Since when did Halloween get so expensive for kids? A stroll through the costume shop and you can easily be out a $100 just to get a neat costume, only to then to see half a dozen other children with the exact same thing on Halloween night!
I prefer the old fashioned route: DIY costumes, as in do it yourself.
Here are my favorite home made ideas that anyone can do with a little time and creativity.
Holly Golightly
Audrey Hepburn immortalized this character in her Breakfast at Tiffany’s movie. Simply by copying her outfit and adding one crucial detail – her sleep mask – you can be her for Halloween. There are a number of patterns circulating for free on the internet so you can make the mask at home, but if you’re feeling lazy, check out this site on the Breakfast at Tiffany’s Sleep Mask.
A Good Old Fashioned Bum
Oh this one is just too easy. Got an old shirt lying around? Maybe some beat up jeans? Good. Put them on and roll around in the dirt and you’re ready to go as soon as you grab your hobo stick, which can be made in about 5 seconds by taking a long thin branch and tying a handkerchief to the end of it. Bonus props: any number of alcoholic beverages, as appropriate.
Hillbilly
Being from the south I don’t have to try to hard to put this one together, but the Hillbilly is a classic theme that’s sure to get some laughs. A pair of overalls is key and if you can get some straw, shove it around here and there to poke out of your pockets. Your teeth need to look dirty so you can either spend a dollar on a pair of fake hillbilly teeth and bake up some caramel and smear it around in your mouth. For fun, practice your southern drawl before hand and get ready to talk like a hillbilly all night!
Cereal Killer
This one is great and credit goes a woman named Gail McNitt for this idea. Basically all you do is save a bunch of your cereal boxes, and attach them to your shirt or around your body. Cut them open with a knife so they look like they’ve been attached, squirt some fake blood on them, and walk around with a knife. What are you? Why, a cereal killer of course.
When you were a kid how did your parents dress you for Halloween? I’m sure you had some clever home made costumes. Feel free to drop them in the comments below, thanks!











