15 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes for Kids You Can Make at Home

Halloween has a funny way of sneaking up on us.

One minute you're admiring the first crunchy leaves of autumn, and the next someone needs a Halloween costume for school, a party or trick-or-treating… preferably by tomorrow.

Before you rush out to buy something they'll probably wear for approximately three hours, have a look around the house.

An old cardboard box. A black T-shirt. A bedsheet that's seen better days. Some wool, paper, paint or leftover craft supplies.

You might already have everything you need.

And homemade Halloween costumes don't need to look perfect. In fact, that's rather the point.

When children help make their own costumes, they get to decide what their character looks like, add ridiculous details, change their minds halfway through and proudly announce:

"I made this!"

So here are 15 easy DIY Halloween costumes for kids that don't require impressive sewing skills, expensive supplies or three evenings spent wondering why you started this in the first place.

Most can be adapted using whatever you already have at home.

Let's make something wonderfully spooky.

Before You Start: Raid the House

Before buying anything, gather a little costume-making pile.

Look for:

• Old T-shirts and leggings

• Cardboard boxes

• Paper and card

• Paper bags

• Wool or string

• Old sheets or pillowcases

• Felt scraps

• Tin foil

• Paint

• Washable pens

• Tape

• Safety pins

• Headbands

• Old hats

• Scarves

• Socks

• Children's dressing-up clothes

You don't need all of these.

Think of them as possibilities rather than a shopping list.

Then ask your child:

"What could we turn this into?"

You may be surprised by what they come up with.

1. The Classic Little Ghost

Sometimes the simplest Halloween costumes are still the best.

You'll need:

An old white sheet or large piece of white fabric, a pencil and scissors.

How to make it:

Drape the sheet loosely over your child and carefully work out approximately where their face will sit.

Remove the sheet before doing any cutting.

Instead of cutting tiny eye holes that can restrict vision, consider creating a larger face opening. You can then draw a spooky ghost face around it using a fabric-safe pen.

Trim the bottom if necessary so your child can't trip over it.

Want to make your ghost slightly less traditional?

Let your child decorate the fabric with stars, spiders, patches, colourful doodles or even a bow.

Suddenly you've got a ghost nobody else has.

Spoon & Sky shortcut: No suitable sheet? Dress them entirely in white and make a simple white ghost poncho from an old pillowcase or piece of fabric instead.

2. Cardboard Robot

If there's a cardboard box somewhere in your recycling, there's probably a Halloween costume hiding inside it.

You'll need:

A cardboard box, paint or tin foil, glue or tape, and whatever interesting recycling you can find.

How to make it:

Choose a box wide enough to fit comfortably around your child's torso.

Cut a hole for the head and openings for both arms, making sure there are no sharp cardboard edges.

Now comes the fun part.

Turn it into a robot.

Paint the box silver, grey or any colour your child chooses. Add cardboard buttons, bottle-top controls, paper dials, switches, numbers and warning signs.

You could even stick two smaller boxes over shoes to create robot feet — provided they're roomy, secure and easy to walk in.

Ask:

"What does your robot do?"

Perhaps it's a biscuit-making robot.

A monster-catching robot.

A robot that only speaks in animal noises.

Costume sorted. Character created.

3. Little Black Cat

Perfect when you need something very last minute.

You'll need:

Black clothes, a headband, black card, tape or glue and optional face paint.

How to make it:

Cut two triangular ears from black card.

Cut two slightly smaller triangles from pink paper if you have some and stick them inside.

Attach the ears securely to a headband.

For the tail, use a long black sock, strip of fabric or stuffed pair of tights and attach it safely to the back of your child's outfit. Having used this one before, I find that a doubled up belt from a dressing gown makes the ideal tail in my opinion.

Add a little black nose and whiskers with child-safe face paint if you'd like.

Done.

And yes, crawling around the house meowing for the rest of the evening is apparently compulsory.

4. Friendly Bat

A bat costume looks impressive but can actually be incredibly simple.

You'll need:

Black clothes and an old black T-shirt, pillowcase or piece of black fabric.

How to make it:

Lay your fabric flat and draw a large wing shape with a scalloped bottom edge.

Cut two wings.

Attach one side of each wing to the back or sleeves of a black top so that when your child stretches their arms out… There are a few ways of doing this: you can use fusible tape (the kind of stuff you use to shorten curtains or pantlegs), you could stitch it on, or when cutting do not cut out the top of the wings and rather make a head space (by cutting a semi-circle) at the fold- your child will then wear his wings as a poncho.

WHOOSH.

Bat wings.

Keep the wings short enough that they won't drag on the floor or get tangled around little hands.

Add cardboard ears to a headband to finish.

This one is particularly good for children who intend to spend Halloween running around rather than gracefully posing for photographs.

5. Pumpkin

Orange top?

Congratulations. You're halfway there.

You'll need:

An orange T-shirt, jumper or dress, black felt/card/paper and green card or a green headband.

How to make it:

Cut simple jack-o'-lantern shapes from black paper or felt.

Let your child choose the pumpkin's expression.

Happy?

Scary?

Surprised?

Extremely confused?

Attach the pieces to the front of the orange top. For clothing you want to reuse, avoid permanent glue and use an appropriate temporary attachment method instead.

Make a little green stalk from card and attach it to a headband.

Add green leggings or trousers if you have them.

One very sweet pumpkin ready for the patch.

6. Mummy

This is another costume that looks wonderfully Halloween-ish without needing much preparation.

You'll need:

Light-coloured clothes and strips of old white fabric.

How to make it:

Tear or cut old fabric into long strips.

Layer the strips over a white or cream top and trousers, attaching them securely to the clothing rather than wrapping them tightly around your child.

Leave some pieces dangling slightly for that properly ancient-mummy effect, but keep everything well away from feet, hands, neck and face.

Messier actually looks better here.

Which is exactly the kind of crafting instruction we like.

7. Friendly Witch or Wizard

You don't need a full shop-bought witch costume.

Start with dark clothes and make the accessories yourself.

You'll need:

Black or dark clothing, cardboard, coloured paper, tape and decorations.

Make the hat:

Roll a large piece of black card into a cone and secure it.

Cut a circular brim from another piece of card and attach the cone.

Then let your child decorate it.

Stars. Moons. Spiders. Pom-poms. Stickers.

There's no rule saying witches only wear black either.

A pink witch?

Excellent.

Rainbow wizard?

Even better.

Make a wand:

Roll paper tightly around a pencil-sized shape or use a safe cardboard tube.

Add a cardboard star, moon or lightning bolt to the end.

Now invent a spell.

That's at least another twenty minutes of Halloween entertainment sorted.

8. Scarecrow

This is a brilliant costume if you've got old clothes that can be layered.

You'll need:

A checked shirt, jeans or dungarees, scraps of fabric and a floppy or straw-style hat if you have one.

How to make it:

Dress your child in the shirt and trousers.

Cut colourful fabric or felt into little squares and attach them as pretend patches.

Tuck short pieces of raffia, wool or strips of brown paper around cuffs or the hat to resemble straw, keeping loose pieces safely away from the face.

Add rosy cheeks or little stitched lines with child-safe face paint.

And because this is Halloween…

Your scarecrow can be sweet, silly or just a tiny bit spooky.

9. Rain Cloud

Not every Halloween costume needs to be a traditional Halloween character.

This one is especially fun for children who want something different.

You'll need:

Grey clothes, a hat or headband, cotton wool or scrunched white paper, blue card and string.

How to make it:

Create a lightweight cardboard cloud shape and decorate it with cotton wool, paper or grey paint.

Attach it securely to a hat or headband.

Cut raindrops from blue card and hang a few short lengths beneath the cloud.

You could add a cardboard lightning bolt too.

Grey outfit underneath.

Instant storm cloud.

And considering October weather, wonderfully seasonal.

10. Skeleton

No complicated skeleton suit required.

You'll need:

Black clothes and white paper, felt or removable fabric tape.

How to make it:

Cut simple bone shapes.

You don't need anatomical accuracy.

Two long bones for arms.

Two for legs.

A few short ribs.

Maybe some hand bones if you're feeling ambitious.

Lay the black clothes flat and arrange the pieces before attaching them.

Let your child help work out where everything goes.

You can even turn it into a mini anatomy activity:

"Where do you think your knee is?"

Costume-making meets learning without anyone noticing.

11. Spider

For the child who would quite like some extra arms.

You'll need:

Black clothing, several long black socks or stuffed fabric tubes and a little stuffing.

How to make it:

Lightly stuff six long black socks or fabric tubes.

Your child's own arms become the first two spider legs.

Attach three additional lightweight legs securely down each side of a black top.

If you'd like the legs to move together, loosely connect them with short pieces of string — but keep all string short, visible and well away from the neck.

Add big paper eyes to a hat or headband.

Then practise your best spider walk.

12. Cardboard Dinosaur

Have a dinosaur-obsessed child?

Turn their normal clothes into a costume rather than building an entire dinosaur.

You'll need:

Cardboard, paint, tape and clothing in a similar colour.

How to make it:

Cut several large triangle shapes from cardboard.

Paint them.

Attach them down the back of an old top or onto a long strip of fabric to create dinosaur spikes.

Make a cardboard tail if you'd like, keeping it short and lightweight enough that it won't trip anyone.

Green isn't compulsory.

Purple dinosaurs exist in the imagination.

So do rainbow dinosaurs.

And sparkly dinosaurs.

We're not arguing with a four-year-old palaeontologist.

13. Little Monster

This is possibly the easiest costume on this list because there are no rules whatsoever.

You'll need:

Old clothes and anything colourful from your craft cupboard.

How to make it:

Start with a plain oversized T-shirt, jumper or old outfit.

Then add monster features.

Paper spots.

Felt patches.

Pom-poms.

Cardboard claws.

Three eyes.

One giant eye.

Five ears.

A tail.

Ask your child:

"What does your monster look like?"

And then follow their instructions.

This is one of my favourite kinds of Halloween activity because the child isn't simply dressing as a character someone else invented.

They're inventing their own.

Give the monster a name too.

14. Autumn Woodland Fairy

For children who'd rather be magical than spooky.

You'll need:

Cardboard, autumn leaves or paper leaves, ribbon or elastic, and autumn-coloured clothes.

How to make it:

Cut two simple wing shapes from cardboard.

Decorate them with painted leaves, paper leaves, drawings, pressed leaves or autumn colours.

Attach them securely to the back of your child's outfit using wide ribbon or another comfortable attachment.

Make a simple leaf crown from a strip of card.

Then add whatever woodland treasures inspire you.

Acorns drawn on paper.

Mushrooms.

Stars.

Tiny hedgehogs.

Your fairy might even be responsible for changing all the leaves from green to gold.

15. The Completely Made-Up Creature

And finally, my favourite.

Don't choose a costume.

Invent one.

Put cardboard, paper, tape, washable pens, fabric scraps and a few craft supplies on the table.

Then ask:

"If you could turn into ANY creature for Halloween, what would you be?"

Maybe it's half bat, half dragon.

Maybe it has six rainbow eyes.

Maybe it's called a Pumpkin Flumper and survives entirely on toast.

Ask your child:

• How many eyes does it have?

• Does it have wings?

• What colour is it?

• Does it have a tail?

• What noise does it make?

• Where does it live?

• Is it scary or friendly?

• What special power does it have?

Then make whatever you can.

It doesn't need to look like something from a shop.

It needs to look like their idea.

And that is much more interesting.

A Few Things to Remember When Making Halloween Costumes for Kids

Homemade costumes should always be designed around the child wearing them.

Make sure they can see clearly, breathe comfortably, move freely and walk without tripping.

Avoid long trailing fabrics, tight neckpieces, sharp cardboard edges and small detachable decorations for younger children.

If you're going trick-or-treating after dark, visibility matters too. Consider adding reflective elements or lights designed for safe use with children's clothing, and make sure an adult can easily spot them.

And remember that Halloween costumes often need to fit underneath — or over — a coat here in the UK.

Not quite as magical.

Very practical.

Let Them Help

This might be the most important part.

It is incredibly tempting to take over children's craft projects.

We know exactly where the eyes should go.

We know the cardboard would look better if we cut it.

We know that putting a purple pom-pom directly in the middle of the robot's forehead wasn't exactly what we had envisioned.

But it's their costume.

Give them manageable jobs.

Let them paint the cardboard.

Choose the colours.

Draw the monster face.

Stick on the spots.

Decide how many eyes the alien needs.

Older children can sketch their costume idea first and work out which materials they'll need.

The finished costume may be slightly wonky.

That's okay.

Actually, that's rather lovely.

Halloween Doesn't Have to Cost a Fortune

Children don't need the biggest costume, the most elaborate decorations or an enormous basket of Halloween treats to make October feel exciting.

Sometimes all it takes is a cardboard box on the kitchen table.

A pile of scraps.

A ridiculous idea.

And half an hour together wondering whether a monster should have three arms or seven.

Because childhood doesn't need to be perfectly styled to become a memory.

So before you buy another costume, raid the recycling.

Open the craft cupboard.

Let them choose something strange.

And see what you can make together.

Happy making, little monsters. May your cardboard hold, your tape behave, and your Halloween be wonderfully wonky.

Lily x
Spoon & Sky