Amy of The Umbrella Tree Cafe is back with timely tips for frugal Halloween costume ideas. As a mom of 5 kids, I always appreciate stretching my Halloween costume budget as far as possible!
Last month, Amy wrote about Back to School Traditions for Preschool and Kindergarten.
I’m so excited to be sharing Halloween costume ideas. My kids love imaginative play, and Halloween just gives us another reason to create a new dress up costume. It’s a great excuse to roll up your sleeves and make something. I try to use elements that can be worn again and keep my kids warm. Last year I made these incredibly easy Minion costumes that my kids still wear on a regular basis.
Right now, you have plenty of time to create a Pinterest-worthy costume to wow your friends and family with your creativity. Sometimes though, you just won’t have time or energy to get out the sewing machine or make elaborate costume plans.
That’s when you go to your own closet for inspiration!
One of my best tricks for easy and inexpensive dress up or Halloween costumes for kids is to go to my own closet. I have a lot of long sleeve collared shirts from my time in the professional world that are a little two small or have a small stain. Sometimes I just don’t like it anymore and will never wear it, yet there it hangs. When I’m in a pinch for a quick inexpensive costume, my own closet always serves as inspiration.
3 DIY Halloween Costume Ideas to Make With Your Old Shirts
Pirate
For this pirate costume, I found an old black button up shirt. I cut off the sleeves and most of the shirt to make a pirate vest for my son’s Halloween costume. The rest of the costume consisted of a small child’s white t-shirt, a cut up men’s t-shirt for the bandana, and some pirate accessories from Party City. I cut the white t-shirt and used a piece of yarn to make laces.
We got most of our accessories like earrings and pirate money in the Party Favor section of Party City, but it’s just as easy to make your own.
Make Your Own Pirate Accessories:
- Cut the shape of the sword out of cardboard and cover it in duct tape or spray paint to make it silver.
- Eye patches are also easy to make with a piece of cardboard and a small piece of elastic.
- A paper towel or toilet paper tube would make a great spy glass.
Scientist or Veterinarian
Another item from my closet that gets used a lot in dress up play is again a button up shirt. With the same shirt, your child can be a scientist, a doctor, or a veterinarian. Because it’s an adult shirt, it looks like a long white lab coat on a little kid. Just change up the accessories. Paired with some goggles and a science play set my son became a scientist. With his doctor kit, he’s a veterinarian or a doctor.
How do you use items from around the house in your costumes?
Homemade Halloween Costumes: Race Car Drive, Lion, and Soldier
The pirate costume is simply adorable!
These are really great ideas! You are so right, you can make a wonderful costume from what you have at home.
Judee @ Gluten Free A-Z recently posted..What is Iridology and How can it Help You?
So thrifty! Love it!!
Great tips! So cute and easy
Caitlin recently posted..And my computer is done
The are some cool ideas. I plan on making my kids Halloween costumes this year. I can use all the help I can get:) Thank you for sharing this with us at last week’s Teach Me Tuesday Linky Party! We hope to see you there again tonight starting @ 9pm est:)
Adrian recently posted..Are you on Tsu?