DIY Halloween Costumes

I was born into a pretty amazing family. My parents had three daughters. Every Halloween my creative parents went to work making some pretty dang cool costumes. My sisters and I kept this tradition alive. My sisters are are better than I am in this category, but I don't mind. 

Here are a bunch of examples of homemade Halloween costumes. They vary from easy and basic to extremely time consuming, but all are worth looking at!

1. Zebra

 Here is yours truly at almost 2 years old as a zebra with a hot pink mane!

2. A WORKING watering can

My parents made this watering can out of an aluminum trash can. There was a bulb that my sister could squeeze that actually made water come out. I believe she may have one a prize for this one.

3.A Christmas Tree and Working Stoplight

This Christmas tree costume is made from a green sweatsuit, tulle, and plastic bulbs. I also had a Christmas angel on my head. 

My sister was a stoplight. This isn't the greatest picture of it. It has a black "wire" on the top that is difficult to see in this picture. There were two switches on the inside, one for the green light and one for the red. This was a wicked fun costume. I wore it one year as well.

4. Chef and Dalmatian

Both of these were pretty simple costumes. The chef was simply an apron, chef hat, bowl and spoon. My mom painted a mustache on my sister's face. You could also pat some flour on to add character.

The dalmatian was made from a white sweatsuit and socks for the ears. We used a sharpie for the spots.

5. Santa

My sister was dressed as Santa when she was a baby. This is a simple costume for little ones. I love pulling from other Holidays, no one expects it.

6. Farmer

This was not my proudest moment. I did not wanted to dress up but was asked to for a church event. My hair was very long and worked well for the farmer costume. I was so embarrassed. Oh well. Braids, overalls, a hat, and an apple made this costume a success!

***I am missing a lot of photos from our childhood. I am hoping to get my hands on some soon. When I do, I will update this post. I know that a snow cone, world globe, the old lady in the shoe, a bumblebee, bunny, an airplane, an acorn, and the jack-in-the-box are other costumes that my parents created.***

7. Present

I needed a costume for my then 10 month old and had no clue what to do. My mom and I came up with this one with only a few minutes to spare. I cut the bottom off of a gift bag and stuck him in. You can see that he had fun snacking on the tissue paper. We got a lot of comments on how cute he looked! I added TO: and FROM: on his cheeks with face paint. 

                                     8. Cowboy                                   

 9. Steam Whistle

Our third boy is a SCREAMER. Ear piercing screamer! The Bishop of our ward at church (e.i. congregation) nicknamed him "whistle". I thought it was only fitting to make him a steam whistle for Halloween last year. It was all out of felt. I did sew a zipper in the back but you could use velcro. What I love about felt is that you don't need to sew it. I used a fabric stiffener on the hat to help keep it's form. I added an elastic so it would stay on. It was a huge hit especially for those that have been in ear shot of that boy! :)

10. Green Ninja

This was my first time making clothing. It didn't come out too shabby. It was pretty fun to make too. This is the only picture that I have of him without a sling and ace bandage. He broke his collar bone a week before Halloween last year and was all bandaged up. You couldn't even see his shirt. Everyone thought it was part of his costume and that he was a wounded ninja! 

11. Jack Frost

This was so simple and so fun. Well, clothing wise at least. The blue top came from Old Navy and the pants from JCPenney. The hair and make up sealed the deal though. I used white and sparkle hair paint and did my cosmetology magic on his face. At a Halloween party last year, some adults didn't even recognize him. The staff was made from dowels, paper mache with paper bags, and paint. That took several hours to make. I hated that staff by the time I was done! 

12. Where's Waldo

My sister made these awesome Where's Waldo costumes for her family. They won second place at a children's museum for their creativity!!

13. Mario Brothers

14. UP

My Sister made these amazing costumes. She is very particular to detail and is so creative. I wish I could say there is a step by step tutorial, but sadly there is not!

15. The Aqua Bats

The same sister also made these fun costumes. She can do some pretty amazing things! 

16. Star Wars

Here are the costumes she made for her boys this year. Yoda and Luke Skywalker. I believe she is making costumes for her and her husband too. If she does, I will update this with the new pics.

17. Vintage Gum

This is my other sister and her family. She claims that she is not creative. What do you think!? Does this look like an uncreative gal? I don't think so. She made these from cardboard. Each was made a little differently, some with paint, some paper, and some with sharpies. They won second place this year at a Halloween party! Go Tiff!!

Hope you enjoyed this Halloween costume line-up. I will be posting some easy step by step costumes tomorrow!

Happy Costuming!!

Hills