Halloween on a (Green) Budget

Posted on October 31, 2018

When it comes to holidays, Green Calgary always sees the opportunity to give people the tips and skills they need to make them a bit greener!

We've talked in the past about how to make Halloween greener for you and your little ghoulies, but more specifically we'd like to share some tips on getting the most out of Halloween costumes.

This idea comes from seeing my nephews grow up, and every Halloween, they invariably want a new costume, and they often want one that reflects their current interests. Whichever superhero is in this season is much more desirable than the one that was in last season! How do you keep from buying expensive costumes every year? How do you prevent adding old costumes to the landfill?

The answer is actually really similar to a concept in sustainable fashion: essential basics.

When we talk about essential basics (like Bonnie does from our Every Action Counts campaign), we're talking about having pieces of wardrobe that we can mix and match to make new outfits. This flexibility means these pieces will be used over and over. If they are of good quality, then we replace them less often, saving money and their environmental footprint.

So, how do you fit this into your Halloween preparations? Find costume pieces, either from older costumes, ones you get on Kijiji or a thrift store, or pieces you make yourself, that can match many different costume ideas. For example, as a teen I invested in boot toppers - costume pieces that make every set of shoes look like tall boots (kind of like spats). Even though I'm older now, those are still great costume pieces for many costumes: pirates, space wizards, and cowboys all wear boots after all! Similarly, some fake pointy ears I got for a costume when I was a child continue their usefulness for vampires, werewolves, and more! If your kids like super heroes, a red cape is a good investment considering how many heroes wear them.

Once you have a selection of these costume pieces, making a new costume is more like diving into the boxes to mix and match!

If you need something new, definitely check the thrift stores, and see if you can find pieces to make into something new. If you're handy with a sewing machine (even barely, as these are costumes and you don't need the greatest stitching here), you can turn these finds into dozens of more costumes! If you can convince your kids to help, even better!

All of these ideas are exactly why Green Calgary is running the Every Action Counts campaign. Find out more about the campaign at EveryActionCounts.ca!

Thank you for reading and be sure to tell us what you're doing for Halloween by connecting with us on social media! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.