DIY Halloween Costume Ides for a Fun & Affordable Spooky Season
By Jennifer Russo
With Halloween approaching, many are on the hunt for that perfect costume to transform themselves into someone entirely different for a party or trick or treat adventure. The holiday is a pretty big deal here in our area, but there are some pretty big prices on costumes in the store too. Instead of breaking the bank, why not get creative? DIY costume projects can be fun and often result in a more unique costume than anything you can find on a shelf. Save money this spooky season with these ideas or let them inspire you to come up with your own!
A Classic Mummy – I mean, probably the easiest thing to do other than cutting holes in sheets to be a ghost, simply get some old sheets and tear them up and bandage yourself until you are covered the way you want to be. Easy, and timeless.
A Tourist – another super simple one – all you need is a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, a straw hat, a camera, a fanny pack or gaudy tote bag, and a tropical looking drink cup. Wear sandals over socks to be a bit extra.
A Cereal Killer – get a bunch of cereal boxes, big or small and some plastic spoons and glue them all over a plain t-shirt. Add some fake blood for effect. Balanced breakfast with a touch of gore.
A Lego Block – Get a long-ish cardboard box, cut out square holes for your head and arms, and glue on 6 or 8 spray paint can lids or slices of a pool noodle so it’s in the shape of a Lego. Then spray paint whatever color you’d like (blue, yellow, and red are most common). Perfectly “built” costume!
A Despicable Me Minion – A yellow hoodie, black gloves, and some denim overalls are all you need for this transformation. Add some black pipe cleaner hair on the hood and a pair of black circular glasses for a completed look.
A Crazy Cat Lady – A fluffy bath robe, a few hair curlers, slippers, and some stuffed cat toys pinned on the ensemble and whaaalaaa – a meowtiful costume!
A Bunch of Grapes – Black leggings, a purple t-shirt, lots of inflated purple balloons and some fake leaves on the top of your head make you a perfect fruit and nothing to wine about.
A Jellyfish – This dollar-store masterpiece will have everyone smiling. Get a big plastic punch bowl, an old straw hat, 4-5 plastic tablecloths in either shades of blue or pink and white, some clear packing tape and a plain long or short sleeved t shirt that matches the color you are going for. Glue the bowl upside down onto the hat and then wrap it in one of the tablecloths. Cut the rest of the tablecloths into long strips. Use your thumbs to pull on the strips in different directions until they have a wavy look. Tape those to the underside of the hat. Want to make it extra special? Add some battery-powered twinkle lights.
A Mad Scientist – All you need is a white lab coat, a white crazy hair wig, a pair of protective goggles and some yellow dish gloves to pull this one off. Put the goggles on and add a little black eyeshadow (soot) around the edges and then just wear the goggles around the neck.
The Hocus Pocus Spell Book – You can use this idea to be any book, really, but this is an easy and fun one! You just need a big cardboard box, some metallic spray paint in aged copper, some toy snakes and one of those big stick-on googly eyes from the craft store. Cut two equal rectangles out of the box, spray paint it, stick on the snakes and eye (use a photo of the book for reference), draw on some of the “stitching” and then attach the two pieces with some wide elastics or rope to put over the shoulders.
Whatever you decide to be, make it creative, fun, and comfortable! There are a ton of resources with more DIY ideas online you can find for a more budget-friendly holiday. Happy Halloween!
