Halloween Costumes

Now that it is October 1st, the kids are asking about Halloween costumes ... so I've done some searching for ideas.

First, look at recycling old costumes you have on hand or borrow from others.  You can wear old dance costumes, sports uniforms, old costumes, dress up clothes.  You can also coordinate a costume swap with neighbors/friends who have children similar to your age.  You can also shop at second hand or goodwill stores.

Here are some ideas (most came from online):

Ghost - use an old white sheet, cut out eyes and mouth... feel free to dress up your ghost with makeup, eye lashes,jewelry, a beard or musache.

Nurse - scrubs

Baby - pajamas, bottle, teddy bear or doll, mess up hair like bed hair
Scarecrow - oversized flannel shirt, faded blue jeans, add some patches to the knees a rope for belt and to tie at the cuffs of jeans and sleeves, stuff with plastic bags or paper, a little bit of straw.

Clown - sweat clothes are too large.  Let the kids decorate with markers or tie-die. Add large pom-poms, add a cheap, wig, hat and make-up.

Crazy Daisy - do crazy hair, add crazy socks, a crazy scarf, clothes inside out, unmatching clothes ... anything crazy.  you could even take an old shirt and sew a bunch of random fabric scraps hanging on it - making a rag shirt and tie some scraps of rags into tons of little pony tails

Skiier - snow suit, some poles and snow cap

Hippy - Tie die cothing, long wig, headband, fringed clothing, sun glasses

Hillbilly - a colorful dress, add a flower hat, a scarf that doesn't match, a big flower corsage with crazy ribbon and "weedy" type flowers, some tennis shoes and colorful socks pulled up to your knees

Old man - dark paints and jacket, shirt with collar, old hat and can - gray hair with a dust of flour or buy hair paint

Old woman - grandma looking dress, knee-hi stockings rolled down a little, big shoes (oxfords), large black purse, set of beads around your neck. Feel free to add some stuffing.

Nerd - slick back the hair, some pants that are too short white socks white shirt, a pair of glasses with some tape, use a backpack or briefcase for a candy bag.

Miss America - an old bridesmaid dress or formal add a wide ribbon with Miss America (or any city/state you choose) written on it. Add a tiara some jewelry and heels.

Mummy - white bandages made from sheets.  use some green pain to create a blotchy look.

Costumes with tights, leotards or Sweats

Skunk - Black with white strip down the pack.. be careful everyone may run

Bunny - Pink, brown, or white, add a powder puff or large pom-pom to the backside, and a set of ears make from constriction paper and a plastic headband.

Turtle - Green with a piece of poster board attached to the back. Simple cut the poster board into a large oval, make random marks like a turtle shell, and paint.

Puppy - Brown, tan or white, either paint, or pin paper spots on. Make floppy ears and bobby pin to hair over your ears. The tale can be most anything, depending on what type of doggie you wish to be. Add a little make-up.

Kitten - Gold, brown, tan, white. Make ears from construction paper, attach to head band or bobby pin in to hair. Sew a simple round tale, and pin on.

Spider - Black, For the legs grab some cheap black hose, stuff with any thing dark and light weight. Either sew, or staple to keep stuffing from falling out. Pin to clothing, add a little make-up

Snowman - white sweats, christmas socks, white keds tennis shoes, a cheap black hat, fake snow, mittens, scarf and black pom poms for the coal, spray the hat to look like snow and add a cheap red bird or flower from an old Christmas decoration or the craft store. Use a white mask and a cheap carrot from the craft store and glue it onto the nose part of the mask.

Bag of Jelly beans - lots of different colored balloons, large clear plastic bag (see if the grocery store can give you one - the kind they put the recycled cans in) colorful ribbon, two safety pins, two pieces of white cardboard --- cut leg and arm holes in the bag, have child stand in the bag, then fill the bag with blown up balloons, add a "jelly beans" logo or title to the bag and safety pin the signs to the bag. Tie around the shoulders with the colorful ribbon (make sure the bag is not near the face).

Ragdoll - take an old sleeper and cut out the feet,, sew patches in various places. Add wide cuffs at wrist and ankles. For the head, use an old stocking cap and sew strips of fabric from old clothes to the stocking cap. Then give them red cheeks and freckles.

USING A BOX

Dress up as a box ... Christmas or birthday presents are fun. Just cut holes for arms, legs and head. You can also use the bax to turn a child into a collecting card (baseball, Pokemon, etc) or a birthdy card. Make yourself a fridge or washer, robot, race car, train, head on a platter (on a table), rubics cube, dice (would be cute for two kids to dress as a pair of dice), lego block.

Hope this gets your creative juices flowing and helps you save money and have fun this Halloween. Feel free to google for more ideas (there are TONS of them) and share your favorite in the comments! I got most of these ideas from this site.   I'm not sure her site is 100% kid friendly because she mentions a kid friendly area so be warned before sending your kids to look for costumes online.  Some may not be appropriate.

But one of my favorite sites for ideas for kid things is Family Fun.  They have LOTS of ideas here.  I loved the girl at the spa (robe, slippers, green "mask", hair up in towel) and the gargoyle!