Starting a D.I.Y. Costume Tradition
3 costumes you can make for under $20 – no needles required
When it comes to Halloween costumes, kids can be fickle. How many times did you set your heart on a certain costume three months in advance and then set your eyes on something entirely different – three days in advance? Hand making the kids’ costumes is one Halloween tradition that allows for fickleness and frugalness. Before dashing to the craft store to purchase supplies, take a look inside your child’s closet – you may already have half the materials you need to make memorable costumes.
The little ones do look adorable in their round, orange pumpkin costumes, but we need a new fruit in this pumpkin-saturated market. The comfy strawberry adds a red and leafy
twist to the Halloween spirit and tops any run-of-the-mill option from the seasonal costume store. Add red tights and shoes if the night is cool.
You Will Need: 1 unmarked child’s size red sweatshirt (this should fit as an oversized dress on the baby) ($10) / 20 dime-sized gold bells, buttons or small pins ($2) / 1 18×36” length of green felt ($2) / Scissors / Hot glue gun
To Assemble: 1. Cut the sleeves neatly off of the red sweatshirt. / 2. Hot glue the gold buttons to the front and back of the sweatshirt as strawberry seeds. (Note: If your baby is able to pick at the buttons, skip the choking hazard and draw black seeds on the sweater with a black marker instead.) / 3. Fold the green felt in half and draw a half circle on the side with the fold (like making a Valentine heart). Cut out the half circle and discard. The remaining felt should form an empty circle big enough to fit over your baby’s head. / 4. Draw wavy leaves around the now empty half circle. Cut out the leaves, keeping them all connected at their base. / 5. Fit the green felt over the neck of the sweatshirt and glue the base of the leaves around the neck’s hem. / 6. Slip the sweatshirt over the baby and voila! You can’t pick them any cuter.
Given the popularity of the app, the Fruit Ninja will surely bring familiar smiles and compliments for creativity. If you do not have a karate uniform, don’t worry! Black pants and a T-shirt will suffice. This easy costume takes only a few minutes to assemble and scores big points for ingenuity.
You Will Need: 1 black T-shirt / 1 Martial Arts Uniform ($10) / Plastic Fruit ($9) / Hot Glue Gun
To Assemble: 1. Using a hot glue gun, glue plastic fruit all around the uniform’s shirt. / 2. Cut a strip of the black T-shirt off to tie around your child’s head. / 3. After the fruit has dried, slip on the black T-shirt, pull over the fruit-covered uniform and tie on the black headband. / 4. Go pick a fight with produce!
While Superman and Batman kick butt, we already know exactly who they are and what super powers they possess. Why not create a new hero? Your children can make up their own super powers, wear their own costumes and colors, and fight their own kind of crime.
You Will Need: 1 pair of single-color sweatpants / 1 single-color T-shirt / 1 pillowcase / 1 basic pair of tennis shoes / 1 package of iron-on letters, shapes ($4-$10) / 1 9×12” piece of black felt ($1) / 1 12” elastic cord ($1.50) / Scissors / Hot glue gun
To Assemble: 1. Iron on the words and shapes you desire for the costume according to the directions on the package. / 2. Cut a pillowcase at the seams, making the case into a one-sided sheet – or cape. / 3. Using a hot glue gun, glue the top of the pillowcase to the T-shirt, right at the shoulders. / 4. Stencil an outline of a mask and eyeholes onto the black felt and cut around the outlines. / 5. Cut two small holes on the farthest corners of the mask. Slip and tie the elastic cord through the holes to complete. / 6. Suit up and save the world! M
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