Creating a Halloween Costume

When I create Halloween costumes for my kids, I usually try to do it on the cheap. And by that I don't mean that I'm some sewing or crafting or knitting wizard that can create an elaborate costume from scratch. I mean I try to use things that we already own to create something they'll love. Of course, I usually have to buy or DIY a few small things - a hat, a cowgirl vest, and the like, but mostly I just use clothing from the closet and random stuff from my crafting bin. Here's what I'm talking about:

On the left is my daughter on her first Halloween. We took her to the neighborhood Trunk-or-Treat and at the last minute I decided she should have a costume. I made a witch hat out of felt and pinned it to one of her fabric headbands, put on her striped dress and some black tights, and made a broom out of a dowel rod and some yarn. On the right is last year's trick-or-treat. Basically her own clothing with a vest I made using this tutorial (again out of felt and hot glue lol), her Poppy's bandana and a hat that her dad picked up at the local party store.

The beauty of using actual clothing to create your kid's costume is that you don't have to break the bank for a store-bought costume that's going to fall apart after you wash it once. And even if you do end up buying a new pair of tights or a dress or a pair of boots, they can use it for a significantly longer period of time, so you feel like you're not spending a ton of money for a few hours of wear. Here are a few ideas for you after the jump (feel free to substitute things that your kid already has in his/her closet):


Wizard:

tights . dress . hat . wand

*Less $$: Use a dark dress that you already own (blue, black, purple) and put glow-in-the-dark constellation stickers on it, make the hat out of felt or tag paper, use a stick or dowel rod for the wand (glue a star to the top if you want)

Bandit:

t-shirt . mask . money bag . jeans

*Less $$: Use a striped or black shirt you already own, dark pants, make the mask out of felt, fabric, or even paint it on, and draw a $ sign on a muslin bag with a Sharpie or fabric paint. 

Witch:

hat . broom . shoes . dress . tights

*Less $$: Make the hat out of tag paper or felt, try one of these dresses - 1, 2, 3, use stripey tights or leggings that you already own (because what little girl doesn't have a pair of those?!), cover an old pair of shoes in red glitter or use another color from your closet - blue, purple, black, green.

Strong Man:

mustache . shorts . shirt . anchor tattoo . mom tattoo . ship tattoo

*Less $$: Make the mustache out of felt, find a sticker mustache, or draw/paint it on, anything you already own with stripes will do - shorts or shirt, paint on the "tattoos" yourself.

Other great costume routes to take? The sweatshirt/coat modification and Etsy rank high on my list. More on those coming up!