http://www.comicsbeat.com/24-hours-of-halloween-a-saulte-to-ben-cooper-costumes/

What do I do with these Halloween costumes!?

Is it just me, or do we seem to consume more and more, and at the same time live in smaller spaces? I mean, is the fact that we consume more “stuff” indicate we must live in smaller spaces (spending on stuff prevents affording a bigger space?), or do the spaces seem smaller because we have more stuff? It’s somewhat of a chicken-and-egg argument, but I find myself looking for more of a balance to this conundrum on a daily basis.

As you may well know, I am NOT a minimalist…I love stuff! But because of space, or lack of it, I’m always trying to conjure creative display ideas so that my home still functions. One way I do this is to pinch the sentiment out of certain items, and leave the rest for donation, trade, and sale.

For our first Halloween, I purchased a big-ish shadow box for my child and pinned the hat from her first Halloween costume inside. As the years pass, I tuck in a tiny piece from each costume…the feather from her flapper costume, the glasses from her Grocho Marx costume, the flower from her Bip costume… I’ll deconstruct the costume, tuck any parts that can be possibly used again for another costume in the designated box, and get rid of the rest. (For instance, after she was Batman, I passed the bulky utility belt on, knowing she’d never want to repeat a costume, but saved the leotard after removing the bat logo). This way, I’m curating all of our Halloweens, without having to save all the taxing bits. And when I no longer want to have these things on display, I’ll tuck them into a memory box, and save them for my daughter.

An even easier way to curate is with photos. A couple snapshots from each year with some journal pages tucked in to write notes, is a keepsake you’ll love to look back on, and pass on to your kids someday. Because, do we really want to leave them with an attic full of moth-eaten costumes so they can look back on their memories for a fleeting moment before tossing them in the trash? Or do we want to create memories that are simple, heartfelt and, most importantly, compact?

Think about it…these are great ways to “Go Green this Halloween” while still getting our fill of “stuff” and memory-making. Deconstruct, donate or exchange that costume, and see if it doesn’t help build more meaningful Halloween memories, while helping keep our closets and attics clear.

Stay tuned for info on our neighborhood’s costume swap (I mentioned it in my last post…you read it, didn't you?) And look for fun, creative, and easy ideas on www.GreenHalloween.org

How do you cleverly curate Halloween? Leave a note or come in and chat!

Ducky Shincrackers

5618 E Thomas Rd #110

Phoenix, AZ 85018

Remembering the Homemade Halloween Costume

Gurley Candles from habershamsales on ebay. Item number 321866355810

Remember when the only costumes in the stores were those thin cotton or plastic sheaths with a Ben Cooper mask? They were displayed in drugstores in cellophane fronted boxes, or on cardboard hangers in the Halloween section of the store. The same isle with the Gurley Company candles, and the Brach’s cardboard Halloween Display (Just a whiff of cinnamon and black licorice sends me back to this bewitching isle!)

While we never purchased these costumes, their existence in the stores helped set the mood for the season. Like everyone else we knew, we made our costumes. 

Sure, some friends had mothers and grandmothers who were brilliant seamstresses, whipping up long-tailed dinosaurs, and curly-headed clowns, but the majority of us had costumes  put together with things out of the rag-bag and attic. Cardboard box robots, and bed-sheet ghosts were what we trick-or-treated in, and a good deal of the fun was putting it all together.

When I first became a parent, I was admittedly seduced by the puffy pumpkin and fuzzy chick get-ups from places like Pottery Barn Kids. I think I was looking to put my finger on that “bewitching” feeling from childhood, and the warm atmosphere of such stores were doing a fine job of dangling a proverbial pocket watch before my eyes, subtly suggesting I needed to spend $85 on my tiny tot in order to give the best Halloween experience.

Luckily, I snapped awake in time to DIY the costume for my barely-able-to-walk Trick-or-Treater, making her an easy crepe-paper flower hat and dressing her in a green top and bottom she already had. She was perfectly charming in this costume, and the experience was a good reminder of how Halloween should be.

The next year, I grabbed an old tank top of mine, sewed a long length of cheap fringe from top to bottom, tucked the top of a peacock feather into a headband, and voila! Little Flapper Girl. I’ve “made” (read: cobbled together) every costume since. With a tiny bit of planning ahead, and a little creativity, making the costume is part of our Halloween tradition, and is a great memory builder.

While chatting with the owner of Perennials Boutique recently, she was contemplating whether or not she’d carry kids costumes, as the bulk of store bought costumes could be overwhelming and take up too much rack space in her store. I told her how succumbing to the high expense of mainstream “Halloweening” is easy to do, but that I was very old-fashioned about it. This inspired the put-together of some easy costumes in her front window. A fancy dress with ice-blue snowflake cape and little tiara: Frozen Costume! A secondhand flower-girl dress with inexpensive wire wings: Fairy Princess! Even a black shirt and pants with lone-ranger style mask and DIY cape could be the base for a Super Hero costume.

For those times we don’t feel particularly creative, or have zero time left in this last quarter of the year, look for a costume exchange. We have one here in our Arcadia neighborhood with a bring-a-costume-leave-a-costume rule. Costumes are in gently used condition, and allow your Trick-or-Treater to trade in his Tigger costume from last year for the Spiderman he wants to be this year, without being cash-out-of-pocket.

Whichever way you go when choosing a costume, make the experience part of your tradition. After all, Halloween lasts for an average of 12 years for your little goblin, and is only a few hours long, from sunset to bedtime. Make those precious hours count! 

Stay tuned for an easy way to memorialize Halloween costumes without having to save every one of them.