Back when my two eldest children were younger, we did not have the benefit of all the Halloween outfits and accessories that can be found so readily in store or online today. We had to get creative on a shoestring budget, using household bits and bobs and our imagination to dress up our little monsters!
Back in 1996, we used cheap, black, plastic bin bags and cardboard to make costumes for my kids. Megan's witch's bin bag outfit was fashioned using tape to make an off the shoulder dress and a hat from a cone of card. Sticking on a few plastic toys, back combing her hair and adding some make-up completed the look. Joe was a zombie with a raggedly cut bin bag over black trousers. We spiked his hair and used talc to make both his hair-do and his outfit look aged and distressed. We used some face paint to complete the look. The best thing is that the kids get involved and help design and fashion their costumes, which is a fun activity, lost when using a ready made outfit. They both looked great and got into the Halloween spirit as you can see from the photos below!
Our eco-friendly Halloween didn't stop there as we used the flesh from our carved pumpkins to make pies and we roasted the seeds to make munchy snacks! We put tea lights in old jam jars that had tissue paper ghosts glued to the outside casting spooky shadows and sang scary songs around a bonfire. It was a much simpler sort of Halloween free from today's commercial offerings. We partied at my sister's house with the cousins and had a wonderful time. Take a look at this group of little monsters all modelling handmade Halloween chic!
The total cost of the costumes was literally pennies, using household bits and bobs and a few props and make-up. Economy bin bags are 78p and are a fab base for any number of outfits. Old clothes can easily be adapted into a costume which is a great form of re-using unwanted stuff to make an outfit on a budget. Halloween needn't be expensive and by being creative you can guarantee that your outfit is unique. No turning up at a Halloween party to find three other people wearing an identical outfit to you!!
I'll be trying another Homemade Halloween costume later on today to see if I can replicate the simpler Halloweens of the past without resorting to the ready-to-wear shop bought scary Halloween costumes. If it works out I'll be posting pictures.
