Published: October 01, 2008 01:25 pm      

No Costumes? No Problem!

If the bankroll is tight this Halloween – or you’re just feeling the need to flex your creative guns – it’s simple and fun to make your own costumes for the children. Here are three easy, simple ideas that will reap big treats from your tricks.



Dog costume: Take a matching pair of hoodie and sweatpants in any dog-like color and turn them inside-out to resemble fur. (Don’t forget to cut off the tags!) Then, attach socks to either side of the hood and a sock for a tail to the back of the sweatshirt. Use matching socks for hands and feet to create paws, and attach some felt to the palms of hands and soles of feet for “pads,” if you wish. Use either face paint or eyeliner to darken the nip of your child’s nose and draw whiskers. For a special touch, you can even add a collar and leash to the costume.



Skeleton: Dress your child in a black sweat suit with black shoes and either black or white gloves. There are two easy way to make the “bones”: either draw or stencil them on with glow-in-the-dark paint, or cut out bone shapes from contact paper and stick them to the costume. Use white and black face paint to disguise your child’s face.



Hippie: Perhaps the easiest costume of all! Cut the bottoms of an old pair of jeans (or buy a cheap pair) to make bell

bottoms, and draw flowers on them. Use a tie-dye shirt or old band T-shirt for a top, and tie a bandana around the forehead. Find some John Lennon-style glasses (pop the lenses out if needed) at the drugstore, throw on some cheap beads, and voila!



Send us pictures of your creative Halloween costumes to print in our next issue! See address & e-mail instructions below Pee Wee Pic of the Month.