Make simple costumes on a budget. (iStock )
Halloween costumes from big box stores can get expensive quickly, especially if your child wants a costume with a ton of accessories. This year, try your hand at making your own costume. It can save you money, and many costumes won’t take long to make.
This list of DIY costume ideas requires just a few key items you can buy online for just a few dollars. Whether your kid wants to be their favorite Pokémon character or a more classic monster like a ghost or mummy, you’ll find everything you need.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can get many of these items sent to you in as little as 24 hours. You can join or start a 30-day free trial to start your shopping today.
Ghost
White bed sheet: $15.99
Make a ghost from any white sheet. (Amazon )
A ghost costume is the easiest costume to make because all you really need is a white bedsheet to create it. You can cut some eyeholes and call it good. You can get an Amazon Basics white sheet for just about $16 or a sheet set from Walmart.
Here’s a simple tutorial on how to make your own ghost costume.
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Black felt: $0.32
Create ghost eyes and a mouth with black felt. (Walmart)
Besides the classic sheet over the head ghost, you can also create a ghost costume where your child’s head isn’t under the sheet, if that makes them more comfortable. Just get some black felt and cut out the eyes and mouth and hot glue them to the shirt, creating the ghost's face. Both Walmart and Michaels sell black felt by the sheet.
M&Ms
T-shirt: $8.95
Create a costume of your kid's favorite candy. (Walmart)
The base of any M&M costume is a red, yellow, blue, brown or green t-shirt. To keep the costume on the affordable side, get a plain t-shirt from Amazon or Walmart for just a few dollars.
Throw together a last-minute M&M costume with the help of this tutorial.
White vinyl: $3.97
Make the signature "m" for your M&M costume. (Walmart)
White vinyl can easily be ironed on to a shirt to create the white "m" that’ll define what the costume is. You can simply trace the "m" and cut out the vinyl and stick it on. You can find white vinyl on sites like Walmart and Amazon.
Beanie: $5.30
Keep your kids warm during Halloween night. (Amazon )
To add a touch more color to the M&M costume, a beanie is helpful. Plus, for colder weather climates, a beanie helps your kids stay warm while trick-or-treating. Amazon and Walmart sell basic, plain beanies in a variety of colors that’ll easily match the M&M shirt.
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Mummy
White cloth fabric: $2 per yard
You'll make ribbons for the mummy costume out of cotton fabric. (JOANN)
A mummy is a classic costume that’s relatively easy to make, it just takes some fabric, scissors and safety pins. The bulk of the costume will consist of white cloth fabric. Find white cotton fabric for a few dollars a yard at Walmart or JOANN.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on making your child’s mummy costume.
Safety pins: $12.99
Pin together the mummy costume using safety pins. (Amazon)
Safety pins will hold the fabric in place to give the mummy look to your child’s costume. You’ll need quite a few safety pins to hold the costume together, so get a 300-piece box of safety pins from Amazon or from Walmart.
Long white shirt: $8.45
Make sure your child has a white shirt to wear underneath their costume. (Walmart)
Your child will need a long white shirt underneath the costume to stay comfortable. A white shirt helps hide the costume and make it more realistic. Old Navy and Walmart have plain white shirts that’ll keep your kids warm and comfortable while they’re enjoying the holiday.
White or gray sweatpants: $12.08
Sweatpants keep the costume comfy. (Walmart)
Sweatpants make a comfortable under layer for the mummy costume. White or gray adds some camouflage to the costume. Get a pair of basic Hanes white sweatpants from Walmart or a pair of joggers from Amazon.
Pokémon trainer
Pokémon hat: $10.99
Step one of any Pokémon costume is a trainer hat. (Walmart)
A Pokémon trainer hat helps explain the costume and is something your child will want to wear long after Halloween. Luckily, these hats are affordable and can be found for under $20 at Walmart and Amazon.
Blue vest: $19.99
Pull together the outfit with a blue vest. (Walmart)
A blue vest is the signature vest of Ash, from the original Pokémon movies. Columbia Sports and Walmart both have kids' blue vests made from fleece to add a layer of warmth while your kids are trick-or-treating.
Jeans: $8.98
A new pair of jeans will put the final touches on the Pokémon trainer costume. (Walmart)
A basic pair of jeans your kids already have works perfectly well for this costume, making it very easy to throw together at the last-minute. In the market for some more jeans for your kids? Walmart and Old Navy currently have affordable kids' jeans on sale.
Witch or wizard
Black long-sleeve shirt: $9.11
A unisex black long-sleeve shirt makes the ideal base for a witch or wizard costume. (Walmart)
A simple black long-sleeve shirt makes up the top of a witch's costume. You can find black shirts pretty much anywhere, but Walmart and Hobby Lobby have affordable shirts that keep your child’s costume less pricey.
Make your own witch costume with the help of this tutorial.
Black cardstock: $10.97
Black cardstock will make up the witch or wizard hat. (Walmart)
The witch or wizard hat can easily be made of cardstock, if you want to stick with the most affordable option. You can get black cardstock at most major retailers like Walmart and Amazon. And don’t forget to get a pack of silver cardstock and gold cardstock to make stars and moons on the hat.
Black trash bags or black ribbon: $29.98
Turn ordinary trash bags into a witch's skirt. (Amazon )
You can make a black, flowy skirt out of black trash bags or black ribbon. Hold it on with a black belt or string, and you have a whole witch's costume. Find a pack of 90 bags on Amazon or a 50-pack from Home Depot. You can also get 100 yards of black ribbon for just over $20.
Black tights or leggings: $5
Leggings help kids stay comfortable while wearing their costumes. (Old Navy)
Leggings and tights help your little witch stay warm and comfortable when they’re getting candy. Grab a pair of leggings for just $5 from Old Navy or an $8 pair of tights from Amazon.
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Crayons
Oversized shirt: $2.99
A large shirt makes up most of the Crayon costume. (Michaels)
The crayon look comes from the oversized t-shirt, in your child’s favorite color. A large or extra-large adult t-shirt can fit the bill. You can get shirts for a few dollars from Michaels and Walmart.
DIY a crayon costume easily when you use this helpful tutorial.
Colorful cardstock: $5.27
Make Crayon hats from construction paper or cardstock. (Walmart)
You make a crayon-shaped hat out of cardstock in different colors. You can find a multipack of different colored cardstock from Walmart or Amazon.
Black duct tape: $3.94
Outline the Crayola logo with duct tape. (Walmart)
You can make the crayon wrapper design using a simple black duct tape technique. Grab a couple of roles from Amazon or Walmart. You can also use black cardstock or felt to create the Crayola design.
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