For those who are planning to enjoy the day...let's see how well we can do with creating costumes for as little money as possible.

We are frugal..we are creative..we can do it!!

I sew the Halloween costumes for my grandkids each year.  I shop for old costume patterns at the thrift store and/or buy costume patterns when JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby have them on sale for 99 cents.  I also shop all year for "costume-y" types of clearance fabrics (think SHINY!) and other accessories--like wigs, fairy wands, hats, etc.--at after-Halloween or after-Christmas sales.  I have made a fireman, cowgirls, Raggedy Ann, fairy princesses, cow (complete with "horns" headband), Batman, X-men, Princess Jasmine, clowns, lamb, etc.--most for five dollars or less!  What a joy it is to use my talents and my frugal hunter-gatherer skills to help my grandkids look CUTE!  Miss Paula in Texas  P. S.  My crowning achievement was making a "tick" costume--I dressed my youngest son in black shirt, black tights, and made two slightly-padded round black pillows with over-the-shoulder straps and a little round hat; our family STILL laughs about that costume--HA!!

THe best costume I've seen was the one the Rabbi for another congregation wore for Purim one year.  She dressed up as a Concord grape.  She had on her head a black & green stem, & her body was covered with a purple shpere.

I stocked up last year on used costumes at Kmart the day after Halloween. Fancy unicorn, cat puppy, etc for 90% off so like $2.50- about the same price as a zipper.  This year I don't think I"ll have to deal with this as we have quite the costume collection.  Plus one son has his birthday and will receive an knight outfit as his gift.  I could've ordered from Oriental Trading Post but then I'd have to pay postage so I'll be getting him one a little early but still looking for just the right deal.  I were pretty creative past years- turned a thrift store skirt into a mermaid tail and added a shell necklace, dragon with a floating noodle tail and added triangles using sewing pins....  I do have to sew for a friend who wants special fairy costumes for her daughters. She liked the ones I sewed for the school operetta. I volunteered just to save them money - they paid $25 for just the MATERIAL PER COSTUME and then I still had to sew for 5 girls.  I'll watch what I volunteer for next time!!! I'll make practically identical costumes 2 for $5. 

blessings,

joan of ark 

If you are a willing seamstress, your child can be involved in every musical, play, etc.; there's just not that many seamstresses any more--ha!  My sister (who also sews) and I used to have a running "CONTEST" as to who could volunteer for the craziest sewing projects!  One year I won the "CONTEST" by making 25 clown costumes for our children's church Christmas program.  The next year, I lost to her willingness to sew 50--yep, FIFTY--poodle skirts for a junior high choir production--made skirts in sizes girls 8 to misses 22!  I thought I had her beat the year I made the tick costume, but she made a full-grown turkey costume for her daughter's Thanksgiving program.  Guess we're still continuing the "CONTEST"--I sew for costumes for my grandkids and she sews all of the costumes for a mounted equine drill team that she rides with.

Joan of Ark, two costumes for $5 is just about the right price, don't you think?  I love taking fabric scraps and using them to make something unique and creative!  Miss Paula in Texas

Since I read DS the first Harry Potter book this summer he has been hooked. So he wants to be Harry Potter. I went to Goodwill to look for a black dress or XXL black womens shirt I could alter to make a robe. I found a small black graduation gown for 1.99. YEAH!! I still had to shorten it. We made a wand by stripping bark off of a branch, DS used his markers and paper to make a Griffindor badge. I will use eye liner to make the scar and we found round glasses at a party supply store rather inexpensive.

I went back to the same Goodwill store a few days later and they had put out the Halloween Costumes and they had more graduation gowns so I bought one for DH and a green one for myself and a witches hat for .50.

The plan is now to make a sign to go over the front door saying "Welcome to Hogwarts", We are going to put another hat on a bar stool at the entryway ( the sorting hat) I am going to make a Griffindor and Slitherin banner to hang on the wall using the back of christmas paper and markers, I am going to be Prof. McGonagall and DH Prof. Snape, We are still trying to find a cauldron to hand out candy in.

Any other Hogwarts ideas you can think of useing not much $?

For the candy to hand out, you could try jelly beans for the "every flavor beans". Or bake cupcakes and individually wrap in saran wrap as "cauldron cakes". Maybe some gummy worms for Slytherin. lol Maybe have a ghost near the ceiling for "Peeves". Do you have any stuffed animals lying around that resemble Crookshanks, Scabbers,Hedgwig or even Trevor the frog? Perhaps you could find alot of small twigs to tie onto the end of a large branch to make your own flying broom? 

I won't be buying Halloween costumes this year. I havn't for awhile. My boys used to love to play dress-up so I would get costumes for them on the after-halloween sales, garage sales, thrift shops, or even from Grandparents at christmas. All of these have been put into one large costume box and the boys will dig through that and find whatever pieces they want to either wear a costume as is, or create a new one from parts. The capes and masks still fit my oldest son even if the rest he's outgrowing. We'll find a way to make up whatever we're missing. I refuse to buy expensive costumes for one-night. When I was a kid, very few other kids had costumes from stores. We all made our own one way or another.

Miserly, this site has some ideas:

 http://www.ula.org/organization/rt/csrt/csrt-hpde.htm

A store close by sells British candy and had the Harry Potter Bertie botts Jelly beans... normal flavors like grape, lemon etc plus vomit, rotten egg, soap, sardine, .booger, grass, black pepper,dirt, earthworm, earwax and more in little boxes. I have tried a few..gross!  I shopped garage sales and value village plus the 75% off sales after halloween for good deals. They are in the dress up box.  I got a couple of the expensive stuffed costumes dirt cheap that hang off the shoulders. So my daughter can be Cinderella or a Unicorn.  We have birds and belonged to a bird club when she was born. I bought a parrot costume that is warm jacket with hood. Someone gave us plush bird feet slippers so she wore that the first one, so cute! and she wore the parrot costume  until last year when she couldn't fit into it. Didn't want to be anything else. I have a child's fire helmet from the firehall open house. I found a fireman's vest at the dollar store so my son has the option of that, blue clues or a plush dinosaur.   The schools don't have dress up. Found out Her school does a Halloween carnival before the day and on Halloween it is the black and orange day so they can dress in those colours.  We love halloween! even before kids. lots of decorations. Have halloween jewellery and witches hats with wigs. My inlaws come up to see all the trick or treaters.

This is an area in which I'm at a loss.  I don't sew nor I have time to learn.  I have 5 boys so to tell you the truth we have been recycling costumes from years past and getting creative some years and some others we have bought costumes .... and spend a bundle.  So. I'm trying not to sweat it out and I'm going to ask in advance and go form then on.  My oldest son is 11 so he is not into the costumes, maybe a wig or something silly will do.  The rest I will recycle or buy something.