I don’t particularly like crafting and I most certainly don’t sew. The thought of a DIY Halloween costume isn’t really my thing unless it means it saves me money. Then you are talking my language. Today I want to share 2 EASY costumes you can create for less then $10, You can have them made before Saturday.
- Ghosts x 2 (two styles)
- Stick Man
Annabelle wanted to be a ghost this year. It’s pretty old school, but I like it! It’s Covid friendly with her face all covered up. I suggested she add a face mask to be funny, but she wants to add cat ears and be a cat ghost. Sounds puuurfectly adorable and totally her. I had my expert Halloween costume maker in the house so I put her to work on the ghost costumes.
GHOSTS TUTORIAL
Supplies:
- white sheet (we used twin size)
- battery operated lights
- scissors
- marker or pen
I have no idea why I packed away my sheets from college, but I had a twin sheet set in white. I guess I was saving them for this moment. This is a very unprofessional tutorial, but this is how we made the ghosts…
My mom was visiting so she helped me situate the sheet evenly on Annabelle’s head and we marked where her eyes were with a sharpie. Then we cut the eye holes. We found for her height that the fitted sheet gave a good flounce. Is that a word? To give her ghost costume more character we also wrapped her in a string of lights underneath. It’s quite cute how it illuminates and it will be a safe costume in the dark of Halloween night. You can see a video of the ghosts dancing around our living room.
Charlie’s ghost costume is made out of the flat sheet. We did have to trim it a little. So if you have a set of white twin sheets you can make two ghost costumes. The string of lights is a two pack (affiliate linked) from Amazon and when we aren’t using them for these Halloween costumes, they are really pretty lights to decorate with at Christmas. They have a timer and 8 different light settings.
So each ghost cost us $6 (factor in cost of sheets if you don’t have any on hand or ask friends or family if they have any old sheets). They light up and can flash, dim, strobe, etc based on what setting you want. I guess you need to know your ghost’s personality.
Moving on to Jack, the 13 year old. I wasn’t sure if he was dressing up this year, but since it directly correlates with him getting candy he most certainly is still participating in Trick or Treating.
STICK MAN TUTORIAL
SUPPLIES:
- black clothing
- glow sticks
- packing tape
- scissors
- black cardstock
- glue gun
- old pair of sunglasses
We found ourselves back on Amazon so we could order this 100 pack of glow sticks. You could actually probably find a better deal at your dollar store, but we were too lazy to shop around. I included a really great YouTube video so you can see from someone more talented then myself how to make this costume. I’m getting inspiration to make a stickwoman for myself!
Simply wear a dark shirt and pants and use packing tape to arrange the glow sticks in a stick man figure. Don’t forget to do the front and the back. We will snap the glow sticks when it’s time to head out to trick or treat. Then our stick man will come to life.
There are some really creative ways to make the face too. We had fun making faces and I may have made one for myself. We took black poster board and traced a plate to get the face shape.
Then we hot glued the glowsticks to create a face and hair. I was pleased that Jack wanted to be a part of the creating of his costume. Do you know that a cup of ice water nearby is a great way to cool off burning fingers when the glue gun gets ya?
To wear his glow stick face, we took an old pair of frames and hot glued those on as well.
I have a helpful glowstick tip too. You can put them in the freezer and PAUSE their glow. We popped our stickman and woman faces in the freezer and they will come back to life on Saturday. It only takes a few minutes for them to glow again!
Let me end on a tender moment. I’ve never gotten to celebrate Halloween with my Michigan family. It was special that my mom got to see the kids costumes and be a part of making them.
I get a twinge sad that my kids don’t get to experience Halloween with their cousins like I did, but they have a wonderful time each year in our neighborhood. Cherish your family time if you live close! Here’s an OLD picture of a Halloween with my cousins. Remember how I said the Halloween costume expert was in the house? My mom made the Care Bear head, Honey Bear costume from a paper bag, and my bee costume. We have so many amazing costumes thanks to her.
Have a safe and happy Halloween! I actually don’t know if we are allowed to celebrate Halloween, but I think our neighborhood will be out. I have candy ready and of course we have our costumes complete.
