The bummer about kids Halloween costumes is that they’re pretty much a one-time use item. Kids grow so dang fast, and unless you’ve got younger kids to pass down those costumes to, they’re useless to your family after the season. Thankfully, you can help out other families in need and give new life to a used costume at the same time. Preschool Rock has set up a Halloween Costume Exchange that allows you to donate your kids used costumes and get a 20% discount off a new costume for this year. Pretty sweet deal.
How Does the Halloween Costume Exchange Work?
Parents seeking free Halloween costumes:
Look through the listings of free Halloween costumes.
When a desirable Halloween costume is found, the parent contacts the Halloween costume donator via email to arrange for shipment.
Parent receives Halloween costume in the mail just in time for Halloween!
Parents wanting to donate a Halloween costume:
Complete the Halloween Costume Exchange Donation Form.
Your Halloween costume will be posted on PreschoolRock; PreschoolRock will email a code to you that will give you 20% off the cost of a new Halloween costume from Anytime Costumes.
How simple is that? So if you’ve got any kids costumes laying around please donate them so that a family in need can have a great Halloween.
Halloween is a time for creativity; letting your imagination wander into the unexplored corners of your mind, the birth of new monsters, unleashing of ideas long since bottled… Sometimes the end result is reward enough, but you know what makes it even sweeter? Recognition. When you finally get to wear the costume that took you 8 weeks to make, the cries of “What an amazing costume!” make it so worth it. And when your neighbors do a double take and have to peer closer at your handmade yard prop: that’s one satisfying moment.
So if you haven’t already started, now’s the time to get cracking on your Halloween creations. When you’ve finally finished, enter them into the MAKE/CRAFT DIY Halloween Contest. Just upload your pictures to their DIY HALLOWEEN photo pool at Flickr by November 4th and your homemade masterpiece is in the running. What are the categories, you ask?
Hack-o’-Lantern contest: Decorate a pumpkin any way you see fit, or unfit.
Costume contest: Dressing up? Making your own costume? Any costume with homemade elements on it, in it, or used with it is OK.
Decorations, Haunted house, gadgets, and more contest: Decorations at home, work, wherever, a haunted house, lawn gadgets, anything Halloweeny.
Food contest: The grosser the better.
If you need some inspiration but don’t plan on entering the contest, the Flickr pool promises to be a nearly endless supply of creative ideas. Last year there were thousands of entries, and if you submit yours, this year will be that much cooler.
“Makers” were born to create amazing Halloween projects. Whether you’re a reader of MAKE magazine or just a DIY inclined individual, you fall into this category. Like an evil MacGyver, you can probably take any 3 items from around your house and whip up a firebreathing jack-o-lantern or a decidedly unique costume. If 42 of “the craftiest costumes to amazing animated props and the latest in computer-controlled haunted house effects” piques your interest then you’ll want to pre-order MAKE Mag: Halloween Special Edition. It ships late August which, in Halloween-preparation time, is about 5 minutes away.
Congratulations, Halloweenies: you’ve made it to the 99 day mark in the 2007 countdown to Halloween. Like your high school woodshop teacher, we’ve just unceremoniously dropped a digit, but in this case it’s cause for celebration. Just 3-ish more months until everything comes in shades of orange and black, scary movies are playing on every channel, and you can finally shed your 9-to-5 gear for that badass costume you’ve been working on for weeks. Good times!
We’ve been planning for the 2007 all year, and are getting really close to unveiling our new site design and this year’s theme as well as a casketful of articles. If you’d like to be alerted when we unearth everything, just subscribe to our feed. Also, 365 Halloween just moved over to a new server in preparation for everything, so if you see any broken stuff please shoot us an e-mail so we can resurrect it.
Now would also be a good time to send in submissions if you’d like to see your Halloween-related website, book, art, event, music, haunt, whatever featured on 365Halloween.com. We’ve got a lot planned for this year, and although we’d like to feature absolutely everything we find, there’s only 2 official staff members here so guest writers are really encouraged.
Autumn will be here before you know it, so enjoy the rest of your summer while it lasts!
If you’re from an English, German, Polish or Portuguese-speaking culture then you’re probably familiar with the Friday the 13th superstition. It usually rolls around a couple times a year and causes all sorts of “bad luck”. But how did thus “unlucky” day get such a bad reputation, and is there any truth to it?
The mind is a powerful thing, so instead of worrying about ill-fate on Friday the 13th, just believing that you’re lucky can result in creating your own good fortune. For instance, my birthday is on the 13th so I’ve always felt it was a special number for me. Most Friday the 13ths have been “lucky” for me, quite possibly due to positive mental association that I have. What are your Friday the 13ths like? Have you had a string of good luck or bad luck?
Plenty of boils and ghouls will be out tonight attending spooky-themed events so get out there, have fun, and make some of your own good luck. (If you’re in San Diego, come by the Creature Feature show and say hi!)
Congratulations, Halloweenies: you’ve made it to the 99 day mark in the 2007 countdown to Halloween. Like your high school woodshop teacher, we’ve just unceremoniously dropped a digit, but in this case it’s cause for celebration. Just 3-ish more months until everything comes in shades of orange and black, scary movies are playing on every channel, and you can finally shed your 9-to-5 gear for that badass costume you’ve been working on for weeks. Good times!
If you’re from an English, German, Polish or Portuguese-speaking culture then you’re probably familiar with the Friday the 13th superstition. It usually rolls around a couple times a year and causes all sorts of “bad luck”. 
