Creative Halloween Costumes

by Mary Hance

Don’t be tricked into buying expensive Halloween costumes when you can treat yourself and your children to something fun, creative, and inexpensive. Here are a few that nearly anyone can make.

Boxer—One mother let her son wear his terry-cloth bathrobe and soccer shorts and bought him boxing gloves.

Fully dressed dinner table—My daughter used a large flat piece of cardboard covered with an old tablecloth. She glued place settings, complete with food and utensils, to it. She cut a hole in the tabletop for her head and rested the “table” on her shoulders.

Cereal box—One creative mother dressed her toddler in an oversized Cheerios box. “I cut out a place for his head and arms and cut the bottom out totally for his legs. He carried an empty milk jug as a prop.” Or you can create a larger cereal box by painting a cardboard carton. Cut the top of the milk carton and use it as a trick-or-treat container for candy.

Scuba diver—“We had a life jacket, and I had a bolster pillow that we used for his tank. Then he had a mask and snorkel, and I made some cardboard fins to fit over his sneakers,” one mom says.

Astronaut—Start with a disposable white scrub jumpsuit and pin on American flag patches. Cover an old motorcycle or football helmet in foil.

Traffic light—Start with a large cardboard box. Cut arm holes and a bar near the top to see out. Spray paint it silver. Cut three circular holes in the front and tape red, yellow, and green acetate behind them. Make shades for the lights from a cardboard pantyhose package and paint that silver. Carry a flashlight to illuminate the “lights.”

Mary Hance is known as “Ms. Cheap” in Nashville, Tenn., where she writes a column on saving money.

first appeared: 10/22/2000