38 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes for Kids

Pineapple Halloween costume

You don’t have to spend a bundle on Halloween to enjoy all the fun when you can make cheap Halloween costumes for kids like these. There’s no sewing required for this cute fruit costume. All you need is 1 to 1½ yards of felt, a ruler and scissors.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Halloween costume

Buy green sweats for your little crime fighter (or white ones and dye them green). Cut out yellow felt for the chest and colored bandanas for elbow and knee pads. For the shell, spray paint a roasting pan brown. Cut slits on the sides and run a ribbon through it for a belt.

Candy Halloween costume

Forget getting candy … how about dressing up as candy?! (On second thought, don’t forget getting candy.) But how cute is this DIY swirl candy costume from Hello, Wonderful? It doesn’t even require any sewing!

Pippi Longstocking Halloween costume

Pippi Longstocking makes a perfect DIY costume for girls with long hair. Start with a striped top, denim skirt, and, of course, tall striped socks. Twist two to four pipe cleaners together (the thicker the hair, the more pipe cleaners you’ll need) and make braids around the pipe cleaners to make them stick out.

Tiger Halloween costume

It couldn’t be easier to draw or stick black stripes onto an orange shirt or dress to become this prowling predator! A mask, ears and/or tiger makeup finishes the look. And don’t forget the tail!

Olaf from Frozen Halloween costume

Do you wanna build a snowman? Well, now you can turn your kid into one. For this DIY Halloween costume, glue felt cut-outs onto a white hooded sweatshirt for the buttons, eyes and eyebrows. Add a few brown pipe cleaners to the hood for hair. Use orange felt, stuffing and a wooden skewer to make Olaf’s carrot nose.

Baby carrot Halloween costume

Say it with us: Awwww! Felt, ribbon and pipe cleaners dress up an all-orange ensemble to create the cutest baby carrot we ever did see, thanks to this tutorial from Primary.

Clark Kent/Superman Halloween costume

Want to dress your kid up as a superhero—without forking over 40-plus dollars for a branded store costume? Tiffany of Pretty Real has you covered with this DIY costume for boys. Layer an unbuttoned dress shirt and black pants over any shirt with the Superman logo, and finish off the look with big black glasses (Tiffany recommends removing the lenses!).

Stick figure Halloween costume

For this DIY Halloween costume for kids, trace electrical tape on a plain white outfit for the body, use a paper plate for the face and you have your own living stick figure. In addition to being great DIY Halloween costumes for kids, a stick figure family is also one of our favorite group Halloween costume ideas.

Ghost Halloween costume

Maybe it’s a little cliché (OK, a lot cliché) to cut holes in a sheet and have your kiddo trick-or-treat as a ghost. But you know what they say, if it ain’t broke … OK, it’s easier said than done to keep the holes where they’re supposed to be and make a functional costume this way! Luckily, Super Mom Hacks has you covered. (Or more like your kid covered … in a sheet!)

Emojis Halloween costume

We love these easy Halloween costumes for kids from Primary for an individual tot or for a whole group! They’re a great chance to let your little one express their own style. You can use a dress or pants and a shirt, and choose from a whole array of emojis! This design just uses felt for the faces and attaches them with fabric tape.

BB-8 Halloween costume

This Star Wars droid is made out of a Chinese paper lantern, a colander for the hat and LOTS of white duct tape. Add BB-8’s designs with a black permanent marker and orange duct tape.

Boo from Monsters, Inc. Halloween costume

Since Boo is, well, a kid, you know this transformation isn’t going to be too tricky! All she needs is a big pink t-shirt, purple pants or leggings, and pink ties for those iconic pigtails, and she’ll be a shoo-in for the tot who makes the monsters run scared. To make her even more recognizable, have her hold a Sulley (or should we say Kitty?) plush.

Scuba diver Halloween costume

Recycle empty soda bottles and turn them into an aquatic costume. Spray-paint two 2-liter soda bottles and duct tape them to look like oxygen tanks. Glue them to a foam board and strap on with elastic bands. Add flippers and goggles, and you have an adventurous DIY scuba diver.

Mummy Halloween costume

Mummy costumes are classic DIY Halloween costumes for kids, just like the most popular Halloween costumes from the year you were born. Rip a white bed sheet into strips (ripping makes it look more authentic than cutting) and wrap, wrap, wrap. To give them a dingy color, soak them in coffee water for an hour. Make sure your mummy is wearing white under his or her wrappings.

Rainbow Halloween costume

Instantly brighten everyone’s day this Halloween with this charming rainbow costume from Spoonflower. It’s a bit more labor-intensive, but we think the results are worth it! Use simple pom-poms to make the clouds, and just dress up a headband your kid already has for the sun headpiece!

Silly Skeleton Halloween costume

We love this silly, spooky getup! Find a skeletal shirt or sweatshirt and snag some eyeglasses with bouncy googly eyes and you’re ready to go. (Maybe just keep the eyeglasses on for the pictures, though, so that your kid has maximum visibility for trick-or-treating.)

Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ Halloween costumes

Even if your child hasn’t seen the Hitchcock classic, this Melanie Daniels costume is too good to pass up. All you need are some fake crows, white gloves, and sunglasses, and your little star is fighting off bird attacks in Bodega Bay. And don’t miss the best Halloween party games to get you in the spooky spirit.

Prince Charming Halloween costume

Even though you probably won’t find a Prince Charming in these fun, spooky Halloween books for kids, it still makes a great Halloween costume! Start with a white button-down and red pants. Glue on gold buttons and trimming to make your little prince as dashing as can be.

Heihei from Moana Halloween costume

There’ll be plenty of kids dressed as princesses out there—why not have your kid stand out as Moana’s goofy rooster sidekick instead? This tutorial from Primary just requires some colorful kids’ clothes, lots of felt and a styrofoam ball for those big ol’ eyeballs.

Bubble bath Halloween costume

Carefully pin white and pink balloons to a white shirt and pants to turn your kid into a walking bubble bath. Don’t forget to include a rubber duck for extra bath time fun.

Construction worker Halloween costume

Does your kid love playing with toy construction tools? Turn their hobby into a Halloween costume with ease! An orange shirt, jeans and a hard hat are all you need for this cute Halloween costume idea for kids.

Poké Ball Halloween costume

How adorable would it be if you dressed your roly-poly baby up as a Poké Ball like Say Yes did? This costume uses a red onesie, white pants, and a white hat, and just cobbles together a Poké Ball symbol out of felt! (If you have older kids, they can dress as their favorite Pokémon for an unbeatable family costume!)

Paintbrush Halloween costume

Let your child embrace their inner artiste with this creative outfit. To make the paintbrush hat, poke strong broom bristles into a styrofoam disc (use glue for added stability) and attach the disc to a crown of poster board. Color a giant paint palette, and let the paint master go to work.

Flower pot Halloween costume

Cut leg holes into the bottom of a giant plastic tub, and glue fake flowers to the inside of your “pot” for this DIY Halloween costume for kids. Use duct tape suspenders to hold the tub on your flower child.

Charlie Brown Halloween costume

Good grief! This Charlie Brown outfit takes no time at all to make—simply put black duct tape on a yellow T-shirt. This is a great DIY costume for kids you can probably make with things you have at home.

Devil child Halloween costume

Subtle, parents. But if your kiddo wants to take a walk on the devilish side this Halloween, it can be an easy Halloween costume for kids. Have them wear black or red and complete the look with a pitchfork and horns!

Pirate Halloween costume

Here’s another classic that couldn’t be easier! A striped shirt, a hat and a toy eye patch and hook, and you’re done. Time to sail the seven seas for a bounty of candy!

Box of tissues Halloween costume

Turn a cardboard box into a decorative tissue box, like Reader’s Digest’s features editor Andy Simmons’ daughter has done here. Just add wrapping paper and sheets of white tissue paper for an easy (and funny!) DIY Halloween costume for kids.

Jelly beans Halloween costume

If you’ve got a little one on the way, try a pregnancy Halloween costume. For this DIY Halloween costume for kids, fill a clear trash bag with small colored balloons for your jelly beans. Make sure not to fill the bag too much so your kid still has room to move around. Tape on a Jelly Belly logo and your costume is good enough to eat!

Little bandit Halloween costume

Outfit your trick-or-treater in black pants, black shoes and a black-and-white striped shirt. Add a black hat and a black eye mask, and craft a “money bag” out of a burlap sack. The sack doubles as a place for your child to stash her loot—of candy, that is.

Aviator Halloween costume

Let your little one take to the skies this Halloween! (Plus, they’ll be warm and cozy in this Halloween costume idea for kids!) Get a thick button-down jacket and matching pants, goggles, a long, flowing scarf and a helmet and your kiddo will be ready for takeoff.

Beanie Baby Halloween costume

If dressing up as an ordinary lion or tiger seems too easy, take it up a notch with this adorable Beanie Baby costume. You can also turn your pet into a Beanie Baby—it’s one of our favorite Halloween costumes for dogs! Simply print out (or make!) the Beanie Baby logo (a red heart with white “ty” letters), attach it to a necklace and wear it with your favorite animal costume. Bonus points if the costume is warm and cozy.

Toy army guy Halloween costume

This creative spin on the soldier costume requires a bit of thrift shopping and a lot of green spray paint. Pick up a can or two along with a plastic helmet, binoculars, a vest, boots, camo pants and a jacket. Spray paint the ensemble with green spray paint (you’ll need to use a layer of primer first) and make sure to get your little ranger to strike his best freeze frame army pose.

Bamm-Bamm Halloween costume

You get major nostalgia points for throwing back to this old Hanna-Barbera classic. Your little one may not get the reference, but it’s definitely one of our favorite DIY costumes for boys! (And it’s an opportunity to show him some cartoons from way back when!) You can attach black felt or paper squares to orange shorts and a cap, or just go with animal-print patterns. You’ll also need a fluffy white wig and a toy bone to tie into a sash.

Witch Halloween costume

Here’s another oldie but goodie, one of the most tried-and-true DIY costumes for girls. It may require a little shopping (if you don’t have a witch hat lying around), but it’s inexpensive, easy and recognizable! A dark-colored or sparkly dress, a broom, and perhaps some spooky face paint complete the look. Maybe Kitty can get in on this costume—or try one of these cat Halloween costumes.

Crayons Halloween costume

This is a good one for a whole crayon crew! Check out Primary for simple instructions on how to turn monochromatic ensembles, party hats and black felt letters into easy Halloween costumes for kids.

Ewok Halloween costume

Your kid can celebrate their favorite fandom and be nice and warm as a cute and cuddly Ewok from the Star Wars universe. Just get long, dark-colored clothes, boots, a thick shawl or scarf and bear ears—yub nub! Ready for a night of spooktacular fun?

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