Halloween is great fun! I remember how exciting it was going around town in my Halloween costume
Do you remember those old Halloween costumes? You know the ones that came in a box and it was made up of a thin plastic mask with eye holes that hurt and it was held onto your head with an elastic piece that usually didn’t last the night and the body of the costume was a plastic sack-like piece you climbed into which also didn’t make it through the night? Those were great! I remember one year I was Chewbacca and another I was Yoda. I’m sure I was Superman and Batman as well.
But have you seen the price of Halloween costumes these days?!?
You can easily spend $25 and up on a kids’ costume (adults even more)! That’s a lot for a couple hours walking through the neighborhood trick or treating!
Here are some suggestions to think about before you go and buy a new costume:
- Be creative – See what you can cook up with items around the house. I know one year I was a hobo made up of old clothes around the house. Look around and see what you can come up with. You may be surprised what you find in the back of your closet or in the garage.
- Use last year’s costume - If the kids are young it can be easy to do this. If they are older then maybe you can revise the costume in some way to make it new? Our daughter was the Corpse Bride last year (yes we bought the costume). This year she’ll be a zombie. Not a big difference but with a little makeup change we can re-use the costume!
- Look for hand me downs – Most times these costumes are worn one night and that’s it. Then the kids grow out of them. If you have friends or family with kids they may have something you can use. Remember the previous two suggestions: be creative and find a way to use that old costume in a new way!
- Don’t get the latest fad – One sure way to make sure your costume won’t be used is if it’s this year’s fad. Whereas a costume like a vampire, princess, or a pirate can be worn any year!
- Buy next year’s costumes this year - Know when costumes are the cheapest? The day after Halloween! If you can buy next year’s costume this year to save.
As I mentioned our daughter will be a zombie using her costume from last year. Our son will probably be a monkey. We bought his costume for last year and we’re shocked and pleased to find out that he still fits it (it was real big last year).
Any other suggestions?
photo credit: juhansonin
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Great ideas! When I was growing up, my mom always made our costumes. She was a whiz with the face paint as well.
@ Miranda – Yeah, mom made a bunch of mine. But today it’s a huuuge consumer market. At least in NYC, stores pop up all over the place to sell Halloween products.
Great ideas. All of our holidays have become shopping days. my daughter is very creative with making costumes for her kids. I don’t know how much she spends but they are always so cute..
Well for adult females I think throwing together a Sarah Palin costume would be a snap and VERY inexpensive. There are so many diferent types of ‘Palin’s’ you can be: Soccer Mom Palin, NRA loving Palin, Naughty Librarian looking Palin…
@ BloggerNewbie – Isn’t it interesting how holidays have turned into shopping days? It’s nice to hear your daughter is so creative.
@ cheapsuits – That’s a funny one! Bet it will be real popular too!
OMG that little baby “monkey” is so cute
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Look for themed pajamas that can double as a Halloween outfit: think Superman with a big S on the chest, a pink and pretty princess gown for the girls, etc. You may be surprised how many themed pajamas you can find that will work for a costume when you add some accessories! Then they can wear them later as nightwear!
Look to your children’s hobbies and interests as a springboard to their Halloween costumes. Do they play baseball or T-ball, take karate or judo, play peewee football or cheer for a team, play rec basketball, or take dance lessons that use a leotard or have recitals with costumes? If so, you already have 90% of a “costume” that matches their current interest. If desired, add a little face paint and an accessory or two, and they are fully costumed for free or almost free!
You can use the “gather the costume” at home activity for a fun parent-child time. Look at what you already have with a new eye and you can probably dream up several costumes. You may want to use other family member’s cast off clothing – cut up and/or trimmed to size as a costume base. For example daddy’s worn white undershirt could be the start of many costumes. One of the cutest Halloween costumes I created was for when my son was about 2. If memory serves right, he wore a jagged pair of old shorts (cut into pirate jags at the bottom) , a striped shirt, and a bandana tied pirate style on his head. I also fashioned a bandolier wide webbing strap that went across one should like a sash. On the top of the sash on his shoulder, I attached a soft fabric bird as his “parrot”. I posed him for a picture with one pirate foot up on a pumpkin- it was precious! The costume didn’t cost 1 cent – we had everything required to make it!
Are you out of ideas for making/ creating a costume? Go to your favorite parenting/ family websites and I bet you will find enought costume ideas and instruction for the entire neighborhood!
Here’s one way to get a double use out of one costume creation. Many schools have a book character or book parade day sometime in the school year to celebrate books, authors, and reading. While you’re at it, you may want to make a costume that would serve both needs! Your child could be Max or one of the wild things from Where the Wild Things Are, Madeline, Mike Mulligan, Laura from the Little House books, etc. Make a costume once and use it twice!
If you must buy a costume, check garage sales and children’s consignment shops where you can buy costumes at much cheaper prices compaired to full retail. I once bought a vintage spangled twirler outfit for about 50 cents or $1. at a garage sale that my daughter later wore as a Halloween costume. If you like garage sale shopping, be on the lookout year-round for costume possibilities! You may find a true play-worthy costumes that you can use over the full year instead of one of the flimsier make-just-for- Halloween costumes. Happy hunting!
When your child outgrows a particular costume and you have no one in your circle of friends or family to pass it down to, sell it in your garage sale or consign it to a children’s resale shop in September or early October. You’ll have some money you can use for this year’s costume, if you choose!
Check out Real Simple’s website for some no cost, simple Halloween costume ideas: “Jay Crew”, fallen angel, etc!
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/package/0,21861,1841004-1832210,00.html?xid=weeklynews
@ Nancy – Great suggestions all!
I have distinct and wonderful memories of being able to rummage through all my dad’s old work clothes from the past year. From those clothes alone my brother and I were able to create Mario brothers, a wolfman, zombies, and many other assorted spooks.
@ On Halloween – Sounds like good times.
Great list! Having two children, we recycle our oldest son’s costume’s for our youngest son. He is at the age where he doesn’t have an opinion yet. We also shop the day after Halloween to buy costume’s for next year. Luckily our oldest son isn’t into the latest fads yet and wants to be pirates and police men.
@ Passiveincomefamily – Keeping the kids away from the latest fads indeed helps to keep costs down. Gotta love the classic costumes!
Wow those Star Wars costumes are classic, I’d bet if we brought those back they’d sell like hot cakes!
My mom was never very creative. One year I was a pillowcase. Another year I was a refrigerator box, and the worst year, I was Santa. Most years I just got made fun of, but there were some years where the lamest of costumes ended up being the most popular.