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Ghosts and ghouls, it’s October. Which means it’s time to get a costume together for your child (and yourself!). First things first, in looking to make an eco-friendly costume, give yourself time. Don’t leave the costume to the last minute. In fact, if you haven’t started creating a costume yet, you should probably do so.

Eco-friendly costumes have a good deal of sweat equity – be it in construction or searching for items, or even knitting, crocheting and sewing. They take work! But they’re all quite worth it, I can guarantee that.

With now weeks on your hands before the day of oh-my-gosh-sugar-overload, I’d say scour your children’s play clothes or worn clothing – it’s amazing how much you can do with a pair of leggings and some additional cloth.

Your costume, or your child’s, can be green not only in the materials used (like the man who made a samurai costume out of a Rubbermaid 32 gallon garbage can and rubber stoppers) and the way it is made, but also in the subject matter.

Here are a few tips for all the parents out there looking to have a more eco-friendly Halloween this year -

Find An Inspiration…And Instructions

Let’s face it. Not every mother is crafty. Not everyone can turn Rubbermaid recycle bins into a one of a kind robot costume. Most of us need some sort of help. Sites like Instructables have lots of unique and interesting costumes – and instructions on how to make them!

Don’t Be Afraid To Go Simple

One of the things I always remember the most from trick-or-treating as a kid was that mothers or whomever would answer the door to give candy would always guess what we were dressed up as, and compliment our costumes.

And then when I was older and started giving out candy myself, I always enjoyed guessing what the cute kids who came to my parents door were dressed as – especially some of the more creative ones. I always loved how much pride a child took in their homemade creations.

And when you go homemade, always remember that you can reuse things! Old clothes, old boxes…the only limits are your imagination, and the imagination of your child. (And if you don’t have that many old things – you can always check out your local Salvation Army or other local thrift store and see what you can find there).

That is probably the most important thing to remember – you are not limited by making your own costumes – in fact, you probably will open a lot more doors – how many stores can boast cupcake costumes? Just give yourself the time and the materials to make a costume, and the sky is the limit.

Jackie Ryan is a freelance writer who works often with a commercial mats seller – they sell everything from anti fatigue mats to gym flooring – they’ve even had NASA as a client! Maybe they’ll let her go into space…

(Note: This was not a sponsored post)

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