Even after all of these years of thrifting, I’m still shocked by the number of new and like-new costumes at thrift stores. Here are four reasons why I love to shop secondhand for kids’ costumes.
The Variety
Step into a Goodwill around the months of September and October and within five minutes you will understand why you should reconsider buying a costume at full retail price. Goodwill and other local thrift store are bursting with fantastic costumes for kids. Everything from oh-so-adorable infant costumes to on-trend characters.
Unless you come from a large family like mine where costumes were recycled among siblings until we all grew out of them, chances are the kids are only wearing them a handful of times. That’s why you can absolutely find characters and themes that are still relevant like Toy Story costumes, in addition to classic costumes that never go out of style like pumpkins, doctors, and so on.
Endless possibilities for DIY creations
Every costume I’ve worn as an adult has been a DIY creation or pieced together with finds from my closet and secondhand stores. You don’t have to be super crafty to DIY a costume – because trust me, I’m not! It is actually really fun spending time shopping for different parts and building a costume together.
It also gives you massive satisfaction when people ask where you got the costume from and you are able to say that you made it yourself and that it cost next to nothing! I make a list of things I think I can find at Goodwill and keep my wish list handy when I’m thrifting. It’s such a thrill when it all comes together like my mommy and me Cruella de Vil costume.
Thrifting a Halloween costume teaches kids the value of bargain shopping
Taking your kid(s) with you to Goodwill to pick out their costume can be a fun activity for the family (if they are old enough!) It teaches them not only how to become excellent bargain hunters, but more importantly the value of secondhand shopping – especially for something they will only wear a few times. Ask them to think of a few costume ideas in advance, set a spending budget, and head to a couple of thrift stores and see what you can find. This is a great opportunity to teach them how to navigate a thrift store and look for items that are on sale using the color tagging system.
Perfect place to get a costume for that infant photo op
Let’s be real: aren’t most of us buying Halloween costumes for our 6 month old babies for the adorable photo op? I know I did! Infant costumes can cost upwards of $30 at regular retail stores but you can get them for a fraction of that price at places like Goodwill. All of the infant costumes I spotted at Goodwill Akron were either brand new or like-new condition, most likely worn once or twice for parents to take a photo of the baby. I picked up a Dalmatian for my little girl and a lion for my nephew.
Be sure to share your thrifty costumes with us on instagram: #12MonthsofThrifting @dinasdays
