Great Kids Costumes Without the Big Price Tag

Fall is fast approaching and that means the holidays are about to begin. The kickoff event for the 3-month marathon is Halloween. With the state of the economy today, many families are looking for ways to cut back costs during Halloween so they will be able to afford the financial burden that Christmas brings. Everyone knows that at Halloween it’s all about having a great costume! Below are several ways to help your family save money on your children’s costumes this year.

Shop Online: The internet is booming with bargains just waiting to be found. A person is almost guaranteed to find something at Amazon.com or Ebay.com, but there are many more sites that offer considerable discounts for Halloween costumes. The only downside is that your child cannot try on the costume before you purchase it and you may have to pay shipping. Depending on the price of the costume with shipping, it still may be a bargain when compared to the prices of the costumes at your local stores.

Have a Halloween Costume Swap: Chances are you know plenty of other families with children who would love to save some money this Halloween. Call them up and offer to have a costume swap. Pick a place, date and time that is agreeable with everyone and then bring all of your family’s old costumes with you. Your children will get excited when they see all the costumes they have to choose from. This is a win-win situation for everyone as the children have a “new” costume to wear and parents have successfully saved money on a costume and gotten rid of an old one all at the same time!

Make a Costume: Are you a creative person? If so, then consider making your children’s costume this year. Even if you don’t know how to sew, there are many costumes that can be made without the use of a thread and needle. Once again, the internet is a wonderful place to search for costume making ideas. Here's one website I ran across that provides a lot of ideas for kids Halloween costumes.There is no better way to get your children excited about making a costume then by letting them help. It is a wonderful way to spend quality time with your children, and very fulfilling when you see them showing off their costumes and proudly telling their friends that they made them.

Mix & Match Old Costumes: Clean out your closets and bring all of the old costumes in the middle of the living room floor. Let your children use their imagination by mixing and matching pieces of the old costumes together to create new costumes. This is another wonderful way to spend quality time with your children while saving money and recycling your old costumes at the same time.

Check out the Thrift Stores: Thrift stores are a great place to find used costumes. After Halloween, a lot of people don’t want to bother with storing their old costumes so they bring them to their local thrift store just to be rid of them. You can also find other clothing and materials at thrift stores that can be used to create unique costumes for your children.

Remember, most kids don't care where their costume comes from as long as it's what they want to dress up as. It's all about the make-believe and the excitement of pretending to be someone else.

Top 10 Halloween Costumes of 2009

1)Hannah Montana – The part time pop star is again the top pick for costumes for girls.

2)Wolverine – The marvel hero takes the second highest spot for costume picks this year after the success of the film this summer.

3)Snake Eyes – With the new G I Joe movie so popular this summer, the silent ninja takes the third spot on the list for children and adults.

4)Dorothy – The Girl from Kansas still has a high spot on the top costumes that we will see this year.

5)Yoda – The pint size Jedi hero is on the top of the list again this year with his Jedi reflexes we might just see him here for a few more years to come.

6)Princess Leia- Another Classic Star Wars hero making an appearance this Halloween.

7)Padme/ Amadala – Star Wars hero making another appearance for the second year running.

8)Harry Potter – With the new movie out in theaters this summer, the interest in the magical boy has taken hold for another Halloween season.

9)Bumblebee – This transformers hero is back for another year of Halloween fun and the costume looks great too.

10)Batgirl – Classic costume for girls that want to be like the bat and have fun on Halloween.

Origins of Halloween--Part 1

Halloween can be traced back 2000 years ago to the ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain pronounced sow-in. The Celts lived in what is now known as Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France. They celebrated their new year on November 1. This date was chosen because it marked the end of summer along with the end of harvest time. November also marked the beginning of winter. Cold, dark winter months were associated with death.

Celts believed that the night before the new year, October 31st, created a time in which the spirit world was open to our world. This day was celebrated with Samhain. They believed that the ghosts would return to earth for possibilities of creating havoc and mischief. Celts believed that during this merging of worlds, Druid priests could predict the future.

Celebration rituals: Celts extinguished their fires in the hearths of their homes and built huge, ceremonious bonfires. These were used to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to their gods. They dressed in costumes that consisted of animal skins and heads. Part of the fun was trying to predict other people's futures. After the celebration was over, the Celts re-lit the fires in their hearths from the bonfire in order to protect themselves from the coming winter.

Welcome to the celebration area!

This is the place to learn all about different holidays. Find out about obscure holidays, learn more abut those you already celebrate and find neat ways to create holiday traditions that your family will talk about for years to come.

Subscribe today so that you don't miss a moment of our year long party to celebrate life!