Eco-friendly & Cheap Halloween Costumes

Top Methods For Cheap and Eco-Friendly Costumes

• Thrifting - The key to making a great costume out of clothes found at thrift stores is to have an idea of what you want before you go in. Know some options for what you'd like to be, look at some pictures to see the basic components that could make up the costume, and then look for those, but be flexible, with a few different ideas that could achieve the look you want.

• Homemade - Take a good look at what you already own that might be useful to make a halloween costume for you or your kids. Often, celebrities and tv character costumes can be duplicated with normal clothes put together in a new way. Sewing is a skill not all of us have, but for those who do, there are great vintage patterns and costume patterns online and at sources like eBay. Re-purposing old sheets and old clothes as material for a new costume in our sewing project is another way to reduce and recycle.

• Save It For Next Year - Components of costumes from years past can be mixed and matched into new looks.

• Share and Pass It On - Pass your costumes on to your kids, or from older kids to younger ones. Pass them on to cousins, or trade with friends. It's not as hard to adapt Halloween costumes as you might think; especially when you have a pool of accessories (hats, fake weapons, wands, wings, etc) to draw from.

5 Quick Ideas For Cheap Costumes

1. Hippie: Tie-dye, bellbottoms, or a long dress, with beads and a headband. Fringed leather vests are another fun possibility.
2. Gangster: Sharp suit and a hat.
3. Vampire: Vampires have been a Halloween favorite for so long, capes are rarely hard to find. Add a light dusting of pale body glitter if you want to reference the latest craze.
4. Nymph, Fairy, or Dryad: Flowing dress with a circlet head-dress. The circlet can be easily crafted from a garland of flowers, leaves, or even shiny stars or similar material.
5. Druid: Long robe, natural wood walking stick.

Costumes You Can Make From 3 Common Thrift Store Items

1. Choir Robes or Graduation Gowns: Angel (white), Demon (red), Harry Potter & friends (black), Witch (black), Wizard (any color)
2. Prom Dress: Miss America, Carrie, Princess, Southern Belle, Vampiress, Zombie
3. Wedding Dress: Bride of Frankenstein, Zombie