I don’t like adult Halloween. Please, for the love, do not jump out and scare me while you are wearing a spooky mask. I don’t like scary movies. I actually get annoyed when I see the scary previews. Before kids, I thought I didn’t like Halloween.
Kid Halloween
But kid Halloween? That, I love. Cute costumes, yes please. Candy, yes please. Pumpkin patches, YES! Fall festivals, sign me up. I am all in for the cute kid Halloween season. Halloween and the day after are my absolute favorite social media days. Send me all the cute costume photos, please!
I love making things, fall especially has me really wanting to create. I have been making Halloween costumes since my kids could dress up!
Tips for a DIY Halloween
- Plan ahead. It takes time to gather materials. Sift through consignment stores, thrift stores, craft stores.
- Know your limitations. I can hot glue like no one’s business. (I’m also fairly confident I can’t get accurately fingerprinted because I’ve had some serious burns.) But following a complicated sewing pattern is not for me.
- Get your kids involved. My kids get excited for Halloween. My daughter has always loved dressing up, so Halloween is her wheelhouse. We plan our costumes at the end of summer. We usually choose characters from stories, and they love reading about them.
- Plan out photos ahead. (I know this one isn’t technically a DIY tip.) Our kids are so excited when the costumes are done that we usually go out and take photos early! Halloween activities are so busy, and excitement filled that I can never get my kids to stop and take a photo. I love having the photos ahead of the craziness, then we can just enjoy the time!
These are some of my DIY’s, or ones I want to try:
Grandma/Grandpa: I had my daughter dress like a grandma. I took an old hat and glued white poof balls to look like curly white hair and she wore a crocheted dress (most baby clothes could easily pass for a grandma outfit!)
Grapes: I used a purple dress that was a size too big and blew up a ton of purple balloons. I safety pinned them all over the dress and slipped the dress over her head. Then, I safety-pinned green felt leaves to the top of a brown hat. FYI: Don’t try to wear this costume to the zoo, balloons aren’t allowed at Boo at the Zoo.
Oscar the Grouch and Abby Cadabby: I used grey fabric for a trashcan. My son was Oscar and I babywore him everywhere. I wanted a costume that worked for the wearer. So, I drew ridges on the fabric and safety pinned it around me. I glued green fuzzy fabric and dark brown eyebrows on a hat. For Abby Cadabby, we used a blue dress, fairy wings from the dollar store, and we made puff pigtails out of yarn. My daughter loved helping with this. She also got to make a wand. It was just a painted and glittered cardboard star taped to a straw.
Peter Pan: I bought a hat on Amazon for $10 and a four-sizes-too-big green polo that I cut the bottom off, so it looks ragged. I found green pants and bought a brown belt.
Lego: Paint the bottom side of an egg carton to match a shirt and pants. Then glue the top of the carton to the shirt.
