Easy DIY Halloween costume ideas

Whether you love it, or hate it, there’s no escaping that Halloween season is almost upon us! This scary celebration is all about celebrating the weird and the wonderful, and that gives us the opportunity to be as creative as we like when it comes to dressing up. 

Homemade Halloween costumes are always the best. Not only are they a cheaper alternative to store-bought alternatives, but they always feel more authentic and thoughtful too.

But how do you make a homemade Halloween costume with minimal time available? Well, here we have rounded up some cheap and easy costume ideas for all the family!

Robot costume

Robots are a great Halloween costume choice, and can be created pretty easily, providing you have access to a range of different sized cardboard boxes.

You will need approximately 6 boxes each to make each full costume – one for the head, one for the body and two for each leg and two for each arm.

Cut out holes for your arms and legs and circles or squares for your eyes, and fuse together using strong parcel tape at the joints. You could wrap your boxes with silver foil, wrapping paper, or wall paint in your favourite colour for full effect. Underneath, you could wear tights or a thermal bodysuit, to ensure no flesh is seen below.

Black cat costume

A long-loved friend of witches far and wide – the black cat costume makes a great choice for both adults and kids.

Create a base layer with black leggings or tights and a black sweater, and then create some feline accessories to bring everything together: Your tail can be made using a long piece of fluffy fabric, or by attaching a black feather boa around a long pipe cleaner, then fastened onto your leggings with safety pins. Your kitty ears can be made by attaching two, triangle-shaped pieces of black fabric onto the top of a plain black headband, and then placing them right at the top of your head. Be sure to draw on your black nose and whiskers using face paint – and maybe black lips if you are feeling daring.  

Black gloves and furry black boots or slippers will complete your kitty look.

Bat costume

A fantastic bat costume can be made using the broken remains of an old, black umbrella.

Simply cut your umbrella in half using some strong scissors or pliers, and then attach each half under the arms and lower waists of a black hoodie to create your bat wings. If any hinges are broken on the brolly, then fasten them back together using black electrical tape ensuring that you can open your wings to get the full wingspan effect. Complete your costume with black foam ears stuck to a black headband and black face paint.

If you don’t have a broken umbrella to use, then you can use some black elasticated fabric cut into triangles to attach onto your hoodie instead.

Ghost costume

Last minute Halloween costume ideas don’t come better than the good old ghosty! The white bedsheet drape is always an option if you really don’t have time to get any supplies in, but alternatively, cheesecloth has a creepier, more distressed look.

Drape some cheesecloth layers over white leggings and a white tee, and pin together with safety pins. Follow with a few layers of wide bandages or white gauze and pin this together too. Blood stains are optional!

For your face, you can make a homemade white face paint by mixing moisturiser together with corn flour and a little water. Not only is this a cheaper option, but you will also be avoiding all those harsh chemicals too.

Skeleton costume

You can easily put together a skeleton costume for a child or adult using an old white t-shirt and a pair of scissors. Simply cut out long strips from the left side of the tee towards the centre chest, and then the same at the right side – leaving a piece of thick, white fabric at the centre of the tee. This will create the illusion of a rib cage with a central sternum down the middle.

Wear black as your base layer for the ribs to show up clearly, and why not patch on a post-it note heart under some of the ribs for an extra-special touch!

Paint your skeleton face using the homemade white face paint mix mentioned above and add dark circles around the eyes and mouth with black makeup to look like dark, empty spaces.

 

We hope we have given you some eerie inspiration for your Halloween costume and if you are planning further celebrations, then be sure to check out our ultimate Halloween party survival guide.