Recycle, reduce and reuse. These three words should be your mantra for having a green Halloween. Thankfully, creating eco-friendly Halloween costumes is as easy as it is fun. There is absolutely no reason to purchase ready-made Halloween costumes. You can make it a game for your kids to figure out what to make with used items from home, from thrift stores and from the Good Will. They’ll have truly original costumes too.
Repurpose Footie Pajamas
If you have small children who have pajama with feet in it, you can turn this into a variety of different costumes by adding a tail and ears you can make the child a bunny, a cat, a dog, or a cow. By reusing what you already have you’ll spend less money and create eco-friendly Halloween costumes that are very personalized.
Use Mom’s or Grandma’s Clothes
A little girl can wear some of Mom’s or Grandma’s clothes to dress like an old lady. Put her hair in a bun, or in rollers, add some powder to her hair to make it lighter, some costume jewelry and you’re all set. Let her wear socks and bedroom slippers to make the look complete. She’ll be the best old lady around and by using the things you already own you’re going to have a very eco-friendly Halloween.
Dress her as a Bride
Find an old white dress at a flea market or the Good will and your daughter (or son) can dress up like the bride of Frankenstein. Just add some big messy and crazy hair with a judicious use of teasing and dark make up and she’ll look great. If you don’t want your child to look scary, just make her pretty as a bride and you’re done. Nothing can make for a greener Halloween than reusing things you already have.
Create a Special Gift
Use an old box to create a “birthday present” costume. First close the box and wrap it the way you want it to look. Then cut a hole in the top and the bottom for the child’s body to go through, and the sides for their arms. Put a bow on their head and they’re a gift! It can be any type of present from birthday to Christmas. It depends on what type of leftover wrapping paper you have left over and saved from other events. Remember to save things all year long to use to make your eco-friendly Halloween special.
The Friendly Ghost
Some people think going as a ghost is boring, but it doesn’t’ have to be. You can be so many different types of ghosts with just a little imagination. Use an old inner tube wrapped in red fabric with a red line in the middle to make a Ghost Busters costume. Put a sheet over the person’s head with the eye holes, and then drape the inner tube over their head so that the cross out part goes in front. With just a little thought, you too can come up with some eco-friendly Halloween costumes.
In addition to recycling and reusing what you already have to make costumes, you can do the same for decorations. Only your imagination can limit you. To get inspiration, go through your closets and find things you’ve not used for a while. It’s a great time to go through what you have, use what you can, and donate the rest to make it a super green Halloween for everyone.