Cheap weekend project: make a Halloween costume
Nothing is worse than spending too much money for an unoriginal Halloween costume.* All Hallow's Eve is still weeks away, and you (or your offspring, or your pets) might not even have any plans yet.
But you can save yourself some cash by thinking of an idea now and putting it together, rather than waiting until the last minute and plunking down your hard-earned cash in exchange for whatever is leftover at the seasonal Halloween store. [ed note: ok, those costumes to the left aren't homemade, but they made me laugh. so there. -- DD]
Planning ahead of time also allows you to get the best deals on essential supplies. No need to pay top dollar for aluminum foil for your Sputnik headpiece, hours before you head to a party ... instead, shop around and save!
You also don't need to be super handy or even own a sewing machine --- there are plenty of no-sew options. You can do wonders with fuseable tape, spray adhesives and other quick fasteners, according to sewing.org.
If you do go the DIY route, Consumer Reports reminds everyone to think of safety when making your own Halloween costumes. Consider the weather, and make sure to make eyeholes large and add reflective tape to dark fabrics so they can be seen at night.
Here are some links with Halloween costume ideas, some no-sew:
--- Parenting blogger Kate shared some easy costume ideas from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
--- About.com's Family Crafts site has a compendium of Halloween costume patterns and ideas, including recipes for face paint and fake blood.
--- Martha Stewart's site has a lot of beautifully executed Halloween costumes that seem ... somewhat ambitious to make at home. The site's a great source of inspiration, at the very least.
*Okay, perhaps some things are worse than paying too much for a bad outfit ...
Making your child wear a toilet costume is terrible. And the site suggests you can pull it out year-round as a contemporary dunce cap.
Shocking.
Comments
This is by far one of the best ways to save money at Halloween. We've been doing this with our kids for years. One of the great things is that you get some amazing comments when you come up with something unique (my son wanted to be a birdhouse one year). Store-bought costumes looks so similar, but if you put some money into a homemade one it looks like you cared. :)
DD: Matt, we'd love to see that birdhouse costume! Send us a photo or a link.
Posted by: Matt | October 13, 2008 9:04 AM
Good Halloween costume selection online at Sortprice.com too:
www.sortprice.com/halloween.html
DD: Thanks for the tip, Kris!
Posted by: Kris Stern | October 13, 2008 10:16 AM
Hi! Me and some of my buds are being barbies for halloween... and we have no idea what to where. we plan on making homemade costumes cuz we are all 13, and thought it would be coolto make our own costumes. We want to dress up like a barbie doll we have so everyone will know what we are!
Hmmm ... I agree, it's ideal when people can tell what you are just by looking at you, rather than having to ask. Maybe you folks should carry the Barbies with you?
Here's another idea, although it's a bit cumbersome: you could be a Barbie in a box! --- lfk
Posted by: Sierra | October 13, 2008 9:23 PM
first of all are you all guys that are going to dress like barbie? and i like wearing tight skinny jeans, lo cut shirts. maybe you guys could wear bra's and stuff them to look like you have boobs. then you could get lo cut shirts of your sister's or of a girlfriend. wear cute girly shoes and get a blonde wig. i'll come up with other ideas and let you know. but let me know what you think of what i have already offered. thanks love ya rachael..
DD: I hate to sound like a concerned parent (since I only have a dog), but I'm all for young kids looking like young kids and not too sexy. Just my two cents. I'm not sure how old you are, rachael, but if you're on the young-ish side, maybe we could skip the low cut shirts and just wear pretty Barbie-like dresses that cover all your parts. Plus, it could really be cold out there on Halloween. Winter-Barbie with snow boots, jeans and big heavy sweaters would be really great.
Posted by: rachael | October 21, 2008 1:38 PM