Ways to Repurpose Halloween Costumes-- Part I

This is the first of 3 posts showing how we're re-using our Halloween costumes (and keeping the kids entertained while we're at it!)

Halloween is so much fun, isn't it? But it's over in a blink of an eye!
In 2016, it was reported by the National Retail Federation that people spent over $8 billion dollars on Halloween, with the most amount of money ($3.5 Billion) going to Halloween costumes.
I know I'm guilty of buying my boys more than one costume...
How could I not?
With so many adorable options and the boys growing so fast, I couldn't help myself.
But then I started thinking--
Is it possible that their costumes will only be good for one month of the year?
What can I do to maximize their costume fun outside of trick-or-treating?
And, what's a creative way to justify the expense that will almost certainly be acquired again next year?
So I decided it was time to get creative and schedule some play dates.

I bought a few large, neon project boards at the dollar store and created planets and stars and dizzy circles out of them. This was done to make a planet scene and get the boys and their guests in full Space Ranger mode...

It all took place in a planet far, far away named...my backyard!  And all the space heroes going around made this morning too fun for us mommies who were standing by in case of a meteor meltdown! I placed all the Buzz Lightyears from around the house in different areas of the yard and their mission, among others was to escape the "asteroid ghosts".

The pretend spaceship skeleton was from Benny's 2nd birthday and was made out of PVC pipe.
I also turned a regular dart board into a space target, trying to mimic scenes from the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride at Disneyland.

You should try this at home... It's not too complicated and it's the kind of stuff memories are made of!
The Buzz Lightyear costumes will probably come out of the box a few more times...and they'll be transported to Infinity and Beyond!
Thanks for reading!