Happy Haunting with these franken-tastic costumes, candies and more.
October approaches, and ghosts and goblins await a good trick. Avoid the specter of outsourcing (and the ghastly health and safety concerns with which it sometimes comes) with these Made in America Halloween treats.
Costumes
Whimsical, but modern, the Wishing Elephant’s costumes for infants and children have garnered a great deal of attention since the company’s 2010 founding — even catching the eye of the queen of domesticity herself, Martha Stewart, who featured their costumes on her show. Inspired by such cultural touchstones as “Game of Thrones,” “Pinnochio,” “Madeline,” “Star Wars,” and historical figures, these outfits are sure to charm.
Remember that rad tattoo you always wanted? The one you still want? TemporaryTattoos.com — a company started in a Tucson, Arizona, garage in 1989 — now prints more than 7 million temporary tattoos in Tucson every day. With an endless catalog of images, ranging from a particularly horrifying “Gory Bugs & Wounds” tattoo to an elegant “Cherry Blossoms and Butterflies” tattoo, there’s something for everyone. But if you have something specific in mind, you can submit a custom order to complete your costume. As these temporary tattoos are waterproof and usually last up to three days (unless you remove them with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer) Halloween fun can continue until the end of the week. Bulk discounts make buying the tattoos as trick or treat giveaways even more appealing. (Purchase 200 assorted Halloween temporary tattoos for only $20).
Salute American manufacturing and your favorite period in history by purchasing your Halloween attire of the The Sewing Cottage USA’s historical costumes or accessories, which are all made in America. Renaissance, Viking, Celtic, Colonial, Civil War, Victorian, and Edwardian clothing are available for men, women, and children with opportunities to customize or expedite your order. Reviews from past customers praise The Sewing Cottage USA’s craftsmanship and speedy delivery.
Unleash your inner Picasso with Ruby Red Face & Body Paint, transforming yourself and loved ones into whatever your heart desires. This vegan, hypoallergenic, paraben-free, professional-grade face paint company ensures the quality of its paints by sourcing ingredients and packaging from American suppliers. Reviews for Ruby Red praise the ease with which it is used and removed. Visit their website for glitter, stamps, and stencils for the face and body though you can also purchase a Ruby Red face paint kit through Amazon.
Decorations
For maximum scare value with minimal labor and cost, pop some Pumpkin Teeth into that Jack-o’-Lantern. Pumpkin Teeth, which has recently reshored to America, sells reusable plastic fang and buck teeth with glow-in-the-dark options for as little as $3. Check out Pumpkin Teeth’s website, which offers some truly terrifying photos to inspire your own scare. Note that there are, unfortunately, several Chinese-made knock-offs of Pumpkin Teeth available for sale on the internet, so be sure to purchase your Jack-o’-Lantern accessories through the official website.
Food
Supporting companies that sustain American manufacturing is more than enough reason to buy American, but health and safety concerns make the case for made-in-American Halloween candy all the more compelling. In October of 2008, White Rabbit Creamery Candy, which manufactures its products in China, was found to have distributed candy contaminated with melamine, an industrial additive that is used to manufacture plastics and fertilizer, in the United States.
Thankfully, many candy crowd-favorites are still Made in America, such as Dum Dums, Cow Tales, NECCO wafers, Russell Stover chocolates, Mike & Ike candies, etc., because companies like Jelly Belly and Just Born Candy choose to continue manufacturing in the United States. If you’re looking for more candy options, USA Love List offers a compendium of American-made candy.
Post-Halloween gorging may leave you reaching for toothpaste, but the ingredient list for some of the most popular toothpaste brands can be more horrifying than the mask you just put away. Reach instead for Davids to support the American economy and the environment while returning that sparkle to your smile. Reviewed by the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) scientists, Davids has earned its “EWG VERIFIED” certification, the organization’s highest possible rating, for using only premium natural ingredients sourced from American companies. Davids has also garnered rave reviews from a growing legion of fans.
Beer
As eagerly anticipated as the pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin beer is a fall classic and perfectly on theme for a Halloween party. The beer, increasingly popular every year, is also deeply ingrained in American history. (Early American colonists frequently brewed their beer with pumpkin rather than malt.) In recent history, pumpkin beer has experienced an epic revival, and the seasonal brew can be found throughout the United States.
Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.’s Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale is aged in bourbon barrels, imparting flavors of caramel and vanilla that are balanced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Not only is this quintessentially fall beer brewed in Kentucky, but the pumpkins used in the process are sourced from local farms. Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale can is sold at many stores along the east coast.
More widely available, Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale also evokes pumpkin pie spices but is sold in 36 states and hailed as the best pumpkin beer by the Washington Post newsroom. Dogfish Head, founded six months after Punkin Ale debuted in 1994, was once the smallest commercial brewery in America, beginning, as so many great companies do, in a garage. Based in Delaware, the company attributes its success to its willingness to innovate and experiment with new brewing processes and flavors.
Find a list of other excellent pumpkin beers brewed in America on Beer Info.
For more Made in America Halloween ideas, check out our blog from 2014.