Calgarian gives away 200 children’s Halloween costumes
Posted Oct 13, 2024 10:19 am.
From superheroes to princesses, hundreds of kids of all ages in Calgary were able to snag the Halloween costume of their dreams thanks to a community-driven giveaway.
Many kids and their parents arrived at the parking lot beside the Nicholls Family Library in southwest Calgary in search of the perfect Halloween costume. They were happy to find outfits of their choice that were free.
“It’s awesome that parents can donate old costumes that they don’t need anymore, and then other people like myself, who maybe don’t have any extra funds, can come and pick out something for our kids. I think it’s fantastic,” a mother at the giveaway told CityNews.
“No kid should not be able to participate in Halloween for financial constraints.”
The organizer for the first-of-its-kind costume giveaway, Alex Klassen, is a mother herself. With the support of her family and the community, she worked tirelessly for several days setting it up.
“Halloween is so expensive. I mean, it’s $30, $40, $50 a costume if you buy brand new, so I thought I would collect costumes that people are not using any more from the community, and we’d give them to people who needed them,” she said.
“It was an idea that I thought would be super easy to execute, and it turned into something bigger.”
Fortunately, through donations, Klassen was able to get over 200 costumes to give away.
Those ranged from costumes for babies to toddlers and kids up to 10 years old. There were capes, masks, dresses, even accessories. Some costumes were secondhand, others were brand new.
Klassen says she was expecting around 40 kids, but was able to give away most of the costumes.
Seeing how families welcomed this initiative, she hopes to make it an annual tradition.
“If we can bring a little bit of light into people’s lives, then that’s what we’re here to do,” Klassen said.
