Make Your Own Halloween Costume

Halloween is nigh! And what an opportunity to use your creativity and imagination to create your very own Halloween costume. You can even make it a family affair by sitting down with pen and paper, designing your ideal costume and then going on a “scavenger” hunt through boxes, attics and second-hands stores to find the perfect Halloween props.

As it is just barely September, you have plenty of time to get your idea’s down on paper in and imprinted on your mind. Grab a large box to store your finds as you poke around through boxes, cupboards, the back of closets, yard sales and Goodwill!

If this is a family activity, don’t turn up your nose at something that won’t work for your costume, but may well be perfect for somebody else’s. At this stage, just pick up everything that catches your eye. You never know… you may want to change your costume to something else entirely as Halloween gets closer. That is the fun of collecting all of these bits and pieces!

So where do you find these treasures?

• Attics
• Basements
• Garage
• Boxes and trunks
• Closets
• Drawers
• Family members – think Grandma if you are going for a vintage look!
• Garage sales
• Good Will and Salvation Army

Have fun with it!  You can even make some great Halloween decorations doing this.

Each year as Halloween approaches, we create a life size witch who sits very placidly on a bench in the front courtyard. The only three items that had to be purchased were a scary latex witches mask (full mask with hair and all!), a cane that we purchased for $1 at a garage sale and of course, the pointed witches hat that you can get at any dollar store.

The witch is made up of the following items that were found in the back of my closet and in other places around the house.

1. Floor length black skirt that was going to be sent to Goodwill.
2. Long sleeved black tunic top that was also going to Goodwill.
3. A discarded pair of black ladies high heeled boots. Long since out of fashion, but perfect for our witch!
4. A pair of life size rubber hands that we found at a garage sale. They were apparently part of a CPR training dummy and are quite life-like!
5. 3 old pillows to make up the body.
6. A small flash light to put inside the mask at night to light up her eyes. We taped a piece of red construction paper behind her eyes to make her glow! Quite scary.

We then sit her on the bench and surround her with pumpkins, a cow skull (found in a field) some dried flowers and just about anything else comes to hand.

Then…

On Halloween, I dress up exactly like her, take her place and rise up to offer candy to the neighborhood children.

Halloween is nigh…