Homemade Halloween outfits

I have always tried to dress my DC and DGC in original home made costumes for the many events for which they are requested. Sadly these days parents do tend to rush out and buy expensive outfits instead, though I accept that many of them are working and have very little time.

My DGS recently had to dress up as a woodland creature at the end of a school project. It was at very short notice so I used an old rucksack and a silver plastic bag from an Amazon purchase stuffed with the contents of an old pillow case and rolled up to represent a snail shell. It was finished off with a pair of comic antennae on his head ... quick, simple and effective.

When I picked him up he told me everyone had laughed at him and was fighting back tears! I saw that most of them were dressed in bought fox, bear, or rabbit onesies. I had looked online previously and found at £25 to £30 each these were ludicrously expensive! I was furious and mortified for him. This is normally a good, caring, family orientated school and |I could not believe this had happened especially as they had been told not to buy anything specially. I have asked his father to have a word with the school as it is not my place.

I believe in originality and creativity and won't bow down to commercialism but I am now worried that it may well have an adverse effect on my DGC. They have asked for Halloween costumes and where normally I would make them cheaply now I am not so sure. What do others think?

Each year local children, accompanied by their parents, visit their neighbours to "trick or treat" them. They only visit houses that have a lit pumpkin on display, as this is seen as a sign of welcome. Last year, I was visited by several groups of children, aged from about 3 to 15 years old. Every child was dressed in a fancy dress costume and very excited to be out. Without a single execption, every child was impeccably polite and a pleasure to meet and I really enjoyed seeing their costumes. They said that they would not knock on any door that had no visible sign of wanting to take part in Halloween. Kids can get such a bad press; but the vast majority just want a bit of fun and make believe. If putting on a witches hat and carrying a broom stick is the worst they'll do.... bring it on.

Children are fascinated with ghosts and such. Dressing up helps them to see this as a bit of fun, there is a fine line between horror and excitement. With the addition of a load of sweets it’s easy to understand the popularity of Halloween.

You're right there Elrel?
In a world that's so full of evil I just can't understand why anyone would encourage children to celebrate it? Honestly it's just lost on me altogether.
There was a lady I knew who always used to go over the top on Hallowe'en. Her life was such a mess-I'm not suggesting COS of that I hasten to add! I asked her why on earth she "celebrated" bad stuff. She looked aghast-it had never crossed her mind. I suspect many folks are like that-just don't realise quite what they could be messing with. I do all I can to protect my lovely DGC-as, of course, I'm sure you all do too so I would never encourage them to meddle in these things. We try to concentrate on the good not the bad. Don't be deceived by lovely giggling youngsters who, in their innocence, have no idea what could lie behind this.

Newquay - have you not seen the happiness of a 3 year old pumpkin when a neighbour gives them a treat? Or of giggling ten year old witches and wizards when told they look great and given a handful of sweets.
I guess you're not a Harry Potter fan either.

Trick or treating is modern input, but the tradition of celebrating Halloween is a very old one. It originated in Scotland and permeated down to the NE. My children used to visit a chap in his eighties who talked about what he did as a child. You had to sing a song or recite a rhyme for your treat.

Oh dear-it's absolutely the last thing I would ever "celebrate"! What is "happy" about Halloewen? I (and DDs) avoid it like the plague. Cannot understand why anyone would think it appropriate to dress children up in such evil outfits? And to allow "trick or treating" leaves me speechless!

We had a bat outfit - black tights, top, black hat and half an old black umbrella for wings. subsequent years we had a table tennis bat, (ping pong balls) a cricket bat, a tennis bat - etc etc!!

I have crocheted my DGS's skull beanies, and for my DGD I crocheted a "lost souls skull shawl. They love Halloween, it's their favourite "holiday".

The best Halloween costume I ever saw was homemade and was easily the scariest I've ever seen. A white boiler suit, belted at the waist and tucked in at the legs, into wellies. A clear water dispenser bottle, with the neck cut off, and put over the boys head, resting on his shoulders. He had 2 empty plastic coca cola bottles taped together and stuck on his back to mimic oxygen cylinders. A plastic tube ran from them, over his shoulder and into a hole at the front of the water bottle to mimic a breathing tube. In the dark, he looked terrifying!

Bandages top to bottom: A mummy.

The skeleton idea is good- done that. If you are no good at sewing buy a hot glue gun. They're great. Ripped t-shirt, raggy trousers and green face paint- Hulk . Ripped t-shirt or shirt, raggy trousers and face paint- a zombie.

This is our “bin bag witch” costume. The dress is a bin bag with stars etc made from kitchen foil. The hat is a couple of cut cereal boxes. The broom is made from twigs collected outside. We made it three times and won prizes at each Halloween party.

I have twin brothers who are 12 years younger than me. Over 30 years ago, they forgot to tell us it was the Cub Halloween Party. We sent one in a brown paper sack, with a newspaper hat - he was a paper boy! The other poor soul wore my gold satin " disco trousers" with a box covered in tinfoil on his top half, and a tinfoil covered crash helmet. He won the first prize, but when Akela asked what he was, he said, "I don't know! My mum & my big sister dressed me up!"

Seadragon, thanks for reminder, there's a plastic vampire cloak in a cupboard. It can go to the first trick or treater who'd like it!

I made my grandson a magnificent velvet dracula cape with a stand up collar from and ex curtain. He was very disappointed - he wanted a plastic outfit like his friends.......

Try face painting! Much safer than plastic masks and doesn't interfere with their vision. There are plenty of 'how to' videos on Youtube. Search for "Face painting kids Halloween".

I've posted a link....but there are so many other cute ideas...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD4TqA4K9Jc

Best of luck and Happy Halloween!

Last year DGS's friend was dropped off for trick of treating clutching a roll of toilet paper. We wrapped him up, sellotaped him, added requested felt tip blood. He set off as a mummy but returned having shed quite a bit of his costume, DD thought she'd picked it all up.
Next morning I went to the shop. To the casual observer I was gathering up more bloodstained toilet tissue as I went!
Hint: If you make this costume ensure that the mummy goes to the loo before you wrap him!

I have a brown sheet and pillowcases, I wish I had someone to dress as a mad monk! Can't see me ever using the sheets again.

Those strong white cotton bed sheets were always used when my children needed fancy dress in the 70s. They made ideal ghost costumes for Halloween, and could then be remodelled into angel costumes with lots of tinsel added for the Sunday school nativity play.

Our charity shops in our town have lots of things. We also got some things for our gd. Also good for costumes for her drama school, when they put on plays.

I once had to make a last minute outfit for ds-sacrificed a brown single sheet, cut hole in the middle for his head and tied it round him with a piece of rope. Folded matching pillowcase in half and stapled it round edge of the hole for a hood and covered staples with gaffer tape. Voilà....the mad monk!! He still remembers it but why on earth did I have a brown sheet in the first place?!?

Get some black clothes tops and leggings trousers or such.
Cut out some bone shapes for a skeleton, main bones, rib cages arms and legs etc (find some old sheeting or such) and sew them onto the top and trousers front and back. its not as difficult as it sounds.
There are a lot of photos to get the shapes from. I if you need to buy fabric though it might be cheaper to just buy a cheap one in home bargains.
These are the bits of fabric and other rubbish I keep in my loft for such things. you never know when they might come in useful. But you do need to have space to store them.which is not a possibilty for everyone.

Home-made is best and safer ref Cludia Winkleman!!!
I was once told 10 minutes before leaving the house, that my son had to go to playgroup in fancy dress. He forgot to tell me as did my neighbour.. I cut three holes in an old pillowslip, wrote "half pint" on the front, squeezed him into it and then covered his army helmet with silver paper. He got second prize! I didn't have the nerve to tell anyone that I had done it at the last minute.

I also made a little red devil. Red outfit and ribbon tail Sewed hand felted horns onto a red hair band.