The best part about Halloween, besides the free candy of course, are the costumes. While it may seem easier to go to the store and pick a costume off the rack, these costumes you can make at home out of everyday items can be just and simple and a lot more fun than you think.
Even if you are not a crafty mom, a little creativity and forethought can go a long way in putting together some cute and cost effective costumes for your little ones. To get a head start on things, I typically start putting some thought into the costumes around mid September. I’ll ask the kids what they’d like to be and do a mental inventory of the things we have around the house to pull their costume of choice together. If we’re missing some key components such as a wig or certain style of dress, we’ll take a quick trip to a local thrift store and see what odds and ends we can find to bring our vision to fruition. It’s a creative exercise for the kids and you only need a few small touches to take a homemade costume from good to great. Here a 10 inexpensive costume ideas you can do on a budget right at home.
Pirate
This can be done using an old striped shirt or vest and an eye patch. While thrifting, look for Victorian styled garb and hats. If you’re really feeling creative, you can make a peg leg out of cardboard. Aye aye, Captain.
Fairy Princess/Angel
Most little girls have tutus and princess crowns for playing dress up. Repurpose some of these items to make your own fairy princess costume. If your daughter is in dance class, you may already have tights and leotards in stock. Add a pair of fairy wings to put your own spin on a Tinkerbell costume. Fairy wings can also double as angel wings for those who would like to be an angel.
Old Woman/Old Man
You’ll need an old gray wig, granny house dress and a cane. For an older gentleman add touches such as an fedora, mustache and old blazer. Grandma and Grandpa can help bring this transformation to life.
Rock Star/Pop Star
This was always a popular one at our house. Some fancy eye makeup, glitter and a trendy outfits can turn your mini divas into a Destiny’s Child trio or Beyonce herself. You can have fun with the use of wigs and other accessories to make them a diva for a day.
70’s Dancer
If your kids have natural hair, this is a great time to show off that amazing little afro. Simply pick out his or her hair and give them a pair of bell bottoms and 70’s style shirt or jacket to channel Foxy Brown or some other 70’s style icon. If there is a soul train line at the Halloween party, they’ll be a big hit.
Superhero
A lot of little boys want to dress up as their favorite superhero such as Superman, Batman or Spider-Man for Halloween. Here is a link that will show you how to make a simple no sew superhero cape from an old T-Shirt. Dress them in a colors similar to their superhero, add the cape and then look through their existing toys for any other accessories you can add to the costume to unleash their superhuman capabilities.
Greek God or Goddess
If you think of those old statues of Zeus of and Venus, you’ll see all you really need to do to put this one together is stylishly drape a white sheet around your child and cinch at the waist. Add small touches such as a Roman style braid around the crown of the head or place artificial leaves around the head like Julius Caesar. Doesn’t take much to pull of the Grecian look.
Vampire
For this look, all you really need is a little make up and pointed teeth. Add powder to the face for a paler look and drips of red around the mouth. If you are going for the traditional vampire look, use an eyeliner pencil to draw a widows peak. If your child is interested in being more of a Twilight-esque vampire, add a little silver body glitter to the face paint. Team Edward, anyone?
Witch
A black dress and pointed hat are really all it takes to convert your little angel into a witch. If you would like to evoke Elphaba from Wicked, but don’t want to cover your child in hard to remove green paint, simply add a little green eyeshadow to eyes, thicken the eyebrows with an eyeliner pencil and a draw a big mole on the side of the cheek. A little broom adds a nice touch to make the look complete.