3 budget-friendly costume ideas for kids
| 3 min read
Whether your little one wants to be Iron Man, a spider, a lion or a princess, a fun Halloween costume is key to a great night of trick-or-treating. If you are on a budget, consider a homemade costume. Your kids will have a blast getting creative and helping make their own costume! Using things you may already have around the house, plus a few, low-cost purchases from the store, you and your child can make an impressive costume to be proud of. Whichever costume you choose, make sure your kids are in comfortable shoes. After all, Halloween is the perfect time for families to walk together and get some exercise! Don’t drive from house to house, get out and walk!
If your child loves animals:
PUPPY COSTUME
What You Have: Cotton balls, black eyeliner pencil, needle and thread
What You Need: White bodysuit (or a white sweatshirt and sweat pants), white cap, tan and brown felt, brown face paint, fabric glue
What To Do:
- Cut out spots from the felt and use fabric glue to attach them to the white sweatshirt and sweatpants; attach long ears cut from the felt to the white cap.
- Cut out two pieces of felt in the shape of a tail, stitch them together then turn them inside out.
- Fill the tail with cotton balls and stitch it to the sweatpants (or glue with your fabric glue).
- Finish the costume by drawing a nose and whiskers with a black eyeliner, and add brown face paint for the adorable spot around the eye.
If your child wants to save the world:
SUPERHERO COSTUMES
What You Have: Scissors, safety pin, string or ribbon
What You Need: Felt or sparkly paper, polyester satin, plain colored long sleeved t-shirt and leggings, fabric glue, bright colored duct/painters tape
What To Do:
- Cut out a symbol (lightning bolt, letters, star, planets, etc!) for the front of the t-shirt from the felt, then use fabric glue to attach.
- To make the cape, fold over an inch and sew one end of the polyester satin. Attach a safety pin to one end of the ribbon and thread through the hole. Tie the cape around your child’s neck loosely.
- Cut and glue cuffs and a belt to the t-shirt. To make a belt buckle, cut out a rectangle from a piece of bright colored duct tape and stick in the middle of the belt.
- Add a headband or mask to complete the outfit!
If your child likes creepy crawlers:
SPIDER COSTUME
What You Have: Pipe cleaners, black thread
What You Need: Black hooded sweatshirt and pair of sweat pants
What To Do:
- Braid three pipe cleaners together to make each of the spider legs then glue or sew an end to the sweatshirt. You should have three legs on both sides below the sleeves.
- Without changing the spacing of the legs, use craft thread to join the legs to each other and to the sleeve of the sweatshirt on each side. The thread keeps the legs up and moving with your child’s arms.
- Attach two pipe cleaners to make feelers to the tip of the hood and curve the pipe cleaners inward.
- For nighttime safety, add reflective tape to the sweatpants and sweatshirt.
As a Healthy Blue Xtras member, you can save money on supplies to create any Halloween costume at retailers across Michigan.
