Tips for Cheap Halloween Costuming

On Halloween, two types of costumes are sold at most stores: the very cheap kind made of plastic printed with a popular character, and the expensive type that seem more like real clothing. The first type is fine for kids up to about the age of four. After that, most kids want the cool costumes that don't crinkle with each step.

How can you dress your kid in a great Halloween costume without breaking the bank?

Keep It Cheap, but Classy

1. Buy or create costumes with reusable elements. For instance, instead of buying a whole ninja costume, buy black sweats and build the ninja costume around them. Instead of buying an angel costume, buy a pretty white dress you can use later as a dress-up outfit, and accessorize with halo, wings, and harp.

2. Recycle parts of costumes from year to year. Girl costumes are often very easy to recycle this way, as they mostly consist of pretty dresses updated with accessories and makeup. A single beautiful white dress can become, for successive or even the same little girl, a bride costume, an angel, a fairy, a princess. The trick is making sure it's fresh and new each time it's used.

3. Shop at Goodwill and other secondhand stores. Sometimes you can find entire costumes there; other times, you can find the clothing and even accessories for lovely angel and princess costumes, athletes, zombies, or hobos. In addition, if your child isn't sure what he wants to be for Halloween, a great way to spark ideas is by going to secondhand stores together to see what's there.

4. Never buy plastic buckets; you'll use them once and then, most likely, throw them out. Instead, use purses and other baglike accessories for girls, old pillowcases for robbers and pirates, rubber chickens or buckets for clowns. Small containers can be emptied every house or two into a larger bag held by a parent or other non trick-or-treater.

5. Consider renting. If your daughter just can't live without the medieval princess costume, some costume shops do rent out the more elaborate costumes.

6. Hit theater sales. Often, small local theaters and acting groups will have sales of their old costumes, and you can find really nice things at bargain prices. The problem? Most of their sales come in the spring, not just before Halloween. You may have to plan way ahead. It is, however, worth contacting local theaters to find out.

7. Throw your own closet open to your child. There's always some article of clothing your child cherishes in there, whether it's that old beaded purse or Dad's old military uniform. When my daughter gets old enough to trick-or-treat, I imagine my bellydancing scarves and wraps will become a gypsy costume; my sons may dress up like my husband. That beautiful peasant top you don't wear anymore can become the central part of a little girl's pirate costume, or your old black vest could become the perfect topper to your son's hobo costume. And you'll probably have fun rediscovering old clothes and memories you'd forgotten as well.

8. Make your own costumes. If you have some extra material and a knack for sewing, you can find excellent simple patterns in your local fabric shop or Wal-Mart (ask about prices on the patterns -- they're almost always discounted, sometimes 75% or more). At Wal-Mart, you can often find bolts of cloth suitable for costumes at a dollar a yard or less.

* Never buy or put together a costume your child doesn't want to wear. You're better off letting the child go through his or her own wardrobe -- and sometimes yours -- to put something together than forcing them into something they don't like.