This Halloween, let your kids show off their personality with custom trick-or-treat apparel. Skip the store and choose your favorite DIY Halloween costumes for kids instead. Create adorable animals or put a new spin on traditional characters. Don’t have enough time? These creative and quirky costumes can be assembled in under an hour.
DIY bug costume
nicole gerlatt
If you have some leftover cardboard boxes, you already have most of the materials for this costume. Have your child wear black pants and a black shirt and attach the cardboard beetle body to their back with elastic straps. Glue an antenna made of pipe cleaners to a black knitted hat for a more realistic look.
DIY deer costume
andrea hanki
Cardboard antlers and ears make the cutest deer costume ever. Complete the look with a brown top and children’s faux fur vest and a dab of white paint freckles. So cute!
DIY bird costume
nicole gerlatt
Bright feather feathers pair perfectly with a plain cotton sweatsuit to create this super easy (and super cheap!) bird costume for kids. This adorable bird costume is made entirely of paper, so there’s no need to clean it up with feathers after trick-or-treating.
DIY hot air balloon pilot costume
andrea hanki
If you want to make a very creative and eye-catching costume, make this hot air balloon costume. Any basket can be used as the main part of this costume, as long as you remove the bottom. Use three wooden dowels and string to create a place to hold a large balloon or ball. Attach brown paper bags to the sides with string for a more realistic look. Remember to wear goggles and a scarf.
DIY cake costume
nicole gerlatt
Transform cardboard into a DIY kids cake costume and use paint and wool felt balls for frosting to create the perfect costume for your party. Place a cake hat on top to act as a clever top layer.
DIY knight costume
andrea hanki
DIY Halloween costumes don’t require a rescue operation. This might be the easiest armor ever! With adorable swords, shields, and helmets all made from cardboard, trick-or-treaters are ready to defend their kingdom. With this costume, trick-or-treaters can add some flair by designing a shield and choosing an outfit underneath. Add a simple cloth cloak and a coordinating costume, and the knight sets out to rescue his friends and Candy.
DIY unicorn costume
nicole gerlatt
A plain cardboard box can be transformed into a beautiful unicorn using scissors and lots of paint. Cut out a unicorn silhouette from cardboard and paste it into a box with holes in which your child can comfortably fit. Paint all of the cardboard white except for the black eyes, pink cheeks, and corner stripes. As the mane and tail, sew colorful threads with glue or staples. Drape the costume over your child’s shoulders using the elastic straps.
DIY clown costume
nicole gerlatt
Create the cutest clown costume ever by adding some embellishments and DIY pom poms to your child’s long underwear set. This costume is really easy and super cheap. Plus, you can secure the pom poms and accessories with safety pins so your child can wear the pajama set again later.
DIY princess costume
andrea hanki
A classic Halloween costume for girls, this princess shows off your DIY flair by using crumpled kraft paper. Wrap and wrinkle plain brown paper to create a matching skirt and floral brooch set. Add a papier mache crown to complete the look fit for a princess. Or make your child a resident of Scotland by adding a plaid pattern to the paper with colored markers.
DIY airplane costume
nicole gerlatt
The sky’s the limit with this creative kids airplane costume. This cardboard airplane is ready for takeoff. Skip the sewing with this Halloween costume and instead use patterns to decorate a cardboard box with wings, a tail, and even a working propeller.
DIY star costume
nicole gerlatt
All you need for this DIY star costume is cardboard, glue, and a large container of gold glitter. It’s really easy! Cut a hole to fit your child’s face and cover the star with glitter. Pair it with a color-coordinated outfit to complete the costume.
DIY Witch or Warlock Costume
nicole gerlatt
This homemade witch costume is so easy it can be magical! With just a few pieces of fabric and some simple stitching, you’ll have this easy hat and robe combo ready in no time. Add an adorable broom to the ensemble and your child will be ready to fly around the neighborhood collecting candy. Add a rope belt around your waist to tie pouches of magical items such as colored glass stones.
DIY doll costume
andrea hanki
This paper doll’s costume is too cute for words! Dress your child in all black, add flat cardboard cutouts, and decoupage fabric to make clothes. Complete this fun costume by adding cardboard or cardstock tags.
DIY skunk costume
brain motes
This skunk is anything but stinky! Attach the black and white faux fur fabric with a skunk-like pattern to the black hoodie using fabric glue. Do not forget to leave the fabric in the part where the tail will be. Spots of pink fur create ears on the hoodie.
DIY bat costume
brain motes
This DIY kids costume proves that not all bats are scary. Use gray glitter fabric to cut a cape that looks like bat wings. Attach the center of the cape to the child’s back and the ends to the wrists of the shirt. Create a layered vest that looks like bat chest hair by choosing another fabric that is slightly darker than the first. Use the remaining dough to make small fuzzy ears.
DIY pop star costume
brain motes
This fun DIY costume for kids can be made using clothing items you already have at home. Bright colors and funky patterns are key. Dress up simple clothes like vests and pants with iron-on stars, boa feathers, and faux fur. Don’t forget accessories like bangles, sunglasses and microphone!
DIY robot costume
andrea hanki
Made from materials you probably have at home, this adorable little robot is super easy to assemble. Three spray-painted cardboard boxes are stacked one on top of the other to form the robot’s body, and the arms, ears, and antennae are made from recycled plastic materials. Pair this gender-neutral Halloween costume with an ivory tulle skirt, khakis, or white pants to complete your ensemble.
DIY pirate costume
Jason Wilde
This is a pirate costume that can be easily made by simply adding decorations to regular children’s clothing. Layer a black vest over a red turtleneck sweater. The ends are trimmed with hot glued gold ribbon. Wrap a pirate-inspired bandana around your child’s head and place a felt pirate hat on top. Complete the look with black pants, boots, and a belt.
DIY frog costume
adam albright
A green long-sleeved shirt, pants, and a bit of felt will help you make this frog costume in less than an hour. Attach the yellow-green felt belly to the front of the shirt with fabric glue. Cut circles out of dark green felt and adhere them to the entire costume. A thin strip of pink felt with rounded edges imitates a frog’s tongue. You can use ping pong balls with black dots as eyes and glue them to the top of the hood.
DIY elephant costume
adam albright
This DIY elephant costume is cute beyond words and super easy to put together. Create this adorable costume by attaching matching felt to a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. Sweatshirts are perfect for trick-or-treating on cold nights, and the costumes can be very affordable.
DIY gnome costume
adam albright
Gnomes are cute and easy DIY Halloween costumes for kids that only require fabric. Create a white beard from faux fur fabric, a red pointy hat, a homemade vest, and a belt using felt and hot glue. Recreate an adorable garden gnome by layering a vest over a plaid shirt, black pants and red boots.
DIY fairy costume
brain motes
A whimsical fairy costume can be assembled with few materials and time. Create a forest fairy theme by decorating a plain long-sleeved shirt with paper or felt flowers and leaves. Continue the floral pattern onto the headband and tulle skirt to complete the costume. Wrapping a wand-like item with ribbon turns it into a magical accessory.
DIY ladybug costume
Legend has it that having a ladybug in your home brings good luck, so this sparkling version is sure to be special. This DIY kid’s ladybug costume uses just the right amount of glitter (a lot) to make the antennae and spotted cardboard wings sparkle. Elastic shoulder straps allow you to easily slip this costume over a dark shirt and black leggings, making your trick-or-treating comfortable, warm, and bug-cute with minimal effort. Masu.
DIY wolf costume
nicole gerlatt
Watch out for Little Red Riding Hood going trick-or-treating! This DIY wolf costume comes to life with the help of a painted cardboard head, a faux fur tail pinned to a gray sweatsuit, and fuzzy gloves decorated with cardstock claws . This is a great DIY kids Halloween costume that requires little to no sewing skills.
DIY lumberjack costume
andrea hanki
A knitted hat and a cardboard ax will make dressing up for Halloween this year super easy. Add a child-sized flannel and an eyeliner scruff and your little boy is ready to chop down trees.
DIY beaver costume
adam albright
This forest beaver costume is so adorable and so easy. Cut and sew brown felt sheets onto a store-bought dark brown sweatsuit to create an affordable costume that’s cute beyond words. Plus, it comes with easy-to-use instructions, so you can get it done in minutes.
DIY beast costume
andrea hanki
A child-sized black hoodie and a wire coat hanger form this spiked, fire-breathing dragon. Switch up your ensemble by creating a look with a colorful hoodie and multicolored felt spikes hot glued to the back.
DIY tree costume
adam albright
Sew felt leaves onto a plain green sweatshirt and pair it with brown sweatpants to create this super cute DIY tree costume. It’s very easy and takes just a few minutes. You only need to buy a sweatshirt and a few pieces of felt, so it’s super wallet-friendly!
DIY mouse costume
nicole gerlatt
Transform your little trick-or-treater into a mischievous mouse and run around looking for treats. To make little pip-squeak noises, simply glue cardboard ears to the headband and pin the sewn long tail to the leggings for this quick-to-assemble homemade mouse costume.
DIY peacock costume
adam albright
Add an intricate looking felt tail to the plain blue and yellow combination and you have the easiest costume ever. Most of the felt and foam is attached to the tail instead of clothing, so you can store the shirt and pants so your child can wear them again.
DIY colorful knight costume
adam albright
Give your child some shining armor with a store-bought sweatshirt and some felt. Cut the hood of a sweatshirt to make a helmet, and add a felt badge to the front of a plain T-shirt. It’s cute, easy, and very budget friendly. Plus, the sweat material means your child will stay warm on Halloween night.
