Do it Yourself Baby Holloween Costumes

Dressing up your baby for Halloween is probably one of the funest things for parents. You get to pick cute and interesting costumes without the child worrying about who is going to have the coolest costume or win the prize for the best costume in class. But don't worry, you don't have to go out and rent a fifty dollar costume that baby will probably just pull off or drool all over to have a great time on this fun holiday. Your kid can still be the coolest and cutest kid on the block without spending a fortune to make them up. Many great baby costume ideas are straight from the heart and the home, with minimal output from your pocketbook.

When dressing a baby for Halloween you want to remember safety first. Baby's tend to put just about anything in their mouths so you don't want to give them anything that has strings or small parts on it, or anything that could potentially be a choking hazard. Simple and cute is probably the best way to go. Many baby costumes can be made with just a little non toxic face paint and articles of clothing already laying around the house. Try to keep the paint to a bare minimum and make sure to read the back of the box to insure that if junior does smear it on his hands it will not harm him if he gets it in his mouth. In fact, most of the time you don't need paint at all, depending on what costume you pick. Here are some great do-it-yourself ideas that can take the hassle out of Halloween.

1. Animals - cat, dog, mouse - any of these can be made with the appropriate colored sweatpants and hooded shirt or sweatshirt. Use pipe cleaner to create the shapes of the ears and the tail then cut out the shape you are creating out of old material from a shirt or other article of clothing that doesn't fit anymore, wrap it around the pipe cleaner and sew it to the costume. To create the face all it takes is a little eyeliner to draw on whiskers and color the nose, you can even add eyebrows if you like. To add an extra touch you can buy mittens and shoes to match the outfit.

2. Princess - very simple costume. Use an old dress, or you can buy a nice one at an outlet store for a reasonable price if you don't have anything frilly. You can attach a pillow case or sham at the shoulders by sewing it on by hand for a cape. Dress shoes and some baby pantyhose are good for keeping their little legs warm. You can use a piece of poster board to cut out and decorate the shape of a crown using markers or stickers. Wrap it around the baby's head and tape or staple it. Don't worry about it being super sturdy cause they probably won't keep it on for very long but it makes a nice accessory. If you want to use jewelry, I suggest you buy the cheap costume jewelry from outlets like Family Dollar or The Dollar Tree and sew it to the fabric, especially necklaces. Don't use anything that dangles, has beaded parts on it or comes apart. If your baby doesn't have pierced ears, I would not suggest using the clip on earrings that usually come with costume sets because these fall off easily and have very small parts that could be a choking hazard.

3. Ghost - Use an old plain white pillow case, cut out the holes for arms and head. White knee socks and shoes go with the costume. You can paint their face white with face paint, or for those of us who don't like to use paint you can use a thick layer of baby powder and brush it on gently. The baby powder will rub off eventually but so does most face paint on kids by the end of the night. White gloves go nicely to accent the outfit. If you don't have an old pillow case to cut up, you can use a plain white sweat suit with a hood or one of Dad's old white T-shirts and a white pair of pants.

4. Superheroes - Most kids have a pair of superhero pajamas. Use the winterized ones that have long arms and legs. You can use a piece of old material or an old pillow case to sew it on to the back of the outfit for a cape. I suggest sewing capes on baby's because the kind that you buy at the store have long strings to tie them on and this is a choking hazard for baby's. If you don't have superhero pajamas, you can use a pants and shirt outfit of whatever color your favorite hero wears and paint on their custom logos with some fabric pens. Try to pick someone simple so you don't have to paint their face or try to come up with a mask.

5. Pirate - Use a white shirt, a black vest or cut up a black shirt to look like a vest by cutting off the arms and collar and slitting it up the middle. A pair of black pants, cut triangles out of the bottom. Use a bandana for the headpiece. You can even paint one eye black. Do this carefully by drawing a triangle above and below the eye and filling it in. I would suggest not painting the actual eye because baby's might rub the makeup and get it in their eye. If you want to be colorful, mix and match the outfit with what ever items you have handy that are one solid color. Black boots go well with this costume.

6. Witch - Baby can wear a black dress or an over sized black shirt with small triangles cut out of the bottom. You can buy a small witch hat at any local outlet. For those true do it yourselfers, you can make a witches hat with a small piece of small poster board, some pipe cleaner and some black material. Size your child's head and roll the poster board at an angle to create the cone. Glue this together and let dry by setting it on a bleach bottle or other item of appropriate size to hold it in place. Create the brim by tying together pipe cleaner in a large circle. tie several pieces pipe cleaner to the circle by one side. bring the other side into the middle so that it looks like a spoked wheel. Take the dry cone and attach these pieces to it using staples or duct tape. Drape the material over the cone so that it fits all the way around the cone and the brim and wraps to the inside of the cone. cut it to fit then use tacky glue or staples to fit it to the frame snuggly. Once it dries, decorate it with moons and stars with fabric paint. You can decorate the dress with fabric paint as well. Glow in the dark paint is great for an extra added noticability if you are going to be trick or treating with the child.

7. Clown - Use colorful clothing for this one. Pants with stripes or polka dots and a oversized shirt with the same. Use spray on hair coloring to paint different colored stripes in baby's hair. This is safer than a wig because they can't pull it off and you can wash it right out afterwards. Paint on circles on baby's face with lipstick or bright colored rouge. You can also draw stars with eyeliner or big bushy eyebrows are also cute. Baby can wear white gloves for the hands. Any color or style shoes match fine. Mismatched socks are cute.

8. Angel - A plain white dress, white stockings and shoes. Create the halo by using a small piece of poster board and wrapping it around baby's head to fit. Cut down to about a two inch strip and staple it together at the back. Use gold pipe cleaner. Staple or tape one end of a piece of pipe cleaner to the inside of the back of the poster board strip. Take two or three more pieced of pipe cleaner and tie them together at the ends to create a circle. Tie the other end of the first piece of pipe cleaner to that and bend in just a bit to create stability. Wings can be bought at a local outlet. You can create your own by bending pipe cleaner to the desired size and shape and tying together. Cover with tissue paper or construction paper and glue to the pipe cleaner, cutting it to fit the shape you have created. Glue on feathers, you can get a bag of many colors of feathers at any local sewing outlet or crafts store. (or if you really want to go cheap, use that old feather pillow that has like 10 holes in it anyway). This outfit can also be used to create a fairy by eliminating the halo and using multicolored feathers and clothing and adding a crown as described in the princess costume instructions.

9. Pebbles/Bam Bam - Use any style animal material, like tiger stripes, zebra stripes or leopard spots. Cut into a triangle. Tie together at the long ends over one shoulder. Wrap around baby so that it goes under the other arm and then sew together the sides that are hanging loose to create a toga like shape. Dress baby in a brown or dark beige turtleneck and brown sweatpants underneath to keep warm. Cover boots or tops of shoes with the same material to create the overall look of the outfit. For Pebbles, tie baby's hair in a ponytail at the top of the head. Bam Bam can carry a toy club. For even more decorative accents, you can use poster board to cut out the shape of a bone and glue brown construction paper to each side. Attach this to a barrette and clip onto the front of the ponytail holder.

10. Raggedy Ann/Andy. - For Raggedy Ann, use a dark blue flowery dress. Cover with a piece of white material cut out to look like an apron. For Andy, a flannel shirt and old jeans. You can use spray on hair coloring to paint their hair bright red. You can draw big circles around the outsides of their eyes for buttons. You can add big buttons to the dress at the waist or to the jeans by cutting them out of poster board and decorating appropriately then sewing them on. Black boots complete the outfit. Draw on big eyelash lines above the eyebrow to create an authentic look.

There are a million and one ideas to create a fun and safe costume for your little angel. Just use your imagination, you never know what you might find. Whatever costume to decide to use, the holiday is sure to be fun for you and baby.