last minute easy halloween costume ideas

I know I cannot possibly be the only mom whose Halloween costume effort falls somewhere between making an elaborate hand stitched princess costume and cutting a couple eye holes out of the oldest sheet in the linen closet…. With Halloween just over a week away here are some easy last minute ideas to save the day (and your sanity).

1) Butterfly :: a black shirt, black pants, and a pair of wings can transform kids of all ages into a beautiful butterfly. There are many options on Pinterest to make your own wings or be like me and find some not-too-expensive butterfly wings online. Feeling extra crafty? Add black pipe cleaners to a black headband for antenna.

2) Gumball Machine :: red bottoms and a white top with pom-poms glued to it. There are many different Pinterest ideas on how to make the ideal “gumball” configuration and really there’s not any wrong way to make those fun pom-poms work for this costume. Feeling extra crafty? Cover a trick-or-treating pumpkin with pom-poms for the ultimate candy collecting container.

3) Paul Bunyan/Lumberjack :: jeans, red buffalo plaid flannel top, and a blue stuffed animal (as in Babe the Big Blue Ox). With the recent buffalo plaid craze there is a good chance you have these items already on hand. Feeling extra crafty? Make an “axe” for your little tree topper using a cardboard cut out and some aluminum foil.

4) Olaf :: white shirt with a hood, or white shirt & white hat, black pants, black or brown pipe cleaners, and felt (black,white, & orange). Use the pipe cleaners to create the twigs at the top of the hood or hat, and the felt for the face features and buttons. A hot glue gun or fabric glue should hold it all together for a no-sew costume. Feeling extra crafty? Really, after that you’re pretty crafty anyway but if you want to go the extra mile you can add your own “flurry” on a stick.

5) “Whatever” or “I Don’t Know” :: this can only be created by children who refuse any suggestions from their parental units leading up to Halloween but then will completely freak out at the last minute because they do not have an awesome costume. Warning: this costume probably includes tears, yelling, and high doses of last minute creativity. For these children there is usually a box of dress up clothes, a bin of prior years’ costumes that are slightly too small, cardboard boxes and imagination. Feeling extra crafty? Help them create that last minute costume but invoke a fee… like all their Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or every last Twix that gets thrown in their bag.

Happy Halloween to you all and I hope that you have fun and stay safe with your kids with whatever costumes they end up wearing!