Halloween

If you’re going out into your community to trick-or-treat this year instead, consider this: Community-based Goodwill agencies build revenues and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packing and assembly, food service preparation, groundskeeping and administrative support. So when you get scary good deals on your holiday needs by shopping at Goodwill stores, you’re also helping the health of your local community! That’s not such a spooky thought, is it?

Not a fan of that level of theatrics? This display from Chantal of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (Portland, ME) is a high-impact, low-stress threshold to imitate instead. Even if you only picked one of the smaller projects, your décor would still be en point. The wreath, for example, has just one slight modification; the addition of plastic snakes! My favorite is the dead branch draped with spider webs and crawling with bugs. Most of these supplies can be sourced inexpensively (and at the last minute) from your local Goodwill. You’ve still got about 24 hours to make this holiday one for the books. You can do it!

Image via goodwillnne.org

Image via designimprovised.com

Image via run-style-run.blogspot.com

Image via blog.goodwillsc.org

D.I.Y. HALLOWEEN AT GOODWILL: BY JULIA MARCHAND

LAST MINUTE HALLOWEEN DOORWAY IDEAS: BY JULIA MARCHAND

Alright, you guys. Halloween is tomorrow night. You’ve probably put some time into your costume, but if you’re staying home to hand out candy, have you considered setting the scene on your porch or in your front yard? Since kids these days get candy for nearly every holiday (in their Easter baskets, Christmas stockings, and Valentines), and – let’s be honest – they usually don’t need an excuse to play dress-up, the eerie mood of the night is what makes Halloween truly special. Let’s make this year’s candy hand out one to remember, shall we?

Even if you’re short on time, there’s a lot you can do. We’ll start with something small; the basket you’ll be divvying those confections out from. Sarah from Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina (Greenville) whipped up this darling jack o’lantern basket from a Goodwill® find, spray paint, felt, and glue. It’s so much more relevant than a big plastic chip bowl. Since thrifted things can sometimes come home a bit dusty and wicker is especially hard to clean, Sarah suggests using canned air to spray away the evidence that years of use leave behind. Brilliant! This would work for cleaning up so many other thrift store scores, too!

Halloween is right around the corner and there is plenty of time to make your own costume! Sure, you could buy one that’s ready-made, but what’s the fun in that? Invent an ensemble that is completely unique and you’ll really knock the socks off of those trick-or-treaters and costume partygoers. Here’s what I’m talking about…

The average packaged costume can cost anywhere from $30 to $90. WHAT? That’s ridiculous, right? Especially when you can make your own for less than $20 by shopping at Goodwill®. Take this bank robber costume from Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (Portland, ME), for example. You’d need a striped shirt, black pants, black gloves, a black hat and black shoes. I’m willing to bet you’ve got at least three of those already. The rest can be purchased at your local Goodwill where you’ll also be helping to provide job training and placement opportunities for individuals in your community. The moneybag and mask can be easily whipped up so then all you have to do is smudge on a little red lipstick to dress it up and you’re set! I love costumes like this, too, because the clothing you do have to buy will become staples in your wardrobe after Halloween is over. Can you say the same for a flirty fire fighter costume? I think not.

What’s your best D.I.Y. Halloween project to date? We’d love to hear all about it on our Facebook page! One of my favorite parts of this holiday is seeing the cleverness of others and I don’t want to miss out on your great ideas.

Image via facebook.com/goodwilletx

When you save money on thrifted costume pieces, you don’t have to feel guilty about altering them either. I would never go to a store in the mall, buy a pair of shoes, and then take them home to paint on them, but I would totally let my creativity flow in order to update a detail for my Halloween costume if I scored it for super cheap secondhand. Here are a few inspired shoe updates that Goodwill Industries of East Texas (Tyler) shared on their Facebook page. Your imagination is the only limit when you’re scouring thrift stores for costume supplies.

How about DIY décor that is peel-and-stick easy and converts just as simply back to functional home necessities on November 1st? Well, that’s my kind of décor. I’m definitely going to steal this spider wall art DIY from Design Improvised. Plain white thrift store plates with window decals – why didn’t I think of that? Dare I say that this method would work just as wonderfully with snowflake stickers and green or red plates this holiday season? Yeah, I went there.

CHECK OUT THESE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES INSPIRED BY GOODWILL'S LOW PRICES!

One way to take your doorway display to the next level is to implement a bit of trickery to accompany those treats. Here’s a memory that haunts me to this day (in a good way): One Halloween I was out trick-or-treating, dressed as a sweet little ballerina, making my way toward a friendly face framed by the glow of her home and the shadowy doorway around her. My tiny hand reached out for the candy bowl when suddenly a scarecrow sitting in a rocking chair inches away on my left side leapt to life! Terrified, I ditched all thoughts of desserts and flew back to my parents’ arms. Now, I’m not suggesting that you scare the pants (or tutus) off of innocent little children, but I do think this scarecrow costume by Run Style Run would be pretty easy to pull off last minute, especially if you’re able to make a Goodwill trip. Hey, you’ve gotta get your Halloweenkicks in, too, right? Waiting around for trick-or-treaters all night can get a bit boring.