by Phil Sikes

Homemade children’s Halloween costumes can be fun to make if your children help, but you have to consider the cost and time you put into it if the children are not participating and learning how to do it with you. Sometimes it can be more economical to save your time and buy a ready made costume at the prices now available in the shops.

In order to keep expenses down on homemade children’s costumes, use old clothes you find at home or in thrift stores as the basis for the outfits. If you do this, the majority of the work on the costume will be related to the accessories, which are more fun to design and make anyway.

Take for example a scarecrow outfit. Somewhere in your family closets there is likely to be a well worn, torn and frayed pair of jeans, and an old shirt. You may even be able to find an old straw hat. From that foundation costume, glue some straw under the hat and around the cuffs of the shirt and pants.

The details could include a bird sitting on the scarecrow’s hat and some creative face painting. The idea is to create a unique and interesting look.

A basic pirate costume could be made from little more than an old shirt and cut down old jeans, with a bandana around the head. Your main effort would go into setting up the accessories such as a broad belt and sword, an eye patch, face painting and artificial tattoos.

A simple witch costume starts with nothing more than a long sleeved turtle neck and a pair of stretchy pants. Just add a long black cape, a tall pointy hat, and whatever other details you want.

Other colors could become animal costumes with the addition of a tail, ears, mittens and some face paint. Some costume shops have partial costumes such as faces, noses, tails and ears available to add these features to your basic costume.

If your child decides to dress up as a tiger this Halloween, then all you really need to get started is some orange clothing and black fabric paint to make stripes with. Lots of kids love Winnie the Pooh. Making this costume requires little more than a yellow outfit filled with some stuffing.

About the Author:
Now’s the time to start planning your Halloween costumes for this year. Don’t wait until it’s too late and the good ones are all sold out. Get lots of creative costume ideas on the Get In Costume website, where you can also get a free copy of my report “The Family Guide To Halloween Safety.”.