Three Cheap and Easy Halloween Costumes

Do you need a Halloween costume for your youngster this year, but your budget is really low? Don't fret. You can make a unique and compelling Halloween costume for practically nothing using materials around your home. Below are three fun costumes that are cheap and simple to make.

1. The Rock Star:

Find an old T-shirt with a rock band's name on the front, or one that has a guitar or another instrument shown. If you can't find a shirt that already looks rock-n-roll, you can easily make a punk rock type shirt by ripping a few holes in the fabric, adding some safety pins, or taking a marker and writing something on the front. Next, find some old ripped jeans, or cut some holes in the knees of a pair yourself. Combat boots or old sneakers will be appropriate for the feet. Fix up the youngster's hair by adding some mousse or styling gel to create a wild rock-n-roll hairdo. Then get a toy microphone, drum sticks, or a toy guitar for them to carry. If you don't have any of those, buy some Styrofoam or foam core (which is like a strong form of Styrofoam pressed between sheets of paper) and make your own guitar. Cut out a simple shape and decorate it with paint and tape. Give your rocker some sunglasses and they will be ready to go out and drum up some candy!

2. Penguin:

Get a large black adult sized sweatshirt and cut under the seams of the sleeves so they will fan out and look like wings. Glue a large piece of white fleece fabric over the front of the sweater to represent the penguin's belly. Before gluing it on though, cut the white fabric so it's in an oval shape at the top, and with the bottom end squared off. Next, get a black fur or cloth cap, preferably with a bill, and glue some eyes from a craft store to the front above the bill. Colorful socks, or simply black and white socks to extend the penguin theme, will be sufficient for the feet. Add black mittens to the hands and your little penguin will be ready to go trick or treating.

3. Surfer Guy or Gal:

This costume is perhaps the simplest of all to put together. Find some swimming trunks or shorts that look appropriate for the beach, then get a surfer type shirt (also known as a rash guard shirt, which means they have sun ray protection and also prevent surfers from getting rashes when sand gets on their boards), then add some sandals for proper foot wear. A miniature surfboard can either be purchased cheaply or constructed yourself out of foam core. Of course you should paint and decorate the board, adding whatever you want (reflector tape, paint, doo-dads, stripes, polka dots) to make the surfboard as attractive as possible, and so that it will match your child's clothing. Finally add a dab of white sunscreen to the surfer's nose and they will be ready for Halloween. (Keep in mind this costume is best suited for warmer climates. Don't freeze your child!)

So there you have three simple and unique costumes that won't be too hard on your pocket book. Remember that you don't always have to spend large amounts of money at big retail stores to get a costume. Make one yourself and get your child involved in the fun.