As many may know, October is a month of many things. It is World Blindness Awareness Month, we celebrate the honorable White Cane Day on October 15, and of course, it is the start of “Spooky Season,” leading up to Halloween on the 31st. With the holiday just around the corner, it’s time to put the finishing touches on your costumes and get ready to strut your stuff across the screen of all this year’s virtual festivities! The tradition of dressing up in creative costumes—whether you prefer cute, crazy, or creepy—is a Halloween favorite. And the creativity doesn’t have to stop at your outfit! As blind and low vision cane users, there are dozens of fun ways to incorporate your cane into your overall look for the night.
Going for a witchy look this year? Nothing goes better with the striped stockings and pointy hat than a spell-casted broomstick! You can use many different materials to create broom bristles, construction paper, straw, or even dried corn husks. Bunch your preferred material around the last joint of your cane and fasten it together with a rubber band and there you have it—the perfect broomstick for the spookiest of witches!
Perhaps you are going for a more enchanting look? Take a spool of ribbon in your favorite color, glitter and sparkles always add a dash of dazzle, and carefully wrap the ribbon around your cane, winding it up from the bottom to the top. Fasten each end with sturdy tape and you’ve just transformed a plain white cane into a magical wand, charming and elegant for any fairy princess. Attaching flowers, feathers, or jewels can add an extra polished finish to your wand.
Perhaps you’re disguising yourself as your favorite character. Whether you’re dressing as Batman or Bart Simpson, every character has a memorable catchphrase! Take a large piece of cardboard and carefully cut out the shape of a “speech balloon” (the little word bubbles seen in comic strips and cartoons). Write your character’s most memorable phrase or a silly saying on the cardboard and use tape to attach the speech balloon to your cane. Pose with the speech balloon pointed towards you and you will capture the spirit of your character perfectly! If you have a Braille writing or embossing device in your possession, add Braille to the speech balloon and make your catchphrase accessible!
There are so many ways to make your cane a fantastic addition to your costume. Whether the character you’re portraying has a handheld accessory or not, your cane can be the shining star of any look. With paper, tape, glitter, ribbons, or other simple household materials, you can transform your white cane into a fancy or scary costume accent. And the best part of it all? You never have to sacrifice independent travel for Halloween fashion. Let the Halloween holiday inspire you to get crafty. Tag LightHouse in your social media posts and show us your cane costumes. We can’t wait to see your creations! Happy Halloween, everyone!
And don’t forget, you’ll get until October 31 to get 10% off white canes and accessories online at our Adaptations Store, or by calling 1-888-400-8933, or by accessing LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired under specialized help on the Be My Eyes ap
