Scary Kids Halloween Costumes

I just love Halloween! Every year I threw together a homemade costumes that were the envy of all the other kids in the neighborhood! I remember being a pizza, a mailbox, a palm tree, the statue of liberty, and a candle!

When I had kids of my own, while they loved my costume making abilities, but they seemed to love the scary costumes best. Over the years I have developed quite a list of kid-friendly costumes that are spooky and scary enough to still impress. Not just your usual Ghost and Witch, these costumes are easy to do, and sure to please!

Here is a top five countdown list of my children's favorite scary Halloween costumes:

#5 - The Mummy - For a boy or a girl- Use torn (not cut) strips of old sheets and wrap the child in them from head to toe. If the child doesn't want their face covered you can use face paints in green and brown to mottle their face and give them a dead look. You can also use baby powder in their hair for that dusty look. Fasten the strips by tucking them in through other strips. Don't wind them too tight or you will restrict the child's movement. Make sure you leave some dangling for that "I am unwinding" look! If you have red makeup you can smear it on for blood - or use red paint and dab it on. Give the strips and aged look by rubbing them with soot from a fireplace, or just plain dirt. A raggedy white pillowcase for collecting candy is a nice touch!

#4 - Death or The Reaper - For a boy or a girl- Fashion a long black robe and cape out of old or cheaply purchased black sheets. White sheets can be dyed black too. Use a long black broom handle and fasten a cardboard "blade" to the top end of it. Cover your head with a large hood fashioned from a pillowcase or leftover material from the sheets. The child can wear a skeleton or goalie mask, or they can just use face paint and paint their face black. A black bad for candy is a nice touch!

#3 - Dead Bride - For a girl- I found an old wedding gown in a thrift shop for $5. I strategically shortened it and frayed and ripped the layers. I spattered red paint on it and dirtied it up with soot from the fireplace (or you can use dirt). I teased my daughters hair up into a wild "rats nest" look and then put gobs of hair gel in it. We made up her face in an extreme way. Like you would normally but too much of everything. Heavy on the eye shadow, lipstick, blush, etc. Then we smudged her face with soot - you could even use black or brown makeup. Finally we picked some flowers and gave them enough time to wilt for her bouquet. You could also use some ratty looking fake flowers. I used some of the material I cut off the bottom of the gown to make a lace bag for her to collect candy in. For and added touch you can bloody the bag and dirty it up too!

#2 - Hobo Zombie - For a boy or a girl- Over-sized clothes give an unkempt look that says "I live in a box car!" Boys and girls can both wear pants, a shirt, and an over-sized plaid jacket. if you plan ahead you can inexpensively find these items at a thrift store. Bunch up sleeves and roll up the arms of the jacket but cut off the pants so they don't trip on them. Use grey or green face paint to cover their faces and accent the eyes with big dark circle. Lips can be painted black and have blood dripping from the corners for added effect. Put gel in their hair and make it look wild and unkempt. Follow it up with baby powder or corn starch on their faces and in their hair for that ashy dead look. Pu on your best vacant stare, pick up a ratty old pillowcase, and you are ready!

#1 - Medusa - For a girl- My son went through a snake phase. He had rubber snakes all over the house. It was really quite unnerving! When he got over the phase we used the snakes to make my daughters all time favorite costume - Medusa! We took the snakes and wound them around each other - almost like braiding them together. Then we glued the strategically so they wouldn't fall apart. After they were dry we put two strings on them and tied them to her head, sort of like a snake hood! We put an old wig on her first for added effect. I had an old black dress that I shortened for her and we draped her in lots of gold accents - belts, necklaces, bracelets and such. We painted her face green with face paint and gave her very dramatic eyes with lots of purple eyeshadow! Then i put a set of fake fingernails on her that were painted fire engine red. It was awesome, and the most unusual costume anyone came up with that year!

When you try to make your own scary costume one of the most important things to do is start early! Take a trip to a local Goodwill or thrift shop and see what they have that is cheap. You can find lots of inspiration there. Another important element is the makeup. Invest in a nice face paint set from your local Kmart and make sure to really play it up. Your face is often the only thing people remember! Don't be afraid to use unusual things, like when we used soot from the fireplace, dirt from the yard, and baby powder. Just make sure you don't put anything toxic on your skin!

Finally, be as unusual as you can! If you find an old cheerleader outfit at the thrift store a regular zombie costume can now be a cheerleader zombie! Just because it hasn't been done before doesn't make it off limits to you!

So remember:

1) Try using old things you have on hand first
2) Go to the thrift store for more cheap ideas
3) Use makeup - even the cheap dollar store stuff is good!
4) Be unusual, creative, and have fun!