Wickedly easy Halloween costumes

The best costumes come from a children imagination - after all, Halloween is a chance for kids to act out a fantasy. To help your child pick up his/her Halloween disguise/costume (if they are old enough to do so:)), have him or her brainstorm a list of all his/her favorite things, be it a food, an animal, a movie/cartoon character, or even a toy. Once you have decided on an idea, search for it on Internet, or you can adapt any ideas from those I've gathered for you in this lens.

Check the list of materials you need for your child costume and start collecting them at least 2 weeks before Halloween. You might need to go to a fabric store (for fabric, felt, ropes, ribbons) and a craft store (for fabric paints, craft foam, face paints), and a glue gun from warehouse, etc. Also, to save some money, you can check out a thrift shop near your area for cheap hats, glasses, and other accessories... To keep costs down, you can hit a discount store for on-sale stuff such as leggings, sweaters, turtlenecks, and sweat suits, -- anything you need for your costume(s). Also don't forget to save some recycled stuff from your house, you might need something to use for it too. Could be that you need to save some recyclables for a month! So, you'll need to think ahead of time to have all needed materials on hand.

When creating a costume, encourage your child to participate as much as he/she can, and add personal touches: choosing a favorite color, adds an accessories, or personalize the costume with paint. As a result a child will take huge pride in creating process of his/her costume.

Materials

2 sheets of corrugated cardboard

Utility knife

Tempera paints

Cellophane

8 feet of cording

2 googly eyes

2 silly straws

knit ski cap

blue shirt, tights, and socks

Sneakers

48-inch piece of fiberfill batting

24-inch piece of nylon rope

Diaper pins

The wings:

1) Draw the butterfly wings on one piece of the cardboard that extends roughly from the top of your child's hips to the back of his/her head and no more than 8inches beyond his/hers shoulders.

2) Draw a simple decorative design/pattern on the wings.

3) Cut out the wing shape and pattern using a utility knife (this job for parents only).

4) Trace the shape onto second cardboard and cut out.

5) Paint one side of each wing shape. When dry, place one wing, paint side down, on your work surface and cut pieces of the cellophane to lay over the cutouts in the wing.

6) Glue the second wing on top so that the cellophane is sandwiched between two parts of wings.

7) Poke three holes in the wing (as shown on the picture) and thread the cording through them so it hangs evenly.

The antennas:

1) glue one googly eye to the tip of each Silly Straw;

2) then tape the straws, as shown, about halfway down the ski hat.

3) Fold up the brim to hide the tape

The body:

Have your child put on the shirt, tights, and sneakers. Pull the socks on over his/hers sneakers. Wrap the batting around child's middle a few times, then tightly wrap the piece of nylon over the batting. Use a few diaper pins to pin the nylon in place.

Assembly:

Your child should put one arm through each cord strap, so he/she wears these wings as a backpack. Run the cord ends around his/her waist a few times and tie in place.

Trick costume

This creepy optical illusion is so convincing that friends and family, and everyone your child going to meet this night will be guessing all night long "Is that one person or two?"

Materials:

Backpack

Newspaper

Black T-shirt or turtleneck

Pair of tights

Loose, long sleeved black dress

Sheer nylon sock

Fiberfill batting

Full-head mask

Duct or craft tape

2 large googly eyes

6 diaper pins

Sleeper pajamas 9size 12-18 months)

Pair of mittens

2 feet of ½-inch-wide ribbon (optional)

Baby style bonnet

Cane and purse

1 pair black shoes

Old Lady:

Stuff the backpack with newspaper. Have your child put on the t-shirt or black turtleneck, depending on the neckline of the dress, tights and stuffed backpack as shown. If the dress is too long, pin or hem it up.

The Mask:

Stuff the nylon sock with the batting, then put it inside the mask to create a head shape. With a loop of tape, attach googly eyes to the stuffed sock through the eyeholes. Pin one pair of knee-highs to the back of the mask and tie them loosely around your child's neck.

The baby:

Stuff the pajamas and mittens with batting or newspaper. Pin the mittens to the pajama sleeves. Next, open the pajamas to the middle of the chest and snap them around your child's neck as shown. (Tip: to loosen the fit, thread ribbon through both sides of the collar and tie.)

Assembly:

Pin the 'baby' to the dress. Place the bonnet on your child's head and add the cane, purse, shoes, knee-highs, and pinned on pacifier.

Classic costume

An angel on Halloween? Such a costume on may seem incongruous on this mischievous holiday, but somebody has to keep an eye on all the little devils running around.

Materials:

Corrugated cardboard

Gold spray paint

White fabric or sheet (approximately 2 yards long by 1 yard wide)

2 yards of gold ribbon (optional)

8 foot length of gold cording

4 foot strand of start garland (available at party stores)

The wings:

Draw a fanciful wing shape on the piece of cardboard. It should extend roughly from the top of your child's hips to the back of her head and no more than 8 inches beyond her shoulder (our angel has a two foot wingspan) cut out the shape, poke three holes, two near the tope, one near the bottom, as shown, in the wings. In a ventilated area spray paint the wings gold.

The robe:

Fold the piece of fabric in half so the two short ends meet. In the center of the fold, cut a slit for your child's head. Slip the robber over her head and have her stand with arms extended. If the robe is too long, cut or hem it, if you wish, attach a stripe of gold ribbon with a loose running stitch about 5 inches up from the bottom hem.

Assembly:

Thread one end of the gold cord through one of the top wing holes and the other cord end through the other top hole. Adjust so the ends hang evenly. Hold the wings up to your child's back, laying one cord over each shoulder. Cross the cords over her chest, then around to her back, and through the bottom hole Ii the wings. Wrap the cord ends under the base of the wings and then belt them around her waist, for the halo, wind the star garland into a hoop shape.

Classic costume

A flock of cute crows (made from toddler socks) roosts on this classic scarecrow costume. This sweet fellow is stuffed with soft straw cut from craft foam, which is available at craft stores for about $1 a sheet.

Materials:

Scarecrow:

1 sheet of each of beige, yellow, and brown craft foam

3 large calico fabrics 'patches'

denim overalls

safety pins

yellow turtle neck

striped socks

flannel plaid shirt

work gloves

work boots

self-adhesive velcro squares

canvas or star hat

Crows:

2 pairs of black toddler socks

fiberfill batting

12 black feathers

fabric glue or needle and thread, yellow construction paper scraps

8 googly eyes

2 yellow pipe cleaners

Scarecrow straw

Pic.#1.

Cut three 4 inch wide strips out of the beige craft foam: two that are long enough to fit around your child's wrists, and one that will fit comfortably around his neck. Next, cut a wavy edge along the top of all the foam strips to give the straw an uneven appearance. Then fringe the top of each, leaving the bottom inch intact, as shown, make straw for stuffing into the scarecrows pockets by cutting thin strips of all the craft foam colors.

Patched overalls:

Arrange the calico fabric patches on the knees and front pocket of the overalls and pin them in place

Baby sock crows

Pic.#2. Use one black sock for each bid., the toe will become the head, the heel will be its belly, and the cuff will be it's tail.

Pic.#3. Stuff each sock with batting and poke a black feather unto the cuff. Fold the cuff around the feather and either stitch or glue the cuff closed. To make the beak, fold a yellow paper scrap in half and cut out a triangle along the fold line (when you open the beak it should be a diamond shape-glue the fold of the beak and a pair of googly eyes to the toe of the sock. Poke half a yellow pipe cleaner through the heel of the sock, then fold each end into a foot shape. Glue feather wings to the sides of each bird.

Assembly:

have your child put on the turtle neck, striped socks, and flannel shirt . next slip on the gloves, patched overalls, and work boots and roll up the overall cuffs. Wrap the finished straw bands around his wrists, ankles and neck and attach with the Velcro square closures, stuff the extra straw into the pockets of his overalls and shirt.

Pic.#4. Glue straw onto the hat, finally pin each bird by it's belly to the hat, overall pocket, shoulder, and glove.

Animal Costume

Make way for ducklings, In these matching costumes, your family will quack up every household you visit on Halloween.

Materials:

White baseball hat

½ yard orange felt

Glue stick

4 black felt circles

2 white pom-poms

Sneakers

Self-adhesive Velcro strips

2 large orange socks

fiberfill batting

white sweatshirt (oversized)

1/3 yard yellow felt

1 yard white felt

orange leggings

white turtle neck

white cloth tape or duct tape

The cap:

trace the baseball hat visor onto range felt twice, leaving a 1 inch margin around the front and sides. Cut out the shapes and then glue to the end top and underside of the visor, they'll overlap a bit. Form the black felt, cut four dime sized circles, glue two to the visor for nostrils and the other two to the white pom-poms for eyeballs. Glue the pom-poms to the front of the hat.

The feet:

Trace your child's sneakers onto orange felt, leaving a 1-inch margin. Cit out the shapes, adding three webbed toes to each, fold the feet in half lengthwise and cut an asterisk onto the back center of each foot as shown, leaving a 3.4d inch margin around the opening, apply Velcro strips to the bottoms of the duck feet and tops of the orange socks

Body:

Shape batting into a thick cylinder as wide as your child's waist and tape it inside the back of the sweatshirt. Cut three tail feathers, about 12 inches long, from the yellow and white felt. To make the wings, cut two rectangles lf white felt about 20 inches by 8 inches. Fold each in half and trace a simple wing patter onto the felt. Ct out the pattern, as shown, then glue the wing tips together, leaving a wide sleeve for your child's arm

Assembly:

put on the leggings and the white turtleneck, next put on the duck feet then the sneakers with socks over them . Last. put on the sweatshirts and tape the tail feathers to the back with cloth tape. Slip on the wings

Trick costume

To dress u p like this ghoulish giant, first make a large cardboard tube out of poster board and tape it (it should be about 1 ½ feet high) Cut two curves in the bottom so it rests comfortable on your child's shoulders. Measure and cut a hole in the tube for your child to put his head through. Cover the top of the tube with red fabric and dress it up with a shirt and jacket. With your child's face poking through the shirt, and with the sleeves tied under his chin, it will look as if this butler is carrying his own head.

Be sure your homemade costume is sturdy and fit well, unless you want your child to trip or knock over some Halloween decoration, poorly placed on spot.

Also make sure that if your child is wearing a mask does not obscure his/her vision. Each child should wear a reflecting tape/or to have reflective stripes on their clothes/shoes. And it's good idea to carry a flashlight with them.

You can video taped the process of creating a costume, or just taking few pictures during the process. Be sure to take a picture of your child before he/she going out of the door for trick-o-treating. Start a special album just for Halloween photos. And someday you'll very glad that you did!

Illegally Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids

Easy Halloween Costumes for Children