The Costume Box

This is one of the boys’ favorite things to do.  It is such a special treat for them and they have so much fun when we get out the costume box.  It is a great way to get them to play together and gives them an opportunity to be creative and use their imaginations.

My boys call it a costume box because dressing up is for girls 🙂

The costume box allows them to be anything they want…super heroes, cartoon characters, knights, dad or mom, and so much more!  There are many different possibilities and they always come up with new things to create!

First, you will need somewhere to store all of your costumes.  Get a plastic storage box or decorate a large cardboard box.  I found our box at Wal-Mart for about $5.
Costumes are very pricey when purchased new and it would cost you a fortune to fill up an entire box full of them!  Here are some tips on building a great collection of costumes without spending a fortune…

• Use old Halloween costumes or costumes from plays and musicals that you or your children have participated in.
• Store promotional items such as Home Depot or Lowes aprons, chef hats from places like Steak and Shake and The Varsity. (these don’t usually last very long, but they are fun to play with while they last)
• Look in your closet or attic, I’ll bet your children would love to wear some of your “vintage” clothing 🙂  Kids also enjoy dressing up like mom and dad, so throw a few of your clothes in for fun!
• Yard Sales…Many of our character costumes have come from yard sales.  Really nice costumes that cost $20-$30 new, are only $2-$3 at yard sales and most of the time they have only been worn once.
• After Halloween clearance sales.  Some stores sell costumes up to 90% off after Halloween!
• The dollar store.  There are always fun costume pieces at the dollar store.  This is also a great place to buy props and extras for your costume box!

Make sure you get some fun props to go along with the costumes for even more imagination fun!

• Plastic cookware for chefs
• bandannas and patches for pirates
• shields and foam swords for knights
• wigs, hair accessories, etc.
• fashion jewelry – for boys this could be the pirate’s booty
• old shoes, hats, ties, handbags, etc.

There are so many possibilities and no matter how much money you spend your kids will have loads of fun each and every time you get the costume box out!

What kinds of things do you have in your costume box?