Buying Your Costume New

New Halloween costume shopping is a fun experience, and the best place to look for your new costume is on the Web. There are many retailers to choose from, and you want to buy from a Halloween costume store that has a good reputation and a large number of choices. The main advantage of purchasing a costume via the internet, is price and selection.

Local costume and novelty shops are a secondary way to pick up a Halloween costume. They won't have quite the selection as an internet retailer, but should have a good basic stock of costumes, masks, and props. You may feel more comfortable buying a costume locally, since it is easier to return than buying from the web.

Buying Your Costume Used

A used Halloween costume can be a great value, and if you are strapped for cash might be the way to go. If you develop a costume idea, and make a list of the items you need to complete your ensemble, you can probably find the pieces to create an entire costume with little effort. Good places to find used costumes are:

* Thrift Store * Flea Market * Garage Sales * Friends or Relatives * Coworkers * Newspaper Ads * Online Auction Sites

Make sure to inspect the quality of the costume, and if you are buying it from the internet or an online auction, get as many detailed photos as possible, and try and get a money back guarantee. Used costumes are a great idea since you may only be wearing the costume one time.

Renting a Costume

Costume rentals is another option you have when preparing for halloween. At the same place where you can buy a new costume locally, it is possible that they offer rentals.

Many times you have to put down a deposit, and the charge for renting the costume depends on how long you intend to have it, and how the time of season. During the halloween season, for example, you can expect to pay more for a costume than any other time of the year.

With the cheap prices of costumes on the internet, we recommend that you just buy one. You can always resell it later if you never use it again, or pass it on to friends and relatives. Renting a Halloween costume is an option though, and we wanted to make you aware of it.

Making Your Own Costume

If your a hobbyist, or good at arts and crafts, you may enjoy the satisfaction of creating your very own Halloween costume from scratch. All it takes is some imagination, and a little bit of work to produce an original costume.

You may already have a costume in mind, but if not, here are some tips when making your own costume:

* Develop an idea for the Halloween costume first, and then look around your house to see if you may have everything you need to make it

* Make a list of materials that you need that have to be bought for the costume. This will save money by sticking to a budget and plan

* When making kids Halloween costumes, make sure that they are safe for their age group, and make them visible at night

* Try and be original, the whole point of making your own costume is to stand out and be different

Why do we have a day that is supposed to do nothing but scare the dickens out of us? Why do we bob for apples or have scary pumpkins sitting on our front porch? Why do we dress up like ghost and goblins or other fancy creatures? All of these questions can be answered by looking back at the origin of Halloween.

More than two thousand years ago there lived a people known as the Celtics. They were a proud, fierce and combative tribe which inhabited Ireland, the northern areas of France, and the United Kingdom. Their new year started on what you and I know as November the first. The beginning of November marked the end of warm weather and the growing season. In addition the hours of darkness ruled over the hours of daylight and the Celts being of a superstitious nature; believed that things which go bump in the night roamed and ruled the night hours.

As the hours of darkness prevailed much of the time was spent spinning yarns and the retelling of stories which had been passed from generation to generation. One of the beliefs that had been passed down was the belief that the dead returned on the night before the beginning of the New Year; October 31st . It was believed on this night they returned to avenge the wrong deeds done to them and to bring forecast of the events to occur in the New Year.

Eventually over a period of time, October 31st became known as SamHain (or sow-in). In order to mark this day, the Celts, had a monstrous bonfire in their villages. Each of the villagers came to the bonfire, disguised in different animal skins. The celebration was a way of showing thanks to the Celtic “gods” for the harvest and good things of the year past. It was also believed, by the people, which by sacrificing a portion of the last year’s crop and an animal the “gods” would hopefully bestow good fortune and a bountiful crop in the coming New Year.

Therefore, you and I now know that the origins of Halloween also include dressing up in a costume on Halloween night.

As several centuries went by the Celtics, in turn were invaded by the Roman Empire. As we all know when in Rome, you do as the Romans do. So the custom of “Sam Hain” was added too by the Romans. The Romans included the day of Faralia, celebration of the dead, to coincide with the date of October 31st .

Then, they also included a day to please Pomona – a goddess whose symbol is the apple. This is basically where the tradition of apple bobbing was derived from, which is still practiced today as a party game.

Eventually Christianity began to spread and entered the land of the Celts. Around 800 A. D. The Catholic Pope at the time – Pope Bonaface IV – declared November 1st All Saint’s Day, which coincided with the Celtic pagan holiday of the beginning of the New Year. The night before All Saint’s Day, SamHain to the Celts, began to be called All Hallow’s Eve or All Hallow’s Mass. As the centuries passed and cultures were absorbed by other cultures, the origins of Halloween have become known as Halloween night.