With Halloween just around the corner, your little trick-or-treater is likely anxious to stand out in the crowd. We’ve found awesome homemade costumes and tips you’ll want to try.
Beetlejuice and Eddie Munster
Inessa Mikhailov, creator of Diaper Style Memoirs, makes homemade Halloween costumes for her children every year. Inessa likes to think outside the box when it comes to getting creative. For her son Nicky’s Beetlejuice costume, Inessa used tea bags to stain a white wig to make it look dirty. Then she painted the roots to match. For her daughter Sasha’s Eddie Munster costume, she used a black wool skullcap and sewed individual pieces from a wig onto the headpiece to create a widow’s peak.
Inessa looks for clothing that is close to the character’s uniform and alters it by sewing on other elements. She also doesn’t shy away from using Halloween store makeup to really take the looks up a notch.
Bag of Sugar
Dayna Feldman bought a pink tank top and drew a bag of sugar on iron-on paper. When using iron-on paper remember to flip the image because when applied, it will be on the reverse side. Dayna also found an image of a bar code online and used Maya’s birthday for the code numbers. She then converted Maya’s weight into ounces and added this onto the tank. For the sugar crown, Dayna hot-glued sugar cubes to a headband.
Tips
Find inexpensive elements. Your local Salvation Army is an excellent resource for clothing. Claire’s or Target are great spots to look for accessories.
Cardboard boxes come in handy. Cut out arm and head holes. Then use craft-paper and paint to make the box resemble a package of candy likes Nerds or M & M’s. Or glue on painted circles of Styrofoam to make a giant Lego.
Look to Pinterest for ideas.
Base the costume on a decade. Think hippie or flapper.
Is there a singer or celebrity your child loves? It’s always humorous to dress your little one as the latest chart topper or heartthrob.
Have an old bridesmaid dress lying around? Add a sash and tiara and you’ve got a mini Miss America.
Go Greek! A white bed sheet can always be made into a toga.
For the “base” of the costume, start with a leotard or bodysuit and build on that. Add wings, feathers, antenna, balloons, or a tail and you have an instant costume. Swimming Noodles and a few safety pins make great “tails.”
