Is your closet filled with ill-fitting costumes that haven't seen the light of day in years? If you're being haunted by the ghosts of Halloween past, you'll be interested to learn October 8 is National Costume Swap Day. The holiday, sponsored by GreenHalloween.org, is intended to take some of the waste out of everyone's favorite spooky day. Their website helps you connect with other swappers in your area and provides guidelines for a successful exchange. If this concept has captured your attention, here are a few more swapping suggestions.
Los Angeles Costume Swap
The Los Angeles Costume Swap is one of the largest active costume swaps and is set to take place on October 9. The event features raffles, face painting, guest speakers and other events to keep both kids and adults entertained. You can also feel good about helping the environment. Their site notes that costume swaps reduce landfill waste by as much as 6,200 tons.
thredUp
For most of the year, thredUP is a service that helps parents exchange clothes their kids have outgrown. When Halloween rolls around, they have their own costume swap. Once you list your unwanted costumes and find someone who wants to trade, threadUP will provide free, flat-rate shipping boxes for you to mail them. If you're searching for a costume, you can get one of their costume boxes for just $5, plus the cost of shipping.
The Work Swap
Maybe you're not thrilled about the idea of exchanging costumes with complete strangers. For a more familiar swap-session, it's easy to set up an exchange at the office. Because you're there five days a week, it provides more flexibility for co-workers to bring in costumes gradually. Plus, National Costume Swap Day tends to lean towards children's costumes, so an office exchange should make more adult costumes available.
Save on New Costumes
For many of us, Halloween is anticipated and planned for all year long. If you already have a costume in mind and know you're not going to get it in a swap, there are still plenty of ways to save on new costumes. Sites like FreeShipping.org feature tons of money-saving coupons and free shipping offers for such popular costume shops as Spirit Halloween and Costume Kingdom.
Andrea Woroch is a nationally recognized consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli Inc.