If you send your child to school, there are a few things that he would definitely need. A costume for fancy dress is one of them. Nevertheless, if you treat it like an obligation, then you are ruining the moment. So give it your best shot and make the moment special for both your child and yourself. In addition, if you want to make even more special, there’s one more thing you can do. You can use the costume to make an eco-friendly statement. Especially when the fancy dress competition has the theme of sustainability, you can add one more aspect to it by following some eco costume ideas for children and using recycled material for the dress.
Making a costume for your child can be really fun. It’s a chance to show off your creativity, imagination, and craft skills. Most schools these days celebrate different occasions with fancy dress. Your child too would be participating in these. Why not take this opportunity to inculcate green living in your child? Making eco-friendly costumes will help your children and his/her classmates and friends to understand how they can help the environment. Check out these excellent eco costume ideas for children :
6 – Best eco costume ideas for children
It is our responsibility to bring up children who are eco-conscious. You can do this in a fun way by making wonderful costumes using these eco-friendly costumes ideas. You can teach them a few lines to talk about the environment. This will develop their confidence too. The kids are sure to get noticed and will get appreciation from teachers and others for their extra effort!
1. Earth/globe costume
One of the most popular eco costume ideas for children is to make an earth design.
You need: Cardboard, blue paper, glue, green paper, map or globe to refer to, and ribbons.
How to: Cut out two circles big enough to cover the torso of the child. Then stick the blue paper on both cardboards (outer sides). For this eco-friendly fancy dress ideas for kids, you will have to refer to a map or globe to cut out the green paper which would form land on the blue paper. Join both circles with ribbons, cutting out holes on the sides of the cardboard. Tie the ribbons after you get the child ‘in’ your beautiful eco-friendly costume.
Your child can talk about how being eco-friendly helps the Earth.
2. Recycling Bins
This idea is for those who have twins or even triplets. It will remind people to throw their waste responsibly in separate bins and send for recycling.
You need: Rectangular cardboard pieces or cardboard boxes, craft paper, and pens.
How to: Cardboard boxes can be made into recycling bin costumes. Color them in the usual recycling bin color, and write on the ‘bin’ with pens.
Make your child say something about why recycling is important.
3. Snail costume
Eco costume ideas for children are fun and educational. The snail costume is one of the best eco-friendly fancy dress ideas for kids. You can make the shell of the snail too.
You need: Waste paper, glue, headband, masking tape or sellotape, soft balls, ribbon, cardboard pieces, and Styrofoam.
How to: When you have a kid in school, you usually save cardboard and Styrofoam which is used as packing material for most things, because they’re invaluable for school projects! This is one of the times when your stored Styrofoam and cardboard will come of use.
You have to create a snail shell which can be worn as a kind of backpack. Crumple a lot of waste paper in an outward motion, going round and round. You have to make the waste paper’s shape look like a shell. Use tape and glue so that the structure is firm and can stand by itself.
Use the ribbons to make the waste paper snail look like a backpack and fix it with the cardboard. Crumple some more paper to make the two antennae and attach to the headband.
Your child can say how we should take care of the environment, including the little creatures like snails, which perform many important functions in nature.
4. Ghost
If you’re not very crafty, then this costume is perfect for you. Your kid will have great fun wearing it and going ‘boo’ too! What makes this costume one of the eco costume ideas for children is the material used is eco-friendly.
You need: A sheet of white cloth, scissors, and marker pens.
How to: Cut out the holes for nose, mouth, and eyes. Color the edges of the holes with a red, black, or fluorescent marker. If the party is at night, this fancy dress idea for kids+ kids fashion show themes is a perfect choice. This wonderful eco costume ideas for children is extremely popular.
Your kid can say that plants and animals are disappearing from the face of the Earth due to our actions. The planet would soon have many species which would be extinct if we all don’t follow a green lifestyle.
5. Tree costume
A tree costume is another ecofriendly costumes ideas which can draw the attention of all towards the environment. Raise a responsible child with this costume, which emphasizes the important role that trees play in our lives. This dress is great for fancy dress ideas for kids+ kids fashion show themes too.
You need: Paints, glue, cardboard, green dress or green T-shirt, and brown trousers.
How to: Cut the cardboard to make trees and branches. Paint the shapes in green and your kid too, if he or she allows it. If it’s for a fashion show cum fancy dress event, dress your daughter up in a pretty green frock and let her carry the tree you made from the cardboard. If you have a son, dress him up in khaki trousers and a green t-shirt, and the cardboard tree will make this costume a great eco costume ideas for children.
Teach your kid to say something like ‘Saving trees will save the planet’.
6. Cloud costume
Dressing your kid up as a cloud will make a great impression. This costume can be made easily and it is crucial in helping to send the ecofriendly message – everyone must help to reduce emissions to prevent erratic weather.
You need: Cardboard, scissors, pens, ribbons, and cotton balls/roll.
How to: Cut the cardboard in the shape of a cloud. Cut out two holes for the ribbons to go in, and with which the cloud can be hung. Cover the cardboard with glue and stick the cotton on it. Your cloud costume is done!
Other interesting and effective ideas are water droplets, electric cars, cloth bags, and so on. Eco-friendly costumes are easily made with very little effort. They spread the message of nature conservation and help the kids to be aware of their natural surroundings.
