If you’ve yet to start thinking about your child’s Halloween costume, you’re probably not alone. Halloween can be an expensive and stressful holiday if you allow it to be, but there’s lots of things you can do to shave off the price of the occasion while still allowing your children to have a whole lot of fun. Whipping up your kids’ costumes is one of the easiest and most fun things you can do during the holiday season. No matter their interests, there’s probably something you can find to help make the occasion great for them without spending a fortune on masks and other costume accessories. Before you know it, you’ll have the whole family ready to go trick or treating for well under budget.
1. Ghost
Without a doubt, you’ve probably dressed up as a ghost at one time or another in your own childhood. The classic ghost costume is always a hit and is the perfect last minute costume idea that you can even make it on the day of the big event. One of the easiest ways to tackle this is to take an old white sheet, or a new one from a dollar store, and cut holes for the eyes. If you’re in a rush, then your costume is totally done. If not, then you may want to add some details to the mix. For instance, if you craft some dog ears and add a red nose then you have a simple shout out to the Nightmare Before Christmas. Adding a top hat and other fun accessories will make your look a lot more exciting too. If you want to branch out away from the iconic sheet ghost, then take some old clothes and powder them down. Then add some white makeup and powder your hair. You’ll be good to go for hours as long as there’s no rain. You can even create a time piece with this form of ghost, which might add more fun to the occasion.
2. Athlete
Another fast idea for anyone shy on time is the iconic athlete. If your child is into sports, then this costume will be easier than ever. Simply have the child wear their favorite jersey or a uniform for a team they are actually on. Then, grab a ball and the costume is complete. You can even add blood, dirt and grass to make the look more intense. You shouldn’t rule out anything when it comes to this costume either. For instance, cheerleaders and ballerinas are also easily accomplished by finding items used at home. You may even decide to have the whole family dress up as one team. This is especially fun for basketball, football and hockey. Some people love to spice up the sports look by adding a backstory. For instance, they add fake blood to create an athlete who is an accident.
3. Pokemon
Pokemon is probably going to be one of the most popular costume ideas out there this year, but if you purchase a costume you’re going to be spending a small fortune. Luckily, there’s plenty of DIY ways to achieve the Pokemon look that won’t leave your budget on its way to the Poke Center. One easy way is to simply create a Pokemon’s face on a beanie. All you need after this is items to create a tail or any other stand out feature and you should be good to go. One of the easiest materials to work with as far as this goes is cardboard as it will allow you something easy to mold and paint in a hurry. If a Pokemon isn’t on your child’s agenda, then a Pokemon Trainer is another simple option. Simply mimic some of the looks from the cartoons with clothes your child already has and make Pokeballs out of cardboard. You may even get the whole family, including pets, in on the Pokemon adventure.
4. Princess
Many little girls love to dress up as the iconic princess and, luckily, it is one of the cheapest costumes you can work up yourself. One of the easiest ways to do this is to raid your child’s dress up clothes as there is usually plenty to work with when it comes to creating a princess costume in a hurry. If you’re shy on clothing for the costume, then your best bet is to check out a thrift store. Old dresses can easily be nipped and tucked to create the perfect princess dress for your child. Of course, you can also grab cheap fabrics at your favorite crafting store to come up with a dress. Once you have everything you need then you’re all set to add the finishing touches of makeup and a shimmery tiara. You can even make your own tiara out of cardboard, paint and stick on stones.
5. Superheroes
When it comes to Halloween costumes, superheroes tend to never go out of style. This is great news for you because you can DIY your child’s favorite superhero or come up with your own superhero without spending a small fortune. Most children’s superhero costumes can start out with a simple sweat suit. Once you have the colors you need then add the accessories using cloth cut outs and fabric glue. If you have cardboard lying around the house, then this is the perfect item to make accessories. From shield’s to Thor’s hammer, you should be able to find the perfect tutorial to help you build your child’s item from scratch. Apart from that, you can easily whip up a cape or a facial mask out of an old sheet or fabric you have lying around. You may even bring the kids in on the project to help fuel their creative interests.
6. LEGOs
Most kids play with LEGOs at some point in their childhood. These iconic toys are actually very easy to transform into Halloween costumes too, which will help ease your costume dilemma for the whole family. All you need is cardboard boxes that are large enough to fit around each person’s body. Once you have the perfect boxes cut a hole in the box to allow the body to pass through it with ease. You can also strap the box around the body to make it easier to get on and off, especially for toddlers who may be potty training. With the box ready to go, cut cardboard into strips and glue it in the shape of a circle on the front of the box. Then cut out a circle to glue on top of this to finish it off. When everything is dry, add a coat of your favorite color of pain and you’ll be good to go. Of course, you can spruce the costume up in many other ways too, so have a little fun with the concept.
7. Animals
Many little kids love to dress up as their favorite animal for the holiday. This is probably one of the easiest costumes to whip up in a hurry and will look totally adorable. Basically, all you need is to start out with a solid colored sweat suit. From there, you can paint on stripes, spots or other distinctive marks to make the animal stand out. Once you have that going on, then you can easily finish off the body of the animal by creating a tail out of fabric, foam or even yarn. If you’re working on animals like a turtle that may need extra detailing, then use cardboard to make it happen. You’ll fall in love with the look as will your child. Finally, for the face of the animal, create a mask out of paper or use paint to make the final touches. You can easily take a beanie and add ears onto it to create the final appearance. Your child may even want to wear the suit during playtime, which will help you get more out of your money.
8. Witch/Warlock/Wizard
Bring some magic to the holiday when you transform your child into a witch, warlock or wizard. A witch or warlock costume has been a classic for many years now and isn’t hard to achieve. The costume is easily achieved with black clothing for both witch and warlock. However, the costume will come to life with the iconic witch hat, but you may consider using a fedora for a modern boy style. Once the clothes are picked out then add some green makeup for a bad witch or warlock or glitter to represent the light witches and warlocks. Then, add the family broom to the mix and your child will look fantastic. You can even use prosthetics to create long and bumpy noses or warts. If a wizard is more your liking, then try to stick with a long robe and find a great stick to use as a wand. If your child wants a Harry Potter type costume then a simple robe, button down top and tie will suffice. You can print out one of the house logos to place on the robe to finish off the look.
9. Mummy
Another classic costume is the Mummy. This is one of the easiest things to do if you’re in a hurry for a good idea, but are still drawing blanks. You can start your mummy foundation with simple white or black clothing, depending on the effect you’d like to make. Once you have this aspect working then consider your options. If the weather is going to be clear, then you may want to save some money by simply wrapping the child in toilet paper. This will make keeping up with the costume easy and is great for younger kids who probably won’t be out for more than an hour or so. If you like the idea of a more traditional costume, then an old white sheet should do the trick. You can even go the extra mile and die the sheet to make it look aged. Once you have this ready to go then rip it up into long strands and begin the wrapping process. You can even add black around your child’s eyes and some brown to represent dry blood.
10. Career
When all else fails, let your child transform into the career they’ve always had their heart set on. You can easily find costume supplies for doctors, vets, lawyers, construction workers and so on, which will make the costume a lot of fun. You may even have all of the supplies you need in your own home, so make sure to look around before you end up going shopping. If you are looking for last minute accessories, then most dollar stores will have exactly what you’re looking for without the high price tag. Some schools will even host their career day around Halloween, so you’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone with a costume like this.
Halloween is designed to be a fun time for kids and families to share. However, with the high price of candy and costumes, you may find it hard to get in the spirit of the fun. These ten tips are sure to help find the creativity needed to come up with the perfect costume for your kids as well as the rest of the family. So get in the spirit of the season, rather than stressing about the financial burden.
