10 Cheap Costumes Ideas

With this economy everyone is getting hit in the pocketbook, which is a surprise when you head to the store and see that the Halloween Costumes are the same prices they were just last year and the year before.

Yes, apparently the costume makers aren’t feeling the heat that us parents do. How many of you have a child this year that would love to be something like: Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, Spiderman, a Fancy Witch, Princess, etc? Now how many parents have $20-$50 to spend on each of those costumes?

My thoughts exactly, I have four children and I guarantee you they won’t all (if any) get costumes from the store this year. Now if I wait until the last minute and hit the store up on the day of Halloween I might get one that is marked half price but it could end up something cheesy. So if you are in the same boat we are here are a few cheap costumes ideas for you.

Cheap Costume Ideas:

-  A Ghost-  This is the classic sheet ghost, all you need is one white sheet (that mom doesn’t mind getting holes in). Place the sheet over the child and mark with a pen/marker where the eyes and mouth should be. Take the sheet off and cut the holes. Now you have an instant ghost and your child can be easily spotted by any cars coming down the road.

-  Spongebob Squarepants-  Get a box and paint it yellow, make sure to leave holes for the legs and arms and cut out a space for their head to see through.  If you are really and artist add spots for the spongy part and pants.  (thanks to Randi)

-  Fairy-  All your little girl needs is a leotard, skirt/dress and a pair of inexpensive wings from the dollar store. If you are crafty enough you could always make wings by using coat hangers (wire ones) and some nylons. 

-  Alien-  Grab a trash bag and cover your child, cut a hole at the top to make sure their head fits through and give them arm holes. Get some green paint and do up their faces. The only thing you may need to get are those silly antenae head piece and some green Halloween hair spray. (thanks to Vanessa)

-  Compost Heap-  Wear some brown/black clothes that you don’t mind if they get ruined. Tape/glue some twigs, leaves, etc to the outfit and go out like that. If you are crafty enough you can take an old baseball cap and do the same thing and camoflauge yourself. (Thanks Tobi-Dawne) 

-  A bunch of Grapes-  Take an old shirt and staple a bunch of purple balloons to your shirt. Make sure to blow them up and staple the end where you tie it. Do the same thing with a ragged/old pair of pants and you’ve got yourself a bunch of grapes. (Thanks Susan)

- A pea in a pod-  For this you just need a green sleeper or a green sweat pants and shirt. Buy 2-3 small plastic balls and tape them to the front of the outfit. Not only will this be safer than balloons but after trick-or-treating your child has something to play with.

-  Cellphone- I’ve seen this one already out, get two pieces of cardboard (one for the front and one for the back) and paint all numbers and you have yourself a little cellphone. You can really coordinate by wearing the same color clothes as you have painted your cell phone.

-  Princess-  Get your little girl’s prettiest pink dress and put it on her.  Have her make a construction paper crown to wear or you can make one out of aluminum foil.

-  Dog/cat/mouse- With face paint you can make just about any animal (or clown) in the world. Decorate their face and top the look off with clothes that’ll match. Now you may need to go out and get ears but that’ll be about all.

These are just 10 cheap costume ideas for you, but if you head on over to Thrifty Mommy there are 33 DIY Costume Ideas.  CBS also has a video of their Halloween Costumes on a budget for you to take a look at.