Halloween Costumes For Kids
There are many commercial costumes available at the local stores, however between the cost, and lack of imagination, and the fact you end up with a half dozen kids all looking the same at a party, nothing beats homemade.
Below are some basic ideas for you to play with. All are cheap, easy, and allow for tons of imagination. By the way if you have an idea to add please feel free to send it.
Costumes from the closet or second-hand store:
The old stand by – a Ghost: Grab an old white sheet, cut out the eyes. Be sure it’s short enough not to trip you. Take a scrap piece of sheet, and sew up a simple treat bag.
OR
Why be the same old plain ghost? A ghost going out in public might like to get dressed up a little. Use the same old white sheet, cut out holes for the eyes and a small slit for the mouth. Then dress it up. Put eye shadow and lashes around the eyes. Lipstick for the mouth. Put a little color on the cheeks. How about earrings and a necklace ? You could color in a beard or mustache. Use something besides just a white sheet to be a little more fancy.
Scarecrow: All you need is an over-sized flannel shirt, faded blue jeans with patches, a rope for a belt and to tie at the cuffs of jeans and sleeves Stuff the shirt and jeans with plastic grocery, or paper. Add some straw to hang out of the jeans and shirt. If you want add rosy cheeks and freckles.
1960s Hippy: This one is hard, after all it’s all back in style! What is real, and what is costume? 
Grab some tie dye clothing, long wig, sandals, headband, anything with fringe on it (vests, purse…) and finish with light colored sun glasses.
Old man: Simply put on dark paints (cuffed), and jacket, most any dress shirt, mans flannel hat, walking cane. Gray the hair, with any of the commercial temporary colors, or dust with a little flour.
Mummy: Wrap your child in white bandages (rolls of gauze). Use splotches of green paint for “mold”. Use white make-up on face with “age lines” drawn on. The stiff-legged gait works perfectly.
Train Engineer: A pair of blue jeans, a blue Jean jacket, a red and black bandana, a blue and white engineer hat, a whistle, and play lantern
Mother Nature: You’ll need silk flowers and silk plant leaves in a variety of shapes and colors. An old skirt and vest. A face mask. Twigs (collected from your nearby park or in your own backyard). To make a nest, a foam bird that you can find at any craft store. A glue gun and wire. Decorate the vest & skirt with the silk leaves in a random pattern and glue into place. Decorate the skirt with flowers growing out from the leaves already put in place. Use the remaining leaves and small flowers to decorate the face mask. Gather your twigs and secure with wire to make a nest. Place your bird on the twigs and secure into place with the wire. You can add some leaves and peat moss as a filler. The child can wear a dark colored turtleneck and leggings under the vest and skirt for the evening walk to get treats.
Do it in tights & leotards or Sweats
Bunny: Take pink, brown or white hose add a powder puff or large pom-pom to the backside, and a set of ears make from constriction paper and a plastic headband. Now just hop on out and enjoy.
Turtle: Take green hose with a piece of poster board attached to the back. Simple cut the poster board into a large oval, make random marks like a turtle shell, and paint.
Puppy: Take brown, tan or white, hose. Either paint, or pin paper spots on. Make floppy ears and bobby pin to hair over your ears. The tale can be most anything, depending on what type of doggie you wish to be. Add a little make-up.
Kitten: Take Gold, brown, tan, white hose, make ears from construction paper, attach to head band or bobby pin in to hair. Sew a simple round tale, and pin on.
Spider: Take four pairs of black hose, one pair for the child’s arms, one pair for the child’s legs, and two pairs for the extra spider legs. Stuff the two pairs of hose for the extra legs with anything dark and light weight. Either sew, or staple the extra legs to keep stuffing from falling out. Dress the child in black top and pin the extra legs to the child’s black clothing. Cover the child’s arms with hose. Put the child’s legs in the other pair of hose. Add a little make-up.
Black Eye Pea: Wearing all white, with black tennis shoes, I cut out the letter ‘P’ from black construction paper and pinned the P’s all over the white outfit. Paint a black spot over one eye (”black eye” … get it? 
hee hee) you have a black-eyed ‘P’.
Black Bat: Using a black umbrella and tights, rip the umbrella in half. Discard the center and innards of the umbrella. If you are fancy you can sew the edges of the umbrella to the back of the body. If you don’t have the time to sew the umbrella you can always safety pin it.
Butterfly: Put on black sweats and black shoes. Use a piece of poster board and paint with color. Cut the poster board in an appropriate wing shape. Punch two holes toward the edges of the wings. Put black ribbon through the wings and tie around the waist of the child. Attach pipe cleaners and pompoms to a plastic head band.
Thomas the Engine & Friends: Get a small box big enough to fit around your child’s waist. Paint box blue (for Thomas), or green (for Percy) etc. With colored construction paper add stripes and train number to sides, also add black train wheels. On front make a 3D face with construction paper to match your train of choice. Attach a belt from a robe to each side and harness over shoulders. Dress child up with a conductor’s hat.
