Are you wondering what to do with the Halloween costumes once the season is over? Or, do you have leftover costumes from previous years that could be given a new use to someone else? If you’re like me, I’m feeling the need to purge the toys and things that are no longer played with to make room for all of the new gifts that will find their way to our playroom (and all the other rooms in our house) once Christmas hits. One place to start is our costume bin. I’ll be donating lots of our outgrown costumes to Create Happy Moments which is a non-profit started by a Columbus mom. The goal of this project is to donate new or gently used costumes to underprivileged kids in the Dominican Republic for their country’s Carnival and Independence Day festivities which take place every February. This would be a great way to get children involved in helping others and would also make a fantastic service project for groups such as Brownies, Boy Scouts or a school. I love the idea of spreading joy across the world!
Where can you donate costumes to Create Happy Moments?
Several area businesses in Columbus have drop-off locations for these costumes or you can ship them directly to Create Happy Moments, 5093 Silver Bow Dr., Hilliard, OH 43026.
What types of costumes are accepted?
Costumes will be given to children in preschool all the way through middle school. Those sizes are in most need, but any size is accepted. Even if you don’t have a complete costume, any part you do have can still be donated. Items such as masks, capes, accessories and makeup are needed as well. Large plastic items (such as swords) tend to break during the shipping process so those aren’t accepted. Check here to find a complete list of items needed.
Here’s what founder Mayra Gutierrez Betances has to say about the project Create Happy Moments
“It is a cultural tradition in the Dominican Republic to dress up and parade in every village, town and city throughout the country to celebrate Independence Day. As a child growing up in the Dominican Republic along with 6 other siblings, it was a challenge to get a hold of a costume for this special event as my family could not afford to buy costumes. We made our own and it made it creative, but times have changed and so have the children.
My family has several bins of dress-up clothes as these are some of the most treasured items in our toy closet. It would be a nice family activity to get the kids involved and decide what items they are willing to part with or have outgrown. Or, perhaps we’ll take advantage of the after Halloween sales and purchase new items to send. Either way, this will make a child in the Dominican Republic very happy and we too will feel joy knowing that we’ve made someone’s day. I can’t wait to follow the Create Happy Moments project to see how many items are donated this year.
