Alright, so the buzz of Halloween is gone until next year, and now you have your costumes just sitting in a corner with nowhere to go – what do you do? Here are some good things to do with them!
The first and most common thing you can do is to hoard them from every year, with the possibility of re-wearing them or lending them to a friend in the future. I know I have been collecting costume pieces since middle school. You never know when a pair of cat ears or a witch hat can come in handy.
However, not everyone has the space or the want to keep those costumes hanging around, so there are several places you could donate them to. Goodwill and Salvation Army are some obvious ones. They always have costume sections around October, and it’s always good to give them items they will actually need.
But, if your costume is kid-kosher (i.e. it’s just a hat/mask/accessories, or is ageless) there are entire charity organizations dedicated to getting less fortunate kids costumes! A new costume every year can get expensive, especially since kids change sizes every year. Halloween Helpers and ‘Ween Dream are two places that will take costume donations to distribute to kids the following year. Also, if you want to hang onto it for the year, keep an eye out for local elementary schools. Many do costume drives with the same intention as the charities.
Another tip is to make costumes out of clothing you already have. For example, if you have a: green shirt and brown pants, a red skirt and an orange shirt, a purple dress, or a white shirt and jeans, you could be any member of the Mystery gang from Scooby Doo, and you do not have to think about where to put your costume because it’s just a part of your wardrobe. And/or for next year, buy pieces for your costume that you would wear as a part of your daily wardrobe. Part of my Taylor Swift costume this year was a black slip dress that I will likely wear a bunch!
It’s a great goal to try and be more environmentally conscious when we’re thinking about outfits/costumes we only plan to wear for one night, so let’s get as much use out of them as we can!