Instead of piecing together last-minute costumes from last year’s Halloween outfits, consider some of the following ideas for fun, easy, and most importantly, creative costumes for your trick-or-treating troupe this year.
1. Knit Cap Creativity
Not only is knitting fun, quick, and fairly easy to do, it’s also a money-saver when it comes to costumes. Knit a red cap with a brown stem and green leaf for an apple, or try pink bunny ears with earflaps for a quick Bob’s Burgers’ Louise.
2. Garden Vegetables and Farmers
This is a great one for families and any number of kids. Each child picks a garden vegetable and the parents dress as farmers. This is especially cute when you have a very little one dressed as, say, a baby carrot.
3. Your Parents in High School
Do you have an old school photo that makes you cringe every time you see it? Your kids might find it hilarious to dress up just like you, parachute pants and all. For added kick, let them carry around the picture for comparison.
4. Obscure Dr. Seuss
Everyone goes for the Cat in the Hat, but when was the last time you saw a Blue Fish or a Fox in Socks? Dr. Seuss books are full of interesting characters that will not only spur your creativity, but might also inspire some reading.
5. Movie Mom and Baby Duos
Take dynamic movie duos one step further with mom and baby combo costumes. From the obvious Batman and baby Robin or Sarah and Toby from Labyrinth to Laurel and Hardy or even Wayne and Garth from Wayne’s World, one grown-up and one baby version of famous twosomes will steal the show.
6. Play on Words
Everyone likes a good play on words! A Smarty Pants costume, for example, can be done by attaching Smarties candies to a pair of pants. Or how about a bunch of soup labels on a cape for a Soup-er Hero?
7. Baby Meme
For a quick, hilarious costume, consider picking one of your favorite baby or kid memes and printing it in large format, cutting out the face for the costume.
8. Famous Paintings
From your take on a famous Andy Warhol painting to “The Scream” or “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, you can have a lot of fun and learn about the classics all at once.
9. ‘Octopus’s Garden’ or Other Favorite Songs
Speaking of classics, costumes can easily take the form of a famous song with very little effort. To do The Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden”, for example, pin six stuffed socks to the bottom of a shirt with a bouquet of flowers.
10. Steampunk
For parents who appreciate classics, Steampunk outfits celebrate all things futuristic as conceived of by late 19th century Victorians. From goggles to driving gloves to top hats and moustaches, Steampunk is perfect for your little hipster-to-be.
What makes a great costume is thinking outside of the box, and often the best costumes are the ones that make people think for a moment. What are some of your favorite creative costumes?
Kristin Hackler is a mother, author, and regular eBay community contributor on fashion, DIY, and family-related topics. Kristin resides in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and son.