DIY Halloween Costume Creativity Challenge

When I was a kid most of my Halloween costumes were homemade. I can remember a few Halloweens when my sisters and I got to buy store costumes but usually what we wore trick-or-treating came right out of our own closets.  I remember having a lot of fun coming up with ideas based on what I already had.  It required me to be creative, imaginative, and thrifty. I came up with some fun and pretty clever Halloween costume ideas as a kid and my favorite was a punk rocker (which I did more than once). So I have recently been asking myself why I have been buying costumes for my kids all these years? Why haven’t I encouraged them to get creative and invent some awesome DIY Halloween costume ideas?  This year I am challenging myself (and you) to a DIY Halloween costume creativity challenge.

What does that mean?  It means that I am encouraging you to challenge your kiddos to look into their closets, dress-up drawers, and maybe even at Goodwill to create their very own Halloween costumes.  The possibilities are endless. If your kiddos are used to getting fancy $40 store costumes, they might resist this idea. But frame it as a challenge.  Tell them it is their chance to show off their creativity and ingenuity. Help them if they struggle but encourage them to get creative.

I am taking this challenge and hope to come up with a fun costume for myself and am eager to see what my kiddos come up with.  If we get them done early enough I will share them with you. In the meantime, here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Use an old flower girl dress, formal gown, or dress up play dress to create a princess, fairy godmother, tooth fairy, bride, or queen.
• Use old jeans, flannels, or overalls to create a farmer, hunter, or a hobo like the one in Polar Express.
• Dress up in mom’s old cheer uniform (or an older sister’s).
• Wear a family member’s old military fatigues.
• Make antlers using stuffed gloves.
• Use cardboard boxes and paint to be a board game, iPhone, robot, and whatever else you can think of.
• Dress in black and use an old umbrella (cut) as bat wings.
• Use hula hoops and a yellow pillow case to be Saturn.
• Make a grass skirt from a paper bag.
• Use a white pillowcase and cotton balls to create a cloud or snowball

Hopefully, that will get your wheels turning.  So will you take the challenge?  What clever ideas do you have?