How-To's for DIY Halloween costumes. A cardboard box can be used to make robot costume or a recycling bin costume. There are so many possibilities. All it takes is some imagination.

After Halloween is over don't throw those costumes away. You can consign the costumes, swap the costumes again, make them over into new costumes, and so on. A costume can last for years. There is no need for it to end up in the trash or sitting in the closet for years after one use.

Sources:

"Costume Gallery." Parents.

Ecolicious, "Eco-Friendly Halloween Costume Tips Save You Money." Squidoo.

"Spookiest, Wackiest, Most Original Homemade Costumes." Coolest-homemade-costumes.