Cheap Halloween Costumes!

Do your kids want costumes that are over $100 without the accesories.  Here is a great story about a mom who took that $80 dollar costume and made the same thing for a lot cheaper.

It’s a down economy and a presidential election year—could there possibly be a MORE appropriate 2012 Halloween costume than a homemade Statue of Liberty designed for 5 bucks? I doubt it. (Hello, Humility? I’m sorry, she’s out to lunch.)

Last year my daughter came across a very nice Statue of Liberty costume in a catalog, but with torch, robe and crown, it came to about $80. While I was pleased about her costume choice considering the less-than-original-princess-and-fairy-costumes of years past, I decided I could do better with my own resources.

From around the house, we gathered the following for Lady Liberty:      

Painting a crown for Lady Liberty costume.

Cardboard
Sage green paint leftover from a home-painting project
Black paint
A princess crown (for Liberty’s crown)
An empty ribbon spool (for torch)
Foam sheets used for packing breakable items (torch flame)
Small flashlight (torch “light”)
(Also needed: Ponytail holder, stapler, safety pins, scissors, markers and duct tape)

At the thrift store, we purchased:
Two sage green curtains, $5 (for robes)
Then we went to work. Here’s how it came together:
 
Instructions
• The Crown: Cut a cardboard piece to cover the entire front of any child’s princess crown; paint green and let dry. Once it’s dry, paint black rectangles across the green piece. Cut long, skinny triangles from cardboard; paint green. Once all paint is dry, attach front piece to crown with duct tape. Attach crown spires with a stapler. Touch up paint once crown is assembled, if necessary.
• The Torch: Paint a large empty spool of ribbon with green paint. Using markers, color foam sheets yellow and orange and cut 3-4 pieces into a tear drop shape for flames. Glue foam flames around the top inside edges of the spool, leaving a hole through the middle. Slide small flashlight into the spool with the light part up. If the flashlight doesn’t fit exactly, add more foam around the edges. When the flashlight is turned on, it makes a great Liberty torch that actually lights—fun for nighttime trick or treating!

A cute costume that was fun to make for just $5.

• The Robe: I do not sew, but pinning curtains to form a robe worked fine, and was less work for me. Only thing is, you have to re-pin if you wear the costume again. Pin one curtain loosely around child so it drapes around the body. Fold second curtain into a long rectangle and drape over one shoulder like a sash; secure under the other arm with a large ponytail holder (easier than pins, and removable).

For more information see Colorado Parent.