Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas

By Tonia Jordan

My mother didn’t believe in buying ready-made costumes from a store, but handcrafted or improvised each of my Halloween costumes when I was a child. Some of my favorites were a ladybug, a mime, and a rock star.

Making a costume for your toddler can be a fun experience and an opportunity for quality time with your child. In many cases, there is very little to purchase to create a great costume. Many materials needed are already owned and can be improvised upon without permanently altering the materials by use of hem tape, fabric glue or masking tape.

You can also create homemade make-up for costumes by mixing two tablespoons of cornstarch with one tablespoon of shortening. Mix on wax paper for easy cleaning and add food-coloring to create different colors.

Think of it as an opportunity to expand your child’s (and your own) creativity and imagination!

A few ideas to get you started:

Ladybug – Use dark clothing, like sweatshirts and pants (this can also help with those cold October days). Take a red saucer (like the ones used for sledding in winter) and paint black circles on the back. Use rope or cloth to attach loops for the child’s arms or Velcro to attach the saucer to the back of the shirt. (Poster board can also be used in place of the saucer)

Rock Star – a colorful wig can be purchased or made out of paper or yarn. Colorful clothing and make-up add flair to the costume of a rock star.

Bumble Bee – Add stripes of black electrical tape to a yellow raincoat. Fashion black pipe cleaners to a headband for antenna.

Mummy: Use white clothing and wrap a few pieces of gauze or white cloth around the child’s body.

Skunk: Paint a white stripe down the back of a black shirt. Simple yet creative!

Spider: Use cheap pantyhose for the legs of the spider. Fill hose with lightweight dark material and pin to dark clothing.

Clown: Oversized bright colored clothing work well for clowns. Use white face paint, and paint red circles on the child’s cheeks. Carry balloons, juggling balls or similar clown items.

Pumpkin: Dress child in over-sized orange sweatshirt and dark colored pants. Draw pumpkin face on the shirt and add a green cap to child’s head for a perfect pumpkin.

A bunch of grapes: a solid colored green or black shirt is used for this costume. Attach purple balloons to the costume with tape to create a bunch of grapes.

Angel: Use white colored clothing. Add white pipe cleaners fashioned into a circle to a headband for halo. Instant angel!

For Babies:

Bunny: A great one for babies. Dress the baby in a sleeper and add some matching fabric for floppy ears. Paint a few whiskers on baby’s cheeks for a cute bunny. (Works similarly for kittens and puppies)

Flower: Paint a green stripe down the center of sleeper. Add fabric around a cap for flower petals.

There are a nearly unlimited amount of options for homemade costumes if you use your imagination. Look around you for simple ideas that are quite creative and different! Over all, remember to have fun and include your child in the creation process.