Halloween is coming up! The staff and work study students at the Family Care Office have been brainstorming ways to celebrate Halloween in a safe, community-oriented, sustainable, and as-cheap-as-possible way.

Safety

Check out Halloween safety: Tips for families on the Canadian Pediatric Society’s Caring for Kids website. Tips include giving your kid a flashlight, integrating reflective tape on their costume, and including contact information on their costume. Consider non-food treats for children with food allergies, and indicate this to your neighbours by shining a teal light, putting out a teal pumpkin, or posting a sign from Food Allergies Canada ahead of time.

Community

There are many alternatives (or supplements) to traditional trick-or-treating. Community centres often have events. Check out:

• Join the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) for a Spooktacular Halloween – October 29. Trick-or-Treat Downtown Brampton with a photo booth (in Garden Square) & Halloween at the Boo-seum. (And… this isn’t for kids, but on October 27 there’s Untold Story Tours which feature behind-the-scenes stories about the jail, the courthouse, curious collections, and more. Spooky.)
• Halloween Food Truck Festival in Scarborough, and fundraiser for Variety Ontario – October 29 & 30. Entry is free, with a $5 or greater donation suggestion to support Variety Ontario’s unique programming for children with disabilities. While the food trucks themselves are not necessarily Halloween-specific, visitors are encouraged to attend in costume for treats, entertainment and even a kids’ costume contest.
• The 519 Community Centre’s 2SLGBTQ+ Halloween Hullabaloo – Saturday, October 29. Music, pumpkin carving, performances, henna art, a parade, and more.

And, if you want to have fun AND give back to the wider global community while trick-or-treating, consider joining the UNICEF Halloween walk-a-thon.

Sustainable & Cheap

Luckily sustainable and cheap sometimes go hand in hand!  Whether it’s for environmental and/or financial reasons, sometimes it’s just not worth buying a brand-new costume only to use it once. Below are a few places to shop for second-hand Halloween costumes:

• Toronto-based online retailers Beeja May and Ode to Toy have a selection of affordable second-hand costumes for children of all ages. Both have pick-up and/or delivery options.
• Facebook Marketplace. You can filter the results in your area to see costumes that are available for pick-up.
• You can find plenty of used costumes of all sizes on Poshmark. Poshmark offers expedited 1-7 day shipping on all orders, making it come in handy for last-minute costume shopping.
• Value Village, with locations across the GTA, and other thrift stores.
• If you have the time and energy, make the costume yourself. If you are like one of us, when your kid wants to be a ring-tailed lemur, you won’t have a choice!