Written By:  Leslie Means

Update:  This is a post from last October. Clearly back then – I had more ambition. This year, I bought a crocodile costume and a witch costume for my girls. The exact thing I was trying to avoid last year. Such is life. If you have more ambition than I do – check out these homemade costume ideas!

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Halloween costumes are crazy expensive.

Seriously.

Do I really want to spend 30 bucks on an over-sized unicorn with no originality?

Unfortunately, that’s what I usually do. I think that’s what many of us do. Life is busy and we simply don’t make time for it.

For the past 4 years I’ve gone down the “buy something last minute at the store” route. I want to change that this year. Several reasons:

1. It’s too easy not to make it on my own.

2. I can save money if I make my own.

3. It’s a great way to create memories for my kids.

I loved Halloween as a kid. Every year my mom would create a masterpiece out of simple materials she had around the house. I couldn’t wait to put on my unique costume and stand out in my classroom. This was one of my all time favorites:

The only trouble with this guy? I got stuck between the bus seats. It’s a bit bulky, but so fantastic! I’ve found a few other ideas floating around the web using a cardboard box as your base. But first, here’s how I made my dice – er, die costume.

Dice/Die Costume 

Materials Needed:

1 box

White spray paint,  tissue paper or even fuzzy white fabric to cover the brown box

Black card stock, black fabric or even a black permanent marker to make circles

Scissors or box cutter

Spray adhesive or glue

Directions

Cut arm and neck holes into cardboard box.

Cover box in white material of your choice.

Cut black circles out of materials following the true look of a die (example, 6 dots on one side, 4 on the next – etc).

Adhere circles onto box or if you’re using a permanent marker simply draw them on.

Finish look with black pants and face paint. Favorite childhood cat and homemade hanging skeleton (found in picture) optional.

 

Queen of Hearts (that’s my sister, Lindsay wearing the card)

Materials Needed:

White card stock or boxes cut into rectangles

White spray paint or white tissue paper (if your cardboard is not white)

Colored markers to create your design (mom drew this on. You could print/trace if needed)

Strong ribbon 

Spray adhesive

Box cutter or scissors

Directions:

Cut cardboard or card stock into appropriate sizes for card. Make sure  you create two pieces.

Cover cardboard/card stock with white materials.

Draw image onto card.

Cut ribbon to appropriate size. Adhere to both pieces. This will create a base to hold the cards together. Finish with homemade crown or heck, even a Burger King crown would be fun (as a King, of course).

Here’s a few more I found floating around the web – all simple and inexpensive. All use a cardboard box as the base!

S’more ~ love this idea. You can do the same original steps for the dice then just add cardboard to the ends!

Washing Machine – cover it with white and add a few embellishments to create the washing machine

 Raisins – I love this one!

Not into cardboard this Halloween? Check out this website for fantastic kid costume ideas!

Need an inexpensive adult costume idea? Click here!

Now tell me please – what are your kids going to be this Halloween?