5 Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids

With best-costume contests at school plus Halloween parties sandwiched in between a night of trick-or-treating, kids sometimes need more than one costume to make it through the season! When you need to create a last-minute costume, here are five ideas on what to make and how to make them:

A Bunch of Grapes

A quick yet unique look for a Halloween costume is had by blowing up a bunch of green or purple balloons. Use ribbons to fasten them to each other and to your child, with the largest number of balloons at the head and shoulders. Ensure that the costume leaves room for the child to hold his or her trick-or-treat bag, and that a bathroom visit does not mean destruction of the costume.

Little Adults

This one's easy: let the kids rummage through your closet, choosing clothing and jewellery that you can let them use as costumes. For a little boy, this exercise works better if there's a hat and tie involved and perhaps a moustache drawn onto his upper lip. Little girls have it simple, with dress-up probably already a favourite pastime. For best results, give the girls a sparkly handbag for her treats. Boys can carry a lightweight black bag that you'll tell them is a briefcase.

Mummy

This costume is one that can be worn over a bulky jacket, in case Halloween falls on a cold night. Wrap the child's limbs, head and torso (all separately, for ease of movement) with strips of plain white cotton material, perhaps torn from an old sheet or two. If it's a dry night, you can use toilet paper. The problem with toilet paper is that you can't tie it or tuck it in properly and it comes apart and tears pretty quickly; however, as a quick fix it can't be beat. Toilet paper is one material you're sure to have on hand and with which you can get your child ready to go in minutes.

The Great Pumpkin

This is a great over-the-jacket costume when trick-or-treating is a cold affair. Cut out two large orange felt fabric circles (if it's a dry night, you can use painted cardboard) for the pumpkin body. The seams on the pumpkin can be drawn onto the material with a marker. Join the two circles over the shoulders with a couple of strips of material, suspender style. A few staples, well-placed stitches or even some strong glue should keep the straps fastened to the costume body. Finish the look with a green cap or beret.

iPod / iPhone

For an iPod, you'll use the same sandwich board idea as the pumpkin. Use a real iPod as your model: first you need two rectangular pieces of cardboard, painted in whatever colour you choose. Then cut out a white circle and paste it onto the lower half of the front cardboard. A smaller circle (in the same colour as the body of the iPod) is then glued into the center of the white circle.

Take foil or black paper, about half the size of the iPod, and slightly smaller in area, to make the screen (which is glued onto the upper half of the front cardboard). If you wish, finish off the iPod with a list of your child's favourite songs.

Now all you need is your camera, and you're ready to make Happy Halloween memories!