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Every year about this time many families have the task of coming up with fun easy costumes for their kids. Most older kids have a good idea by the end of halloween night as to what they want to be the next year. But little ones can have a hard time deciding. Kindergarteners and first graders can come up with some impossible suggestions. Being LOKers we need quick and easy ideas for homemade costumes. I have come up with some easy and for the most part inexpensive ideas that can be used for toddlers on up. Many of the items you may even find around your house.  This year my two year old is going to be a butterfly. I made this costume for under $3 and in about 2 hours. I used a pair of black sweats she already had that will be the base of her costume. I went to the dollar store and purchased a pair of butterfly wings, but since they were orange and she wanted to be a pink and blue butterfly, I painted the wings with regular acrylic craft paint, then glittered it. I got a plastic head band at walmart for around 97 cents and a pack of pipe cleaners for around 60 cents. I attached the pipe cleaners to the head band with hot glue and then twisted the top into a curly Q. Voila! Warm, simple and easy to do and best of all it was inexpensive. I don't typically dress the babies up. But this year I ran across and great idea for a baby costume I just couldn't pass up. This year my chub will be donning a dalmation costume. I got a pair of white sweats, pants and a hooded sweat shirt, you can also use a white stocking cap and a nonhooded shirt. I got black felt and cut it in miscellaneous round shapes and base stitched it all over the costume, you may also use fabric glue. I then cut out two ears and base stirched it to the hood/hat. If desired you can color the neck or the shirt red with a sharpie or some fabric glue to look like a collar.Some other simple ideas:  Get a small round laundry basket; you can get them at the dollar store or even walmart pretty cheap. Cut out the bottom leaving a lip but big enough so your child can move freely. Attach straps about a third of the way down using sturdy fabric. Add miscellaneous laundry, securing it to the sides with double face tape or twist ties, and you have something every LOK house knows about--a basket of laundry! I did this one for my neighbors kid a few years ago and it was a big hit! This idea can also be adapeted to be a tub of bubbles. Just use a rectangle basket cover the sides in white paper and glue or tape pink, blue and white balloons inside and on the edges.  For one of my babies a few years back I made a cat burglar costume. I put her in black footie jammies, and I sewed black ears I made out of fur to a black stocking cap and pinned a kitty tail to the behind. The best part of this one is is that at the end of the day unpin the tail and remove the hat and they are ready for bed.  A pirate can be done with a fluffy white dress shirt borrowed from sis, a pair of black pants, a basic vest made out of felt and a sword made from heavy card board and foil. For the sword cut out the shape paint the handle black and cover the blade with foil using a little glue to hold it in to place.  A few accessories can be made at home, no need to pay those high prices at the stores. A crown can made from household items. All you need is some thin cardboard or poster board and some foil and fabric paints. Draw and cut the shape of the crown to fit the style and the size needed, then cover in foil securing with glue to make sure it doesn't come unwound. Paint jewels with the paint, then punch a hole on each side of the back and tie with yarn or string to fit the size needed. A princess or fairy wand can be made with a thin dowl or a old wooden spoon. Spray the dowl of the spoon with silver of gold paint, cut out two stars from heavy cardboard and paint and glitter as desired. glue to the dowl securing it with hot glue so the dowl is in the center or the star half way up, of hot glue a star to each side or the spoon. Many costume ideas can be created from a base of sweats or footie jammies. A pair of green sweats can transform you little on into a flower with a headband with felt petals attached. The same green sweats can become a turtle, all you need is to paint a shell on card board cut it out and attatch elastic for you childs arms to go through. Your little man can become a secret agent in black sweats a black cap, add a toy laser or laser pointer, and finish it with a loop of black rope attached to his hip. You can create puppies and kittes bunnys and lambs. All with a little imagination. All it takes is a look around the house and an idea or two to get the ball rolling but once the ideas start flowing you will be looking for kids to dress up.  Supplies that can inspire and are helpful to have or look around for:
I hope you all found this article helpful and inspiring. Have a safe and Happy Halloween! Page content 2004 - Lotsofkids.com |
