by Corey

Yup. I know these guys. The one in the “This is what AWESOME looks like” t-shirt is my brother, Chris (dad, teacher-by-day, ACDC-cover-band-rock-star by night). The bathing beauty is my dear husband, Ryan. Like many dads (and moms, to be fair!), they hadn’t thought twice about their Halloween costumes until their kids we’re hanging all over their legs,  one hour before the Halloween party began, begging to see their costumes.

“Uh-oh,” Ryan whispered to me. “What am I going to be?”

We quickly scanned the room, his eyes settled on my old robe. “Gimme that. And that,” he said pointing to my blue shower cap.

He threw the get-up on (yes, with shorts underneath!) and there it was, his Halloween costume.

Chris’ kids apparently helped him throw his costume together too. (Although he swears he’s not actually wearing one. “What? You don’t think I wear this everyday?”) Still, the costume works.

So, green guys – even if you too have less than an hour, and not a dollar to spend, you can still hold your head up high with these last-minute (green) Halloween costumes (for guys):

• Young Republican: Oxford shirt, khakis, blue and red tie, loafers, hair parted on the side.
• Plumber: Saggy pants, work boots,  old-white t-shirt (one size too small), baseball cap, tool-belt, toolbox
• Olympic swimmer: Speedos, kids’ swimming medal around the neck
• “Mommy“: Wear Mommy’s clothes
• Greek God: White sheet wrapped into a toga (Yes! Wear shorts!), cut ivy down from your tree outside and form into a wreath

Get the kids in on the fun and invite them to dress Dad for Halloween. They may (or may not) come up with a killer costume, but the process is sure to bring on the giggles (and the good memories too).

Have fab and funny costume ideas for your last-minute, eco-friendly man? Do tell!

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Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of  Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.

Meet Griffin! An adorable 19-month-old boy from St. Paul, Minnesota.

His mother, Sarah, was inspired by Green Halloween® to make Griffin an eco-friendly “Griffin” costume for Halloween this year!

(Be sure to check out Griffin’s 2009 owl costume made from wool fleece and Eco Felt).

As you may or may not know, a Griffin is part lion, part eagle so what’s a Griffin mama and daddy to wear? You got it!

Sarah was a “Eagle Mother” and her husband, Andrew, a “Lion Dad”.

Each costume was made with either recycled materials Sarah found at Goodwill or from home, and Eco Felt or wool felt. One of her favorite transformations was using an orange bath mat for Andrew’s lion mane!

All in all, Sarah spent less than $15 on supplies, which also made it a thrifty Halloween!

Sarah, we love your resourcefulness and style; can’t wait to see what you come up with next year.

Green Halloween® is a nationwide non-profit initiative started by mother-daughter team Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell. In 2010, Green Halloween became a program of EcoMom® Alliance and has events in cities across the U.S.

You might have heard about the line of absolutely adorable costumes made by Tom Arma, the “most published baby photographer in the world” (according to the company selling his products).

While Tom’s costumes are made from conventional materials, they are a step ahead of other conventional costume lines because Tom’s line:

• Offsets it’s energy usage with renewable energy
• Prints costume inserts on recycled paper
• Makes the costume durable to last (and to be worn for year ’round dress up or passed on to younger siblings)

Of course, we would love to see the costumes and other packaging (e.g. the plastic outer packaging) made from recycled, upcycled and sustainable materials, and the costumes made Fair Trade, but we applaud “baby steps” and encourage you to let companies like Halloween Express know what you think, as well. (And don’t forget to let us know what you think by adding your comment below.)

Thank you to Robert Henry from Halloween Express for letting us know about these unique green (-er) Halloween costumes.

I know you’ll find this astonishing and sad (and you’ll be justified in thinking my parents neglectful) but when I was a child, I never once had a store-bought costume.

Can you believe how awful it must have been for me to hunt through my parent’s closets trying on over-sized shoes and hats, or rummaging through my mom’s art kit looking for paints and random bits of fabric? Can you believe how crushed I was having to dream up ways to actualize the costumes in my mind: an Ewok, a chicken, or a dragon? It’s true, I’m still traumatized…

Of course, you know me well enough to know that I’m only kidding. Creating costumes is one of Halloween’s greatest joys! It’s not only rewarding for children to strut around in something they made themselves, but the there’s also great joy to be found in the entire process – beginning to end.

Okay, so avoiding off-the-rack costumes puts some meaning back into the holiday, but how is it green?

It’s green when the materials you make it with are easy on the Earth, such as:

• Reused, vintage, recycled or reclaimed materials
• Fabrics such as Organic cotton, hemp or burlap

My #1 favorite? Wool. Not only is it non-petroleum based (like polyester is), it’s compostable, biodegradable and naturally fire retardant! Perfect for Halloween.