Creative Costumes

THESE IDEAS ARE AWARD WINNERS!

Cool Halloween Costume Ideas

Aquarium Costume

You Will Need:

Large cardboard box

Silver paint or construction paper

Blue cellophane

Duct tape

Craft foam

Fishing line

Seashells

Plastic greenery (available at craft stores)

Snorkel mask or goggles and flippers (optional)

What to Do:

Cut a hole for your head in the top of the box. Cut large squares out of all four sides. Paint the box or cover it with construction paper. Cover the back window with a large piece of cellophane and tape it to the inside of the box. Tape strips of cellophane inside both side windows. Cut sea animal shapes out of craft foam. To hang, thread fishing line through a small hole in each shape, then tape the fishing line to the top of the box. Tie or tape fishing line around the seashells to hang them. Tape greenery inside the front of the box. If you like, wear a snorkel mask, goggles, or flippers for photos. For safety, be sure to remove them before you go trick-or-treating.

Cat Up a Tree Costume

You Will Need:

Green shirt

Brown pants

Leafy garlands (available at craft stores)

Safety pins

Stuffed cat

Bobby pins or elastic headband

What to Do:

Wrap the garlands around your arms and torso, and pin in place. Pin the cat to your shoulder. Attach leaves to your hair with bobby pins or by pinning them to a headband. Your friends will be green with envy.

Spaghetti and Meatballs Costume

You Will Need:

Large cardboard box

Small tablecloth

Craft glue

Large plastic plate

Cream-colored yarn

Brown pom-poms

Red felt

Baseball cap

Paper napkin

Plastic utensils

Plastic salt and pepper shakers

Plastic vase with flowers

What to Do:

Cut out a two-foot-wide (.61-meter-wide) circular piece of cardboard. Cut holes in the center of the cardboard and tablecloth for your head. Glue the tablecloth to the cardboard. Cut a hole for your neck out of the plate. Slit the plate so you can wear it as a collar. Glue yarn (spaghetti), pom-poms (meatballs), and red felt (sauce) to the plate and cap. Glue napkin, utensils, salt and pepper shakers, and a vase with flowers on top of the tablecloth.

More Costume Ideas to Try

Cheese & Crackers

Cut off the bottom of a large, narrow, rectangular box. Then cut off the narrow sides stopping about four inches from the top. Now cut the front and back of the box into V-shapes. To create the Swiss cheese effect, cut several holes in both sides. Finally, cut a hole in the top of the box for your head. Apply a few coats of yellow paint. Wear an empty cracker box as a hat.

Tornado

Dress in a dark-colored outfit. Glue or tie toy people, animals, cars, and houses to pieces of yarn and fasten them to your clothing with safety pins. Twirl around saying, "I'm a tornado!"

Shark

Cut triangles from white poster board and tape them inside the hood of a gray sweat-shirt. Cut a fin shape from a gray foam sheet (available at craft stores). In the center of the fin's base cut a one-inch vertical slit. Fold one side out to the right and the other side out to the left. Secure each side to the back of the sweatshirt using safety pins.

Laundry

Cut a hole the width of your body in the bottom of a thin plastic laundry basket, (The opening needs to be big enough so you can slide the basket over your shoulders to your waist.) Loop heayy string through the slats in the sides of the basket and tie it around your waist. Put strips of strong tape across the hole in the bottom so clothes won't fall out. Fill the basket with colorful clothes.

Clothes Dryer

Cut the bottom off of a large square cardboard box. Cut holes in the box for your head and arms. Cut a door in the front of the box. (Cut along three sides, then fold open slightly.) To create the control panel, take some of the excess cardboard, fold it, and place crease side up along the back edge of the box. Tape into place using paper packing tape. Brush on several coats of white paint. Use white jar lids to make the dials. Tape on an empty box of dryer sheets for decoration.

More Costumes

Baked Potato

The several pillows to the front, back, and sides of your body. Then have a parent or a friend wrap aluminum foil around you until the pillows are completely covered. (It may take a lot of foil, so buy an inexpensive brand!) Press foil down so that it sticks to the pillows. To create a pat of butter, take a large square of yellow felt and cut an X in the center large enough to fit your head through. Wear the felt w square around your neck.

Jelly Beans

Make holes for your arms and legs in the bottom and sides of a large, clear plastic bag. (A lawn bag or a dry-cleaner bag will work great.) Put the bag on over your clothes, then fill with different colored balloons that are not completely blown up. Gather the bag opening at your neck and loosely tie on a ribbon with a tag.

Spider

To create the legs, take three pairs of inexpensive black tights and fill each leg with styrofoam balls (available at craft stores) or rolled-up pairs of socks. Tie black yarn between the first and second balls that you put into each spider leg. Leave enough yarn to tie around your wrists so you can raise and lower the legs. Pin or sew the open ends of the tights to the back of a black shirt and wear black pants. To be a black widow spider, cut an hourglass shape from red felt or fabric and pin it to the front of the shirt. To make a skullcap, cut one of the feet off a pair of black tights or stockings.

Middle of the Road

Dress in black pants and a black shirt. Run two strips of yellow electrical tape down the center of your body, from your neck to your feet, to create two parallel lines.

Gum Under a Chair

Wear a light-colored outfit (such as pink, orange, or light purple). Carry a child-size chair over your head.