As shoppers look for ways to celebrate Halloween without overspending or adding to the landfill, swapping, thrifting and do-it-yourself costumes are emerging as a theme of the season, and two upcoming events give local residents a chance to trade in last year's getup for something new to them.
A Santa Monica resident will host a gothic-themed costume and trinket swap in Douglas Park on Saturday, while a costume donation drive that collected nearly 200 costumes in its pilot year returns with drop-off sites across the region and swap days Sunday and Oct. 16.
Peyton Valdovino will host the "Murder of Crows Trinket & Costume Swap" at 4 p.m. Saturday at Douglas Park, 2439 Wilshire Blvd. The event will feature trinket trading, crafts, sweet treats and photo opportunities, according to a flyer for the event, which invites attendees to "bring a costume, take a costume." The suggested dress code is "gothic, dark and elegant," and RSVPs are being collected through Partiful.
Valdovino said the idea for a "crow party" came from Pinterest, and their partner suggested adding a costume swap to the trinket trade.
"I was inspired by my love for Halloween, but did not want to indulge in consumerism," Valdovino said. "These prepackaged Halloween costumes made poorly of polyester that are thrown away on November 1st are not the vibe."
They said the swap is a way to find a good home for costume pieces that would otherwise go back to the thrift stores where they were found.
"I feel like Halloween gives people permission to do that in ways they might not be comfortable doing the rest of the year," Valdovino said. "I want to foster that without adding to the landfill so a costume and trinket trade seemed like the perfect party."
Valdovino, who described a habit of collecting junk that doubles as a supply of craft materials, said the event will include a bracelet booth with pony beads and letter beads, fabric markers for anyone who wants to start a DIY costume, secondhand tote bags to decorate and "trinket boxes" that attendees can decorate to carry home and display their new finds.
The event is open to all ages, though Valdovino said most of those who have RSVP'd so far are in their 20s and 30s. Valdovino said the swap is also meant to address isolation among young adults.
"Young adulthood can be very isolating," Valdovino said. "Most of my time is tied up in work or family obligations. It feels so hard to make friends in real life."
This is Valdovino's first attempt at a neighborhood event, and Valdovino said more may follow.
"If you want to see more of these types of events in your neighborhood, YOU have to be part of that change," Valdovino said. "In order to be part of a village, you have to be a villager."
RSVPs are required for the event at: https://partiful.com/e/Y12SIOZlcQ2tVzJSVKXR.
For those looking to swap on a larger scale, Lextober's Ultimate Halloween Swap lets families drop off costumes they no longer need and pick out new-to-them ones for free, including costumes for children, adults and pets.
Drop-offs and swaps are available through Nov. 15 at Heal the Bay, Opera Santa Barbara, Occidental College, Girls Inc. of LA, Knox Elementary and 93rd Street Elementary. Dedicated swap days are scheduled for Sunday at a Heal the Bay aquarium by the Santa Monica Pier and Oct. 16 at Occidental College.
Sustainable fashion advocate Lexy Silverstein launched Lextober as a pilot in California and Maryland in October 2025, partnering with environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay in Los Angeles and Clinical Associates in the Baltimore area.
The pilot collected nearly 200 costumes, which Silverstein estimated kept 200 to 400 pounds of textile waste out of landfills. Silverstein has said nearly 35 million Halloween costumes are thrown away in the U.S. each year, that 85% of textiles end up in landfills or incinerators and that most costumes are made of synthetic materials that do not biodegrade.
California has a new law aimed at keeping clothes out of landfills, but its statewide collection system is years away.
The swaps come as more shoppers turn to secondhand and homemade options. According to research commissioned by Goodwill, 85% of surveyed costume shoppers plan to incorporate thrift shopping or DIY elements into their costumes this year. The survey found 60% primarily create DIY costumes, and 71% are looking for costumes that can be reused or repurposed beyond Halloween.
More than half of respondents, 53%, said saving money is a key reason they shop thrift stores for Halloween, while 44% said they do so to create DIY costumes and 44% to find unique costume pieces. The survey also found 72% plan to use thrift or DIY elements in their Halloween decorations.
"Halloween is one of the best times of year to get creative," said Daniela Davis, chief marketing officer of Goodwill Southern California. "Whether you're building a costume from scratch, decorating your home or looking for a unique finishing touch, Goodwill offers affordable finds that help bring ideas to life."
The shift toward secondhand comes even as Halloween remains a major spending occasion. Consumer spending is expected to reach $13.5 billion this year, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, holding near last year's record of $13.1 billion. Shoppers are expected to spend an average of $115.14 per person, in line with $114.45 in 2025.
"Consumers continue to make Halloween a spending priority, but they are also approaching the season with affordability in mind," said Allison Zeller, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights.
About 34% of consumers plan to look for items they can reuse in future years or repurpose for other occasions, according to the survey. Seventy-four percent of consumers plan to celebrate the holiday, and half plan to dress in costume.
Costumes account for $4.4 billion of projected spending, with 71% of shoppers expected to buy them. Shoppers are expected to spend $2 billion on adult costumes, $1.5 billion on children's costumes and $920 million on pet costumes.
Among children, 4.6 million plan to dress as Spider-Man, followed by superheroes, princesses, witches and ghosts. Witches top the list for adults at 4.8 million, followed by vampires, Batman, Spider-Man and ghosts. For pets, pumpkins lead at 11.6%, followed by hot dogs at 5.9% and ghosts at 2.8%.
Discount stores remain the top destination for Halloween purchases at 39%, followed by specialty Halloween and costume stores at 32% and online retailers at 27%. Thirteen percent of consumers plan to shop at local and small businesses, nearly double the 7% recorded in 2016.
The NRF survey of 7,889 consumers was conducted Sept. 1-9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.