The doorbell rings and you answer it, only to discover a slew of monsters assembled on your doorstep!
Relax: it’s Halloween and those are just trick-or-treaters. But what’s really scary – even more frightening than a gang of beasts showing up to demand treats – is waiting until the last minute to buy a pricey costume that might only get worn once! Our suggestion? Make all your costumes this year from pieces you already had lying around in the first place.
Paper and scrap cardboard
Believe it or not, this stuff is pretty handy when it comes to crafting a decent and eco-friendly Halloween costume. Use it as the fringe on cowboy chaps, the teeth on a makeshift crocodile mask: even the basis of shoulder pads on a samurai warrior uniform!
Worn-out clothes
Rather than throw out clothes that are getting a little threadbare, use them one last time to top off your costume. You may not even need the whole piece, but a small snippet of the garment to complete the look you want to achieve at very little cost. Best of all, when you’ve gone through your old clothes and decided what to use, you can always donate any items that are still in good condition so that someone else can enjoy them!
Tin foil
Need to pull off the look of a space cadet, or maybe even a knight in shining armor? Don’t splurge on plastic renderings of your favorite characters to achieve the right effect; tin foil can be wrapped around any solid surface to create the illusion you need on Halloween night! Not only that, but when you’re done it can be reused or recycled, depending on what other purposes it could serve for you.
Discarded boxes
For larger items like props or even support for more elaborate or bulky costumes, why not take pieces of the last package delivery you received? Broken down boxes provide excellent and inconspicuous flat surfaces with which you can work to make your Halloween costume all the more realistic. All you need are the boxes, markers for places you might need to cut or fold the cardboard, and a little artistic patience.
And the classics
Though the idea may not have turned out so well for Charlie Brown, sheets can actually be quite handy when it comes to a good Halloween costume. We might not suggest just cutting holes for your vision and calling it a day, but there are plenty of ways to use old sheets as accessories or the basis of your costume attire. And best of all? If you play your cards right, you’re bound to get more than just rocks in your trick-or-treat bags.
At the end of the night, when you’ve returned home from the party and all the candy has been accounted for, take your recyclables and be sure to discard them accordingly so they can keep on making the rounds, one costume at a time.
