Putting the fun in functional

It’s that time of year again, when we adorn our homes with pumpkins and all things scary, don costumes and gorge on candy… yup, it’s Halloween!

Many kids will be dreaming of dressing up as their fave superhero from the movies, a Barbie princess or as a popular toy. These costumes can often be difficult to find or purchase, however, particularly if you live somewhere remote or just don’t want to shell out that much on something that expensive.

Instead, why not make a costume? Halloween doesn’t need to be ridiculously expensive nor does every child in the community need to wear the same costume. Homemade costumes, especially the ones that the kids themselves get to put some labour into, can often be more fun, are frequently less expensive, can be tailored for cold weather and create some of the best childhood memories.

With just a little creativity, making Halloween costumes at home can be easier than you think. If it’s going to be another cold one, the first thing to think about is warmth, which is why old jogging suits and fleece sets are a great and handy thing.

An all-black jogging suit and a toque can very easily be turned into a multitude of costumes from butterflies to lady bugs to black cats to skeletons. White suits for angels and bunnies are also a great idea, pink for pigs, brown or beige for bears and so on. They are also the perfect idea if you want to bundle your little one up in layers underneath their costume.

For winged creatures, take three old coat hangers and use a pair of needle-nose pliers to cut the tops off the hangers, twist the wires together in a loop and then form a heart shape. From there the sky is just about the limit: wings can be made out of anything from old panty hose for the gauzy variety, cardboard for the sturdier version, or you can use plastic gift wrap. Either sew material together or use a sturdy glue to paste the wings onto the coat hangers. For the cardboard variety, just make sure you trace the wings onto cardboard and give an extra inch for where you want to glue them together. You and your child can then decorate the wings with glue and glitter or ribbons, markers, whatever you both desire.

With your wings completed, have the child stand with their arms out in a T and either use a hole punch or a wool needle and thread long piece of wool or elastic to affix the wings on. Be careful not to make the wings too large, particularly with the cardboard ones for a small child; if its windy out, it will knock them over.

Crowns or antennae can easily be fashioned out of pipe cleaners and placed on top of a warm hat. Should your child want to go as an animal with ears like a bear, cat or piggy, these can easily be sewn on to a colour co-ordinated hat. If the idea of making your own animal ears intimidates you, buy the packaged kind from the drug store, take them off of the headband and sew them on by either making slits in the hat or sewing them on top.

Headbands can look cute but they can often be too tight or just cause headaches depending on the individual, adult or child. The great thing about sewing the ears into the hat is that even after Halloween the kids can get some wear out of their special animal ear hat when they play outside. For more advice on wing construction and other suggestions go to: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/wings.htm

Super parents make super kids

If animals don’t appeal to you or your kids, try a do-it-yourself superhero. Sure, there will be plenty of Spidermans and Supermans out there this season but if you are looking for something more original, you can also make them into their own super hero. How about a Super Bill or a Super John or a Super Suzy?

Make a cape out of an old, solid-coloured towel, old flannel sheets or simply cut a large rectangle out of a piece of fun fleece and either tie the ends around the neck or affix it with a safety pin. The super suit can be made out of long johns with shorts on top or a bathing suit or a solid coloured jogging suit.

From there you can customize your child’s own logo from a piece of felt or just about anything else that you would like. A big S for super or an M for mighty or even the initials of your child’s name can be cut out and glued on to a circle, square or triangle of a different colour then attached to the shirt with stitches, glue or safety pins. Kids will love the opportunity to be creative and this costume is relatively easy to make yourself as there are very few limitations. http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/hcost/index.asp

Boxing match

Are you good at thinking outside of the box? Cardboard boxes can make great costumes, from robots to giant Lego, to being a walking refrigerator. Gift-wrap and ribbons will transform a plain old box meant for recycling into the perfect gift box costume. Cut open the lid, add string suspenders, a handle and some clown accessories and your child can be an instant jack in the box.

If you want to go for something a little bit more elaborate and you just so happen to have lots of spare old plastic containers and a can of spray paint, it’s the perfect opportunity to make a giant Lego or robot costume. Paint your box silver for a robot or a primary colour for Lego, glue on knobs made from plastic containers either painted in the same colour or for a robot, in various colours. Pretend buttons can even be made out of old bottle caps and small jar lids, glued on to the front. Add face paint and voila! Box costume can be some of the most inexpensive and creative Halloween costumes that can be made from home or just about anywhere.

If these suggestions don’t thrill you, how about a giant UNICEF box, a Kleenex, a TV, an x-ray machine, a chocolate bar or box, candy box, even a car can so easily be made depending on just how much elbow grease you want to put into it. The best part of these costumes too is that they are the easiest to slip warm garments on underneath and almost always look best with a colour co-ordinated hat so it’s easy to stay warm while having fun and amusing others with your creativity.

For more suggestions and more indepth instructions go to: http://www.thefamilycorner.com/family/kids/halloween/cardboard_box_costumes.shtml

Happy Halloween!