Green Your Halloween: Costumes
With Halloween fast approaching, I am dedicating this week’s blog entries and newsletters to helping you prepare for a Green Halloween. I’ll give you the scoop on the costumes, decorations, pumpkins, and treats that provide scary amounts of fun without frightening the planet. Ready to get started? Check out these ideas for greening your kids’ Halloween costumes…
- Raid The Thrift Store: Hit your local thrift store first when looking for Halloween supplies. Most stores have an abundance of pre-made costumes set aside that you can pick up for pennies a piece. If you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for, wander the aisles to find cool clothes that will transform you child into a clown, princess, wizard, nurse, “mad scientist, or treehugger!
- DIY The Props: If your child needs a special prop to go with his outfit, help him make it out of the materials you have at home. Swords or “magic” wands are easily made by cutting the shape out of a piece of cardboard and covering it with aluminum foil. Make a cape for a wizard or princess using an old fancy pillowcase. Cut it lengthwise and attach a thin piece of felt at either end.
- Add Effect: Add “glow in the dark” stars to your little one’s princess or ninja costume for an extra special effect. Or jazz up your child’s costume with green (or red or blue) facepaint. Just blend ½ teaspoon diaper cream with 1 heaping teaspoon of cornstarch. Add a little water to get the paint to the desired consistency. Scoop the mixture into a few separate containers (such as egg cups or bottle caps) and add 1 or 2 drops of the food coloring of your choice to each. (These face paints will wash off with warm water, but be sure to take the usual precautions for allergies and clothes stains.)
Costume Ideas
Here are some great ideas for simple, eco-friendly Halloween costumes for you and/or your kids. Got a few great ideas of your own? Post them here for a chance to win great Halloween prizes (can you say fair-trade chocolate and reusable treat bags?)
Black Cat: Black sweat suit, black headband (attach 2 black felt ears), old black scarf or boa to use as tail (attach with a safety pin). Use black eyeliner to draw on cat eyes and whiskers.
Cowboy/Cowgirl: Jeans, flannel shirt, bandanna, boots, cowboy (cowgirl) hat
Ghost: It doesn’t get any easier than this one. Cut two eye holes in an old sheet (if you don’t have an old one, you can pick one up at your local thrift store.) Jazz it up by using a permanent marker to add spider webs, chains, and a face.
Mummy: Dress child in an all white or all black outfit. Cut an old sheet into long strips. Attach strips with masking tape to child’s clothes and wrap loosely around legs, torso, and arms. Use white face paint all over face.
Ninja: Black turtleneck, billowy black pants, black belt, and a sword
Pirate: Red pants, white billowy shirt (open at the collar) balck belt, black boots, black hat, 1 dangly clip-on earring, 1 black eye patch
Princess: If you can’t find an old princess dress at your local thrift store, seek out any material that is frilly and/or sparkly that can be pinned around your child’s waist as a skirt. (Try a fancy pillowcase or tablecloth). Make a crown out of aluminum foil. For special effect, add glow in the dark stars all over the costume.
Scarecrow: Old jeans, flannel shirt, straw hat, boots. Cut an old newspaper into thin strips. Using duct tape, attach the newspaper strips to the inside cuff of each pant leg and the inside cuff of each shirt at the wrist. Use red face paint and black eyeliner to make red cheeks, and black “stitching” around mouth and eyes.
Spider: Black sweat suit, 2 pairs of black tights. (Cut the legs off of the tights and stuff them with old newspaper (4 legs total). Attach 2 legs to either side of sweatshirt with safety pins. Using black sewing thread or safety pins, attach the lower leg on the left with the lower leg on the right in front of child. Next, attach the middle leg on left to the left sweatshirt arm and the middle right leg to the right sweatshirt arm.)
Zorro: Black pants, black shirt, cut mask into strip of black felt, black belt, black shoes or boots, sword
Photo courtesy of scol22, stock.xchng.
/images/ads/120.jpg)
My husband loves to dress up as “Half This, Half That Man”. He grows his beard for a month before hand and the day of, he shaves half his beard and half his head. He takes one pair of pants and puts on leg inside the other and pulls that onto one leg, then he repeats for a second pair of pants on the other leg and pins them together in the middle. It looks like two different pant legs. He does the same for the shirt. It requires no purchases, no products – just the clothes he already owns and the electricity it takes to shave his beard and hair!
I just like things the kids can use again … like in dramatic play or whatever.
esoteric archives This is a quite good blog.
I like what you guys are up too. This type of clever work and reporting! Keep up the excellent works guys I’ve added you guys to my personal blogroll.
These are wonderful! Thank you for sharing
I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading.Nice blog,I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Very interesting information!Perfect just what I was looking for!
Perhaps this is one of the most interesting blogs that I have ever seen. Interesting article, Funny comment. Keep it up!
Came upon your site while I was browsing for some good information about air duct cleaning for our website, obviously this isn’t all releative nevertheless its bizarre how you can access a site by chance and find yourself perusing something totally different but just as beneficial. I tend to get sidetracked a quite a lot because of this.
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along.
I want to tell you that the article is not good, but the comments are 100 x better
Thanks for the excellent article. I love reading it! http://pikotiphone.zoomshare.com/2.shtml
I’ve learned a lot from your blog here,Keep on going,my friend,I will keep an eye on it,thanks for your post!2 day diet japan lingzhi ready-to-export products from China.
Sitemizde di?,bonding,betazlatma,di? beyazlatma,di? implant,implant,di? zirkonyum,zirkonyum,di? hekimi,estetik di?,estetik di? hekimi,estetik di? hekimli?i,estetik g?l??,g?l?? esteti?i,pembe g?l??,porselen lamina,porselen laminalar,laminalar,porselen kronlar,porselen dolgu,porselen di?,protez di?,protez uzman?,ortodonti hakk?nda bilgiler bulunur. Porselen Dolgu
It’s funny how we adopt words and adapt our lexicon to the times. This is a very useful slant on things.
The best comments in this thread do not differ much from the worst. Is this a good article does not deserve anything better?
Really enjoyed this article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great.
Hello, I just read texts on your blog and I became interested in the topic. I like your site and I am thinking whether I could use your entries in my article? Would it be possible? If yes, please write to me.Thank you.
This is a wonderful article. Thank you for this blog. Well made! You will find more informations on Lingerie de charme. There’s everything all you can need!
So like i saw your blog and it like totally told me whats up thanks for your input. One love.
Your terrific point is just right and i also happen to be saying a little something identical to everybody that will hear. I am going to backlink to this valuable entry throughout several places to aid tell others about all of this. Thanks for taking the time to publish this valuable posting.
My husband and i can not comprehend just how much snowfall has fallen after this past night. My 9 yr old taking his first getaway for snow country during the winter season. He’s receiving his money’s worth. The actual snowfall in our yard is certainly much deeper than david is tall in height, which means that he’s going to absolutely love the idea!
Kelsey Grammer has gone for it, one single more time. You’d believe just after 3 efforts, the guy may understand better, nevertheless a person won’t educate the guy. We are going to find out exactly how incredibly long this 1 can last, perhaps.
My husband and i can’t imagine exactly how much snowfall which has dropped since last evening. My 8 year old having his first holiday for snow country during the wintertime. He’s getting his entire money’s worth. The actual snowfall around our yard is actually deeper than david is in fact in height, and so he’s going to love that!
Love the place, check our own site if you want any kind of alternative clothing or stuff such as this. Any kind of probability we would have the ability to use your own posts on our web site? Thanks.
K. Grammer goes for it, one additional time. You would believe just after 3 efforts, he may likely understand much better, but you won’t instruct a fellow. We are going to witness just how long this individual can last, I suppose.
Unions form the spine of this nation. There may not be numerous employees remaining, however they battle for workers’ rights. These rights, then, tend to be translated to other non-union work. Without unions, we all have been simply person workers trying to battle for our privileges.
We are thinking about getting a brand-new macbook professional, this outdated mac laptop is starting to get rather bad. Should I go for one of the more recent designs or hang on to view what they are likely to come out with up coming? Appreciate it!
Hey there can’t wait to get outdoors right away! It is so wonderful, and the sun is definitely great, this is really going to be amazing…
I am considering acquiring a completely new macbook professional, the little old macbook is beginning to get extremely bad. Do I need to opt for one of many newer products or wait around to view what they’re going to come forth with following that? Many thanks.
Shoot, I’m genuinely in danger, I believe I just now picked up the latest pc virus in my PC. Could any of you folks guide me? I actually can’t seem to bring this viral software program to work. Help out kindly!
I’ve bookmarked your site
Best post comments are written by brilliant people, like the same article. greetings author
Hey there can not wait to go outside the house right away! It is so gorgeous, plus the sunlight is perfect, this is really going to be amazing…
hj?¤lp alkoholmissbruk…\n\n[...]k I feel strongly about this subject. If possible, as you gain knowledge, wou l1[...]…
I am glad to be a visitant of this consummate web blog, appreciate it for this rare information!