- Categories:
- Special Interest
- Tags:
- Fun
- Where:
- United States
- Date change rule:
- 2nd Saturday of October
- Holiday emoji:
- 🎭
National Costume Swap Day invites everyone to refresh their wardrobes and find new looks every 2nd Saturday of October. This eco-friendly initiative promotes community, creativity, and conscious consumption. Join a local swap, host your own event, or simply share your pre-loved costumes with friends to give them a second life.
Want to sponsor National Costume Swap Day? Learn how
Expected National Costume Swap Day Deals
While specific 2027 promotions are still under wraps, National Costume Swap Day typically inspires a wave of community-driven events and thrifty opportunities. Look for local libraries, community centers, and schools to host swap meets. Retailers like Spirit Halloween and Party City might offer discounts on costume accessories or encourage trade-ins for store credit. Online marketplaces such as ThredUp and Poshmark often see increased activity for pre-owned costumes, while craft stores like JOANN Fabric and Crafts and Hobby Lobby could feature sales on DIY costume supplies. Even major retailers like Target and Walmart might highlight their affordable costume lines, encouraging creative mixing and matching. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as October 10 approaches.
Platform Guide for National Costume Swap Day
Tag @nationaltoday_ and use #CostumeSwapDay. Share your ‘before and after’ costume transformations or showcase your favorite swapped finds.
TikTok
Tag @www.nationaltoday.com and use #CostumeSwapDay. Film a quick video tour of a swap event, highlighting unique costumes and happy participants.
Mention National Today (facebook.com/nationaltoday) and use #CostumeSwapDay. Create a local event page to organize a community costume swap in your area.
National Costume Swap Day Hero
Vicki L. Wilson
History of National Costume Swap Day
With Halloween around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about pulling together your costumes. We all love to dress up in our favorite costumes, events like the comic-con and cosplay trends prove that to be true. The idea of dressing up as your favorite superhero or villain, or even your favorite character from a movie or a book excites us as it gives us a chance to play out our fantasies. And National Costume Swap Day is the perfect answer to our prayers.
However exciting the idea may be, like everything else on this planet, these costumes come at a price. Living out these fantasies can burn a hole in your pocket, not to mention the wastage of resources. To counter this problem, in 2012, Lynn Colwell and her daughter, Corey Colwell-Lipson, of GreenHalloween.org created Costume Swap Day as a part of their Green Halloween movement. This was an effort to promote an economical and ecological way to dress for Halloween.
The swaps can be costumes that are home-stitched, store-bought, or patched together, anything goes, the objective is to save more and waste less. And it’s not just an effort to save on costumes for trick-or-treating, even theatre troupes can join in on the swaps, just before the fall drama season begins.
This day presents an amazing opportunity to live out your fantasies without spending any big bucks. Costume swapping day comes just a few weeks before Halloween, which is a great way to start the holidays. So gather with family, colleagues, or neighbors and spread some joy around, while keeping your savings intact.
National Costume Swap Day timeline
The Japanese term "cosplay" (コスプレ, kosupure) is coined.
Swapping clothing is started by Suzanne Agasi of ClothingSwap.com in San Francisco, California.
Halloween spending reaches about 5.7 million dollars in the U.S. as reported by the U.S, National Retail Federation.
Americans spend approximately $480 million on Halloween costumes for their pets.
How Businesses Can Celebrate National Costume Swap Day
Local businesses can embrace National Costume Swap Day by hosting or sponsoring community swap events. Retailers can offer discounts on costume accessories or cleaning services for swapped items. Thrift stores and consignment shops can promote their unique inventory as perfect foundations for new costumes, encouraging customers to donate or trade in old ones. Even cafes and restaurants can offer special deals to participants of local swap meets, creating a festive atmosphere around sustainable fashion. Highlight the environmental benefits and community spirit of the day.
National Costume Swap Day FAQs
When is National Costume Swap Day?
National Costume Swap Day 2026 falls on Saturday, October 10. This annual event encourages communities to organize and participate in costume exchange gatherings.
How many costumes are purchased each year?
Millions of costumes are purchased annually, particularly for Halloween. In 2025, consumer spending on Halloween costumes in the U.S. was projected to reach approximately $4.1 billion, highlighting the significant market for new outfits.
Why is costume swapping important for sustainability?
Costume swapping significantly reduces textile waste by giving pre-owned garments a second life. It lessens the demand for new production, conserving resources and minimizing environmental impact.
What is the difference between a costume swap and a thrift store?
A costume swap is typically a community-organized event where individuals directly exchange costumes with one another, often without money exchanging hands. A thrift store, conversely, is a retail establishment that sells secondhand goods, including costumes, for a monetary price, with proceeds often supporting a charitable cause.
National Costume Swap Day Activities
Start swapping
As the name suggests, the best thing to do on National Costume Swapping Day is to swap your costumes. Swap with your neighbors, family, or friends. Start early to get your hands on the best ones.
Organize a costume swap party
Take the initiative, organize a costume swap party. Invite all your friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues. Start with the holiday celebrations a little early. After all, holidays give us a good reason to celebrate.
Spread the word
Get more people to join the initiative. Encourage people around you to make their holidays more economically and ecologically friendly. Recycle and reuse, it’s a better solution than the costumes ending up in a landfill.
5 Cool Facts About Costumes
The first evidence of costumes
The Celts wore them for celebrating the holiday Samhain.
‘Costume’ is an Italian word
The Italian word is inherited via the French word for fashion or custom.
Most popular costumes
Princesses and Superhero costumes are most popular among kids.
The second-largest commercial holiday
Halloween ranks after only Christmas as the second-largest commercial holiday.
Hand-made clothes
Clothing was made by hand till the beginning of the 20th century.
Why We Love National Costume Swap Day
Dress-ups are fun
Dressing up in your favorite costume is a fun experience. Whether you like to dress up as a princess or a superhero, this thing never gets old. The costume can be store-bought or handmade, the joy that comes along with acting like your dearest character is unmeasurable. What makes this even better is if you have friends to join in on this activity to make the perfect team.
Swapping saves money
Like the olden times when money didn’t exist and society relied on the barter system, a swap doesn’t involve an exchange of money either. By swapping costumes you could save on some money and avoid ending up in a financial strain during the holiday season.
It is eco-friendly
Swapping costumes is just like recycling. And recycling is a great way to be environmentally friendly. By reusing the costumes, you will reduce the wastage of resources that are crucial for our environment. So why not help the environment while you celebrate the holidays, after all, it’s not that difficult.
National Costume Swap Day dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | October 11 | Saturday |
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