These homemade Halloween costume ideas will save you money and create lasting memories. If you have the time (and patience), below are some good ideas for costumes and why this will create high quality memories with your itty-bitties. First, the reasons why you should do it.
Why Make a Homemade Halloween Costume?
When at your googling fingertips is the entire world of the craftiest of crafters and the most imaginative of the imaginative, why in the world would anyone take the time to make a homemade Halloween costume for their kids?
Sure, you can just order online from some fancy Etsy shop or pick up a used one at Once Upon a Child. But where’s the fun in that? Put some money into your children’s emotional piggy bank and get crafting.
Think of doing artsy things with your kids as a two-fold investment. Not only does it sharpen their perceptive skills by analyzing the visuality of a costume but it shows them they can take an idea and give it form.
Furthermore, when the caregiver maintains a warm and positive presence, it fulfills the child’s need for your special attention. Making something together builds trust and competence and teaches them that their ideas can become something in the world.
And let’s not forget, it can be really fun! Let yourself play and get your creative hair down. Next, let’s explore a few homemade Halloween costume ideas.
Easy (-ish) Costumes to Make
My oldest son is now 16 so unfortunately he doesn’t want to make Halloween costumes anymore. But throughout his life, we’ve made a handful, as you can see in the above photos. Here are a few androgenous ones we’ve made that with a bit of planning and time, you can too!
The Viking
The first homemade costume I made was The Viking. My sister and I did this when my little guy was 2.
To do:
- cut an old woolen jacket or sweater into the shape of a cloak.
- Next, super or hot glue polyfill (Micheals craft store) or faux fur to the edges of it.
- Then, adhere duct tape over the entire outside of a beanie hat (make sure it’s rounded as best you can).
- Take the back of a cracker or cereal box and roll it into the shape of a cone. Make two of these and tape them so they hold the cone shape.
- Next, paint them the same color as the duct-taped hat if not using the same color duct tape.
- Duct tape them to the hat.
- Dress the kid in matching pants and some boots with extra wool sweater taped over the tops an voila! Simple Viking outfit.
Second homemade Halloween Costume: the Firetruck.
The Firetruck Homemade Halloween Costume
- First, find a box big enough to fit over your child comfortably if you cut out a head and arm holes. Cut out those holes.
- Next, on separate pieces of cardboard, cut out round shapes for the wheels. Super glue them to the box (or wait until you paint to do that.
- Draw a front window and paint it light blue or cut out a front window.
- Then, paint the rest fire engine red. Do the outlines of the window and arm holes black.
- Next, accent the wheels black with white details. Get creative for other details.
- Finally, dress your child in all red with a red hat or buy a fireman’s suit to wear with it.
As you can see in the below photo, we made space in the back for his candy bag! Let’s take another idea.
The Astronaut
Ok, this one actually took us a while but we had fun doing it over a rainy weekend at home. I didn’t have white pants for him. Instead, I used silver duct tape to tape strips of and old white sheet to his pajama pants (and it actually held together all night long!).
That’s why you see the stripe down the side of the astronaut pants in the below photo. A Happy Mistake, as Bob Ross would say! See, that’s part of the fun of crafting with your kid: you can also teach them about spontaneity. Being flexible when your original idea didn’t pan out and how to improvise is a good lesson!
The How-To:
We had some NASA patches that we’d gotten from a STEM summer camp that I sewed onto the shirt. However, you can get some online. We used chunky winter boots for the moonboots. The longest, and most rewarding part, was making the helmet. My son had a great time with this sloppy task!
- First, we blew up a balloon bigger than his head and paper mache’d it (see link for recipe and mache instructions). Allow a full 24 hours for it to dry.
- Next, pop the balloon, and paint like an astronaut helmet (I painted a large “USA” on the back of the helmet).
- For the mask at the front of the helmet, I cut a 2-litter of Coke bottle and taped the sharp edges with duct tape.
- Then, I duct taped it to the inside of the helmet! This costume was a big hit with parents and friends.
Being so obviously homemade but well-done, people appreciated the effort that went into it. My son was glowing with pride. Now, it’s your turn!
Get Crafting Those Costumes
Finally, I hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas. Set an intention to make your kids Halloween costumes. Remember that with a bit of planning and time set aside, you can really fill your child up with such good energy and love.
Not only will you wind up having fun but your kid will think you’re kind of a super hero! For more ideas on homemade Halloween costume ideas, head over to Pinterest ideas here. Happy Halloween!