Classic Homemade Halloween Costumes

Long before the mass marketing of plastic Halloween costumes parents were forced to use their own creativity to design funny, scary, cute or crazy get-ups for their children each October. 

The following costume ideas are oldies, but goodies and are just as easy to make today as they were decades ago:

Clown—Dig around in your closet and find clothes that are too big for your child.  Embellish the items with loose fabric, patches, paint or markers.  Then, look around for an oversized hat, a cheap wig, big shoes and top it all off with some clown make-up. 

Tourist---Boys can borrow their dad’s loud Hawaiian shirt and a pair of shorts (weather permitting) with white knee-hi socks and black shoes.  Throw on a straw hat and you are ready for trick-or-treating.  For girls, find a loud flowered dress, a big straw hat, a straw bag, sunglasses, slippers, and add extra rouge for that sunburn look.  Both boys and girls can tote a camera, maps and a shopping bag to round out the look. 

Hippy--Use tie-dye clothing, a long wig, headband, sunglasses, and jeans with fringes.  Add a vest or leather coat and some sandals.

Hobo—Get a pair of oversized jeans and attach patches.  Then, get an oversized flannel shirt or suit jacket from Goodwill and cut small holes in it.  Pair with some old sneakers, a dinghy hat and use makeup to paint on a beard.

Scarecrow—Use an oversized flannel shirt and faded blue jeans or overalls with patches.  Get a rope for belt and to tie at the cuffs of jeans and sleeves.  Stuff the shirt and jeans with plastic grocery bags or wads of tissue paper. Place a little bit of straw at the bottom of jeans and shirt to make it look as though stuffing is coming out.

See Also:

Selecting a Scary Movie
Scream into Halloween