Creative Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas

Halloween is my very favorite holiday. Why? Well, because it has so much to offer on so many levels. There are non-scary, very cute things for young children. Then, the other end of the spectrum has creepy, scary, almost gross stuff for the experienced Halloweener. And the Halloween costumes just fall right into those same lines. What fun!

Being the mother of six has really lead me to some creative thinking when it comes to costumes. As my children get older, they can come up with their own totally creative ideas.

Mermaids and pirates are not found in my house during Halloween. Nope. Here are some of my favorite homemade costumes that I have done with my children over the years. Hopefully something will spark an idea for your own wonderfully creative costumes.

1. The Sprout - the Green Giant's Little Friend

This costume worked really great for infants and toddlers. It was so cute. I used a green footed sleeper and a bonnet. I created one very large leaf with construction paper. I drew the leaf veins with a Sharpie. The large leaf was safety pinned to the bonnet. After that was complete, I made lots of smaller leaves using the same method, only safety pinning them to the sleeper. This made the cutest little sprout there ever was! Now, if you are worried about it getting wet you could use felt or fun foam to create the leaves. It would be just as cute and probably hold up better.

2. The Huggies - Mobile

Another cute costume was what I dubbed the Huggies Mobile. My little son just loved this one. Simply put, I used and empty box and cut a circle out of the bottom. The circle was large enough for my son's waist. Using a pair of suspenders, I could then keep the upside down box safely in place. The box was painted and I added four small paper plates to serve as wheels. The plates were painted black. On the front of the box, I cut two small circles toward the outside and placed two flashlights to serve as headlights. Those were dual purpose too. Headlights and safety feature during Trick-or-Treating. Now, old flashlights were top heavy, but flashlights are so much lighter now. I don't think it would be an issue. What a fun costume that Huggies Mobile turned out to be. This idea would be easily modified changing it into any type of vehicle. Maybe a bright red fire engine or a speedy race car would suit your child better. The possibilities are endless really.

3. Albert Einstein

My eleven year old son found a mask at a thrift store. It reminded him of Albert Einstein. He purchased it on the spot. Then we discussed how we might finish off this great costume. Back to the thrift store we went and purchased a suit jacket and pants that matched pictures of Einstein from my son's class room. He really pulled off that costume well. It was very inexpensive since we obtained all the parts from the thrift store. If you can't find a mask that would work (and I don't believe that my son's is for sale) you could always get a white wig and tease it into an Einstein wild style. It was a great costume idea for my fifth grader.

4. Cute Cats

Handmade costumes with multiple functions are great for many years or many kids. My mother-in-law sewed some simple sleeveless dresses in leopard patterns. She skillfully added tails as well. These were for the preschool aged daughters. So we simply added a black nose and a few whiskers with make-up and the girls were suddenly cute cats! Remove the tail and you have Tarzan's Jane. Or maybe your child would rather be a Cheetah Girl! There are so many creative possibilities.

The bottom line with any Halloween costume is that it fits the child's personality and is safe for them to wear. The more creative, the more fun! Halloween is truly my favorite holiday. I hope these ideas have helped. I would love to see your creative costume ideas. Have a Great and Happy Halloween!