emeraldcityballideas

PASSPORTmissions and PASSPORTchoices campers: get ready to dance the night away with all of your favorite Wizard of Oz characters in the “merry old Land of Oz!” This year campers will ‘Follow The Road’ to a fun-filled night of dancing and games at the Emerald City Ball. Youth groups should plan ahead and come ready with fun costumes that everyone will enjoy. Staff judges will give a prize to the most creative group.

To help you get in the Emerald City state of mind, we’ve put together everything you need to know about creating an easy and awesome costume.


What to wear: Anything you can easily dance around in. Dress up as your favorite character, in all green like fine folks of Emerald City, or in fancy ball attire. Be creative!

What not to wear: Bulky gear and hard-to-move-in pieces. Remember this is a dance so your outfit should let you bust a move! Keep in mind the dress code for the entire week still applies.

Places to shop:

Your House – We suggest that you be creative and use things you already have to create an awesome costume.
+ Thrift Stores – Scour the racks looking for fun, inexpensive pieces that you can make into a costume.
+ Michael’s/Hobby Lobby/Fabric Stores – Great places to look for fabric and other adornments.
+ Party City or Amazon – If you’re in a time crunch, buy actual costumes at retail or online stores.

Costume Ideas & Inspiration 

Get into character. 
Dressing like your favorite main Oz characters doesn’t have to be hard! Your Dorothy costume is just a thrift store blue dress, tall white socks, and red shoes away (check out this post for a step-by-step Dorothy guide). A few boxes and some silver spray paint are the only thing standing between you and a grade-A tin man costume. You could even add some faux fur to a yellow hoodie to transform yourself into a bashful lion.
Bring your lollypop.
Grab some knee-high striped or plaid socks, knee-length shorts, elbow-length shirt and delicious lollypop to transform yourself into a lollypop kid!

“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?”
For Glinda, bring a pink dress, wand, and crown to share all of your goodness with the party-goers. If you’re feeling more like the Wicked Witch of the West then don your darkest clothing along with some nice green makeup, a pointy black hat and your token broom to scare all of Emerald City.

Stand out as your favorite side-kick! 
In a sea of Dorothys and Tin men, you’ll stand out as flying monkeys, talking trees, or even as the yellow brick road.

Wear the weather.
The climate plays a starring role in The Wizard Of Oz, so why not make an unforgettable entrance as the earth-moving tornado or as the inspirational rainbow! Check out this tutorial for creating a terrifying twister costume out of tulle or this one from chicken wire.  

Go Green! 
When in Emerald City, do as the locals do. This is the easiest costume idea, but could also be the most fun–wear your craziest green attire or simply spray your hair green!

 Image via http://whatiwore.tumblr.com

 Have great ideas to add? What will you be wearing? Share your costume idea in the comment section below!