Kids Dig Costumes

Well, I've been on a bit of a writing hiatus, but it's been pretty productive. I've actually managed to donate some kids toys, though not nearly enough of 'em. My oldest son even got in the spirit of not buying things by wearing his Mountie costume for the fourth time.  That's two trick-or-treating expeditions, one school dress up and a school Mardi Gras parade. And this isn't the last time the costume will be used either. Nope, my youngest will likely wear it a couple more times too. What does this all have to do with my blog of not buying new? Aside from the obvious 'reuse' from the three R's, it reinforces the notion of quality over quantity. Had we bought a dumpy, cheapy costume it likely would not have survived the first Halloween, let alone the subsequent uses. This goes for a lot of life's purchases. You often times get what you pay for. Cheap sunglasses break or scratch easily. Cheap clothes tear or wear sooner than higher quality clothes. Paying more doesn't always equate to better quality though. Sometimes you are paying for a label, but many times you actually get a better, longer lasting product. 

Happiest. Mountie. Ever.

Late Thirties Mutant Ninja Turtle?!?

Here's a little story about quality. For my friend's son's fourth birthday I dressed up as Leonardo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Where'd we get the costume? My friends bought it used for a mere $45 online. The labour (me) was free, so their son got a Ninja Turtle at his birthday and the squeals of joy only served to confirm that it might have been the best $45 spent ever. They bought a quality, second hand costume and they can likely sell it again for what they paid for it. That means, their son got a free appearance by Leonardo of the Ninja Turtles. FREE! Why? Because they bought a quality costume versus a cheap, one-time use costume. This adds a second point: because they can get rid of it, there's no clutter, no use of valuable storage space and nothing going in the landfill. This is amazing! I've already started looking for a Spider-Man costume for my kid's fourth birthday party. I'd be down with being Leonardo again, but my son and I seem to share a love of Marvel's popular web slinger. Time to start that hunt. I don't have much time to go.

The "not purchasing new stuff" streak is still alive and well.  I've managed to surprise myself on this one. I'm still going strong!

Coco out.

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