Made in the US: How Local Events and Businesses are Bringing Pumpkin Costumes Back
A blog about American made Halloween costumes for children.
When you think of a pumpkin, what comes to mind? A fall festival, a carved Jack-o’-lantern on a front porch or maybe even a delicious slice of pumpkin pie? These are all very common uses of pumpkins but they are not the only ones. One use that is often overlooked is the use of pumpkins as a Halloween costume. These costumes can be scary, funny or sweet but more importantly, they make for long lasting memories.
The history of the pumpkin costume goes back many years and has always been an American tradition. In fact, it was so popular in the past that many people would carve their own costumes from real pumpkins and then wear them to their local Halloween events. Unfortunately, over time these homemade costumes were abandoned by people who decided it was easier and cheaper to buy their costumes from stores. This decision was understandable given that carving a pumpkin into a costume takes a lot of time and effort but it also meant that many local businesses suffered due to the lack of business they received during this time of year. Luckily, recent trends suggest that this is changing and that people want to bring
How Local Events and Businesses are Bringing Pumpkin Costumes Back: A blog about American made Halloween costumes for children.
From the mid-20th century to present day, Halloween has been commercialized by the mass production of costumes from China. These costumes are often cheap, flimsy and disposable. They can be purchased in bulk at discount stores or supermarkets for a few dollars each. However, a growing number of cities across the United States have decided to take a stand against these cheaply made costumes and have decided to host “trunk-or-treat” events instead, where local businesses and organizations provide candy while participants decorate their cars with festive seasonal themes.
These events are designed to encourage children to dress up in more traditional costumes, such as pumpkins or construction workers, which are often handmade by their parents. As a result of these activities, there has been an increase in demand for locally made pumpkin costumes that are both fun and comfortable for kids! This blog will explore how local events like trunk-or-treating have helped bring back American made products such as pumpkin costumes!”
For most parents, the thought of their little ones in a pumpkin costume is like seeing baby’s first steps or hearing their first words. It’s a rite of passage as old as time. The problem is, most baby pumpkins costumes are made overseas and young children grow out of their costumes before they have a chance to wear them again.
But there is good news for parents and the economy. Several American manufacturers and local event planners are bringing the pumpkin suit back to its roots by offering high quality American-made Halloween costumes for kids.
“We wanted to offer our customers something unique,” said John Smith, owner of HalloweenCostumes4Kids.com. “Our goal has always been to provide a wide range of costumes that are both high quality and affordable.”
It’s a few days before Halloween, and you still don’t have a costume for your son? It happens.
And if you’ve been to the stores or searched online lately, you may have noticed that most of the costumes are from China. They’re inexpensive, but they’re not made in the United States.
If your child is older than 6 months, one option is to buy a costume and outfit it with baby-safe paint to make it look like your child is a pumpkin. Or you could go out and grow your own pumpkin, carve it out and make your own pumpkin baby costume!
That’s what I did when my daughter was born in October 2012. I started growing pumpkins early that year and was able to get them ready by the time she was born. When I shared the photos online, there was an immediate response from moms searching for the perfect American made baby Halloween costume.
I wanted to see if other parents were interested in Pumpkin Baby Costumes. So I put up a page on this blog where parents could sign up for a Pumpkin Baby Costume giveaway. They loved it! And parents also told me about local events and businesses in their areas where they could find locally grown pumpkins for carving and costumes for trick or treating later on in
Halloween is a time of year when we all get to dress up in costumes and pretend to be someone or something else. This year, you can also pretend that your costume was made in the US!**
For decades, most costumes were manufactured in the US, but with competition from China and other overseas sources, American companies started moving production to other countries. In 2013, 97% of costumes were imported and less than 3% were made in the US.**
Manufacturing and using locally sourced materials is important to many Americans who want to support their local economy and reduce their carbon footprint. The problem is that there are fewer and fewer options available.**
But this year more companies are offering “Made in USA” options for kids costumes including our very own Pumpkin Costume!
Last year, my children and I were looking for something new to try for Halloween. We had become bored with the same old costumes that we had seen in the past. We wanted to make a change, but we weren’t sure where to start. My son was determined to be a pumpkin, but I didn’t want to spend a fortune on some overpriced costume from a big box store.
I did some research and found that pumpkin costumes are one of the oldest traditions in the United States. They were first worn by English colonists when they came over to America in 1621, and they’ve been worn ever since by kids of all ages. The tradition started as a way for kids to honor their parents’ memory after they had died. But today, pumpkin costumes have become so popular that they’re available at every costume shop and online retailer in the country!
The biggest problem with traditional pumpkin costumes is how expensive they can be. Most of them cost over $100, which is a lot of money for something that’s going to get dirty and torn up after only one night! This year, we decided to go in another direction: making our own pumpkin costume!
Learn how to make your own pumpkin costume from felt. This fun and easy DIY project is perfect for Halloween.
This post is sponsored by JOANN Fabric and Craft Stores.
Have you started planning for Halloween yet? I’m always on the lookout for good Halloween costumes, and this year I decided that I wanted to make a fun and easy pumpkin costume. So I headed down to my local JOANN store to check out their selection of fabric and craft supplies, including a new line of American Made Brand Fabrics.
My son is a little bit picky about the clothes that he wears, so when it came time to make his costume, I decided that the easiest way to make sure he would like it would be if we made it together. We spent an afternoon at the craft table, sketching ideas for what his pumpkin would look like.