Making Halloween Costume Ideas a Family Affair

Coming up with Halloween costume ideas for you and your family does not have to be a painstaking task, as there are many ways to get the creative juices flowing and finding something for everyone that won’t drain your bank account in the process. There are many affordable costumes and accessories that can make any family’s Halloween a blast!

One wouldn’t think that Halloween can be a cost-effective holiday, as every year in late September and early October the sprawling seasonal Halloween shops open, choc full of expensive costumes, props, makeup and decorations. It’s easy to get caught up in all the fun, and the desire to pull out that credit card and start charging away can be very tempting. However, one shouldn’t have to go bust in order to provide their family with a fun assortment of costumes.


The following are a few tips to getting you, and your bank account, through the Halloween holiday:

Yes sir, that’s my baby!

If you are the doting parent of an infant or a toddler, you’re in luck! Costumes for babies and toddlers are perhaps the simplest and most inexpensive, as children in this age bracket aren’t very selective, and the choice of costume is typically left to the parent. Because they’re the smallest costumes, they tend to be the most inexpensive, and whether it’s a costume of their favorite cartoon or movie character, an animal, a robot, etc. the little ones look cute in just about anything.

One of the simplest costumes can be a one-piece sweat suit in traditional Halloween colors – orange or black - adorned with Halloween accessories. You can apply a little white and black makeup to their faces for the finishing touch and viola! You’re ready for trick-or-treating.

The black and orange sweat suits can be used as a canvas for other costume ideas as well. If you choose an orange jumper, you can purchase some black felt at your local crafts store, cut it into strips and either glue or sew the strips onto the orange jumper/sweat suit for a ferocious tiger. If you don’t want to go through the lengthy task of cutting felt, you can buy a bottle of black fabric paint and just paint the stripes on. A pear of costume tiger ears, which can be purchased at your local Halloween shop, shouldn’t break the bank.

Using the same sweat suit/jumper concept, you can create a wide array of costumes for your baby or toddler: a kitty, bunny, lamb, lion, etc. The ideas are bountiful.

Halloween costume ideas for adults

As with older kids and teens, the same ideas and concepts can be applicable to adults as well. The possibilities are vast, and some of the best ideas are the simplest and most accessible. You can wrap yourself in cloth bandages and be a mummy, don a cowboy hat, blue jeans, bandana and pipe for the traditional cowboy, or, couple can engage in a little role reversal: the men can put on the wife’s/girlfriend’s dress and bra and stuff the bra with toilet paper, the put on a wig and some makeup and viola, an effective and funny costume is born! The women can do the same with their husband’s/boyfriend’s clothes, then apply a fake mustache and shorthair wig or toupee.

So as you can see, coming up with fun and inexpensive Halloween costumes for the family can not only be painless, but can also be a great way for families to spend some quality time together and bond while having a load of fun in the process.

Halloween for older kids and teens

As your children grow and develop their own identities and tastes, figuring out a cost-effective, yet imaginative costume can be a tricky proposal. Never fear! A good start is to just peruse the closets for old clothes that can be used to transform your child or teen into a hippie, scarecrow, bum or whatever idea pops into mind. Thrift stores can also be a gold mine for potential Halloween costumes, as they provide a treasure trove of old and inexpensive clothes, some of which can be used for the perfect costume. An old floral or striped hippy dress can be the perfect selection for the gals, complemented by colorful Mardi Gras beads and oversized sunglasses, and a flower in the hair for the finishing touch. For the boys, an old flannel shirt stuff with a little straw in the sleeves, and old floppy or wide-brimmed hat, a pair of tattered blue jeans and some applied freckles on the face with brown or red makeup makes for a quick and effective scarecrow costume.

You can even try some of my favorites: Santa or the Easter Bunny. Watch as your kids walk around playing their favorite "real" characters.