Halloween Costume Ideas for the Those Short on Cash

Are you wanting your kids to have fun this Halloween, but dreading purchasing their costumes? Make it even more fun by creating your own costumes. Your kids will remember the family time spent together dressing up and preparing more than they remember trick-or-treating.

Source: Flickr

Photo by Falashad

Okay, so this project isn’t for the faint-of-sewing! Their Flickr comment states that they made these themselves, creating the pattern as they went along. The sewing teacher at our school for our homecoming week one year created a Trekkie shirt by sewing black cuffs and neckline along with the arrowhead shaped symbol (homemade also). I’m told that it’s very simple to create the look if you have any Star Trek fans at home.

Source: Flickr

Photo by BiblioMama

Another simple idea is to take an old sheet and create a ghost. The whole family can dress up at once (if you have enough old sheets). The above example demonstrates how simple the ghost design can be. Another plus for this costume is that it’s safer to wear white or neon during dark trick-or-treating nights.

Source: Flickr

Photo by Gutsibikes

If you have a box, duct tape, plastic flex piping, aluminum foil, and some spare covered wiring, you can create a pretty amazing robot costume. This costume is another great idea for the whole family. Just think what fun making it together with your kids will be. The kids could help you wrap and tape the aluminum foil onto the box and then place the wiring and spare parts as they wish for decoration.

Source: Flicker

Photo by mandric

This is yet another example of a quick costume using common household items. The child above is wearing a simple turtleneck covered with white cotton tights. The red sneakers offer a great contrast, but pink slippers might work nicely also. And if you don’t have the bunny-ears-headband pictured above, try using an old pair of white panty hose; just stuff the legs with material, double them over and tie them, and vallah!-instant droopy bunny ears. This costume is also very safe since your little one will show up in the dark.

Source: Flickr

Photo by super-structure

You can even get the family dog into the act. The creators of this costume used a couple of costume boa feathers on a wire held in place over her tail. Of course the skunk line is made from white hair color spray. I don’t think I’d take the dog trick-or-treating, but it sure is a welcome addition to the Halloween scrapbook page.