Creating Frugal Halloween Costumes

A shopping trip to buy Halloween costumes for your kids can be a real shock. The prices are high, the quality is not so hot, and they can hardly be used for more than one year.

A better alternative is to make your own costumes at home. For some real family fun, let the kids do most of the work themselves.

For example:

Do you have an old sheet? Make a ghost costume by cutting out some eye holes. Then give the kids some permanent markers of various colors, and let them draw all the creepy-crawly, scary, graveyard looking stuff they want.

How about dressing up like a hobo? I did that when I was a little girl. My mom tucked my long golden curls up under a railroad hat, and made a beard out of maple syrup and coffee grounds. She took a pair of my brothers pants that were too big on me, and tied them around my waist with a piece of rope. She added a big shirt, buttoned crooked, mismatched socks, over-sized beat up shoes, stuffed in the toes so I could walk, and a knapsack made from a tree branch, and a handkerchief stuffed with clothes.

An angel costume is another idea that is easy on the budget. Again, use an old sheet for the robe. Decorate it with markers and glitter,to make it pretty. Fashion a halo from a wire hanger and aluminum foil. Use cardboard to cut out wings, and cover them with foil too.

Are your kids natural born clowns? Use a variety of mismatched clothes, both too large and too small to create a comical looking outfit. Get creative with your make up kit to make an outlandish face. Tease and gel their hair into a goofy style. And then splurge and spend a dollar on a clown nose, or make one from a small red rubber ball, if you have one around the house. Do you have a straw hat you use for gardening? Decorate it with plastic flowers, feathers, or anything else you have lying around home. The crazier the better!

If you have any aspiring rock stars in the family, try dressing your kids all in black. Spike their hair with colored hair glue to make it look funky. Borrow your dog's collar for a necklace, and use a bandana for their head gear. Any spiky jewelry you have will add a nice touch as well.

These costumes are cheap, fun to put together, and can be memorable because the kids got to help and add their own creative input. Why not get out the family video camera and record the mayhem for posterity? :-)


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com