Hosting a costume swap can help your family, the planet, even your business!
Back when I had three young children, I made their Halloween costumes. When they got older, they made their own, so I never worried about the expense.
But I know things have changed and costumes, even for babies, can be expensive, some costing up to $50!
Aside from the cost, many purchased costumes are constructed so poorly they can barely take the strain of being worn once. Or they’re made of plastic (which of course comes from from oil) and may contain chemicals that are not so boo-tiful!
Certainly kids outgrow most costumes after a year and then what? Sadly, a lot get tossed.
Last year, we—through our non-profit initiative Green Halloween—came up with the idea to encourage people to trade costumes instead of buying and sending them to the landfill. We partnered with KIWI magazine and Swap.com to launch National Costume Swap Day which became a huge hit with more than 70 swaps in 23 states, Canada and the District of Columbia and even a segment on Good Morning America.
This year, we’re looking to expand the number of swaps, whether private or public. So if you have friends, a community or business that could benefit from hosting a swap, we encourage you to go to www.CostumeSwapDay.com and learn how easy it is to host a swap.
We’ve done a lot of the work for you with our step-by-step how-to guide plus ideas on how to grab media attention (assuming you want it).
Last year, the media went crazy for National Costume Swap Day and swap hosts were on TV from coast to coast. We expect the same thing to happen this year. (We’ve already had mentions in Family Circle and Real Simple.) So if you’ve got an organization or business that could use some PR, hosting a costume swap is not only fun, but it could land you on your local nightly news!
Whether you’re in it to help people save money, to help save the planet or to get yourself in front of the media, it doesn’t matter! We’re hoping you’ll give it a try.
There is no cost to registering on the National Costume Swap Day site where your swap can be viewed by people wanting to attend as well as the media.
Today, we’re part of a National Costume Swap Day blogfest that includes more than 60 awesome bloggers. Check out some of the other posts!
Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.
