It’s almost the end of September. Everyone is thinking about Halloween, right? RIGHT?
In this family, we are. I don’t know how I managed to have two kiddos who are just as excited about dress up as I was as a kid, but I do. When I was younger, my siblings and I would start making our list of costume ideas early in September. We would make a long list, then start to narrow it down based on what we wanted to dress up as. Eventually, we would decide and give our mom a list of supplies we would need. Those were the days when almost all of our costume was handmade somehow.
Now, my kids end up, typically, with pre-made costumes. It’s not because I lack the ability to make it from scratch, maybe, but because I can’t make Darth Vader myself. They tend to pick characters, for now, it seems. I do look forward to when they get older and more adventurous and I can dress them as mini vampires or scarecrows or aliens.
But this year I have an Elsa and a Ninja who will be trick or treating and costume shopping was made easy thanks to my partners at Value Village.
I made a short video with 3 reasons why I think you should swing by your local Value Village to find a Halloween Costume this year and then read more about my shopping finds in the post!
Looking for Costumes for the Kids?
What’s great is that I was able to make Value Village a one-stop Halloween shop. My son wanted a ninja outfit, with accessories, but my daughter already had a dress to use to be Elsa, but she insisted on a wig to get along with it. Value Village had a wall of wigs and accessories and racks of new costumes. There were also a lot of kid costumes on the previously-loved rack at really great prices.
Are the kids unsure what they want to be? Start with a list! Offer some creative suggestions and see which ones they get most excited about.
Looking for Costumes for Adults?
Do you and your partner love to dress up with the kids? Are your friends getting together for a costume party? Are you attending a conference that has a throwback dress up theme? There is a lot of adult costumes and ideas at Value Village. I manage to score a totally rad 80’s outfit there for under $20. Plum tights, purple leg warmers and a bright yellow top that I will pair with a skirt and belt will bring my look to the max.
Not to be outdone, I felt like my husband should also join in the 80’s theme – this way when we are handing out candy the kids can try to figure out if we actually just dress like this all the time or if we are in costume.
I scored him an 80’s rocker hair wig and figured that somewhere he’d have an 80’s rock band t-shirt in a drawer to wear with it. Spoiler alert: Of course he did.
Other Halloween costume ideas for adults were pirates, vampires, super heroes and dresses for ladies who want to pretend to be Claire from Outlander this year.
Not sure what to do with the costumes after Halloween? If your dress up bin is getting too full, or you don’t want to keep this year’s costumes, you can always donate them back to Value Village through their community donation program!
PARENT TIP: Halloween (and the sales after Halloween) is a great time to stock up or create a dress up bin which is a perfect gift for the holidays. Start with masks, capes, hats and accessories to fill it up for less money!
Have your kids decided what to be for Halloween? Check out Value Village for ideas and get creative!
For stats about Halloween costume shopping that aren’t frightful, check out this Infographic!
disclosure: I received compensation for this post, however, opinions are my own. I just wanted an excuse to wear a blonde wig.
