Yes, it may be an American tradition. But Halloween is a great excuse to dress your kids in homemade costumes and send them door to door for treats to hide in the pantry for when those late night sugar cravings hit.
So, bring on Halloween!
Jumping on board the Halloween bandwagon requires a costume. But, because the memory of Bookweek is probably still haunting you, we’ve uncovered some beyond brilliant yet super basic costume ideas that you can easily whip up (even after half a bottle of wine).
No need to buy a costume or a sewing machine. A trip to Kmart, Woolies or Spotlight should do the trick.
Dress Up Ideas
Raid the closet… get a costume. Simple.
Crazy cat lady
Pair a colourful robe with a toy box full of stuffed animal cats and voila! Crazy cat lady for the win!
Lumberjack (or bearded hipster)
I see a lumberjack. Others see a bearded hipster. Either way, this costume is pretty easy to pull off. If you’re going with bearded hipster, try swapping the axe for an acai berry smoothie.
The exhausted mum
This little girl NAILS the tired mum look. And how easy it is to pull off? Just add active wear, a few clinging dolls, some heavy eye makeup and a dash of baby spew to your shirt.
Upsidedown man
Arms for legs and legs for arms! How clever is this upsidedown man? Add gloves around your little one’s feet and cut some eye holes out of a pair of jeans. Complete the outfit with one of Dad’s collared shirts, some shoes for the hands and a beanie attached to your crotch.
Movie Fans
Get your Halloween inspiration from some of the classics.
It (if you dare)Â Â
All you really need is a yellow raincoat and some red balloons to pull off this It-themed outfit.
Coraline
Or, if you don’t want to scar the children for life by theming their costume on one of the scariest books/movies ever known, then you could always go with Coraline. Another yellow coat costume. And only rated PG on the creepy scale.
Fix it Felix
How cute is this little fixer-upper costume? And super easy to put together, especially if your wee one already has a selection of toy tools.
Charlie Brown
It’s amazing what you can do with a black pen and a piece of black felt. The Snoopy stuffed animal really tops this Charlie Brown baby outfit off!
ChuckyÂ
Your living doll is sure to love dressing up as one of Hollywood’s most infamous pint-sized evil villians. We love how happy this little Chucky looks holding that knife…
Elliot from ET
If you happen to have a creepy ET doll floating around the house, then you’re set. Just add a red jumper, a blanket and a trike.
Crafty costumes
Cut and paste some stuff together to make these crafty costumes.
Mummy
Got toilet paper? Then you’ve got a mummy.
Fidget Spinner
The latest childhood range – the fidget spinner – is also an easy costume idea, especially if you have cardboard boxes taking up space in your garage.
Lego brick
Got a leftover nappy box and some colourful craft paint? You’re only a few steps away from turning your kids into oversized Lego bricks.
Dirty laundry
Airing out the dirty laundry never looked so clever. And it’s another cardboard box costume winner!
Mac and cheeseÂ
Another laundry basket idea is this delicious bowl of Mac and Cheese, complete with yellow paper pasta. To make the blue bowl, simply cut the bottom out of a laundry basket and add some coloured paper to it. Seriously, some mums are so smart!
PrisonerÂ
Duct tape to the rescue!
Trick-or-Treat for Tots
Halloween is the perfect time to dress up your babies in ridiculous outfits before they’re big enough to complain about it.
An iPhone
What’s the one thing mums can’t leave home without? Their baby, of course. But an iPhone is a close second. So it makes sense to put them together.
SushiÂ
Delicious enough to eat! This Sushi baby outfit is another winner.
Gym junkieÂ
Let’s get physical. To pull off the Baby Aerobics instructor you will need baby leg warmers (which are like $1.15 online) and a matching sweatband. Fabric boombox optional (for crafty mums only).
TrollÂ
Crazy hair, don’t care. This troll costume requires a ballet onesie, a cheap wig and A LOT of hairspray.
Along Came a Spider Â
Babywearing mummas – here’s an easy way to carry bub around as you wander the streets with your older kids. Meet Spider baby!
Need more costume inspiration? Have a look at these Book Week costumes that will probably put the above ideas to shame.
