Last Minute DIY Halloween Costumes

With all the craziness of life lately, planning your family’s Halloween costumes might have been lost in the mayhem! Don’t fret - even though Amazon and Target might not be able to solve your kid’s last-minute costume woes, you can still come up with some pretty creative DIY costumes with items you probably already have around the house! 

1. The larger-than-life paint palette 

Do you have a budding artist on your hands? Why not transform her into an extra large watercolor palette? All you’ll need is a white towel or sheet and some construction paper or felt. Cut the towel or sheet into a long rectangle, and cut large circles out of several colors of felt or construction paper. Attach the circles onto the white background, fasten around your child, and she’ll be transformed into a walking tray of paints! 

2. The joyful jellyfish 

Does your child love everything about the ocean? Transform him into his favorite sea creature by using a few items you already have around your home! All you’ll need is an umbrella and some streamers or ribbon. Simply attach the streamers all around the outside of the umbrella, create some eyes out of construction paper and attach onto the umbrella, dress your child in a solid-color outfit, and he’ll look just like a jumping jellyfish! 

3. The magnificent building block

Got a bunch of cardboard boxes lying around from all your online shopping? Put them to good use by recycling them into an adorable Halloween costume perfect for your toddler! Get a large box, cut a hole for your child’s head and arms, and paint the box a solid color such as red, blue, or yellow. Paint some plastic cups or paper bowls in the same shade, and glue six of them onto the front of the box. Your little one will look like a life-size replica of her favorite building blocks! 

4. The dazzling scuba diver

Grab a few empty liter soda bottles out of recycling and paint them in a solid color. Tape two bottles together and add some strings or paper to make straps - and your little one will be all ready to scuba dive! To add to the look, dress your child in a black shirt and black pants, add a pair of goggles, and you’re all done - the most adorable deep-sea diver will be ready for her debut! 

5. The campfire cutie 

For this costume, you’ll need a red shirt, some empty paper towel rolls, and some construction paper or felt. Using hot glue, attach several paper towel rolls to the base of the shirt (you can even paint the rolls different shades of brown for added effect). Then cut some orange and yellow “flames” out of felt or construction paper and attach to the shirt just above the brown paper towel roll “logs.” For an adorable addition, you can put a few marshmallows on a stick, and your child will look campsite ready in no time! 

6. The smiling stick-figure 

This costume is so simple, and yet so cute! Find a white long-sleeved shirt and white pants or sweatpants, some black duct tape, and a white plate or piece of white cardboard. Using a permanent marker or black paint, draw a simple smiley face onto the plate or circular piece of white cardboard. Then, use the duct tape to add a straight line on the arms, down the front of the shirt, and down the pant legs. Put it all together, and your child will look just like a drawing out of his art projects! 

7. The grinning greens 

For this costume, you’ll need some green tissue paper and a few red balloons. Find a green t-shirt for your little one, and attach crumbled pieces of green tissue paper all over it to look like lettuce. Inflate a few small red balloons and stick them into the tissue paper to look like tomatoes. Find a few wooden serving utensils for your child to hold, and your little one will look just like a simple green salad! 

8. The melting ice cream 

Got some leftover party hats collecting dust? Put them to good use by incorporating them into this adorable costume! You’ll just need to paint over the hats with brown paint or cover in brown construction paper, and draw some lines onto the hat using black marker - this will serve as the upside-down ice cream cone. You can add some tissue paper or colored cotton balls around the base of the hat and on the upper portion of your child’s shirt. Dress your child in a solid-color pastel t-shirt to look like melting ice cream! 

9. The giggling gumball machine

This is a tried-and-true, simple DIY costume. All you need is a white t-shirt or some white cardboard and some multi-colored pom-poms, and you’ll be able to make a cute gumball machine costume for your child. Simply glue the pom-poms onto a circular piece of cardboard or onto a circle drawn onto a white-shirt. Then use red construction paper or felt to add the rest of the gumball machine. If you don’t have pom-poms, you can cut small circles out of construction paper or felt to use as the gumballs. 

10. The perfect plant

If you have some floral headbands (especially some of the adorable ones from the KeaBabies headband sets!), you can make your sweet little one into an adorable plant for Halloween! Using the headband as a starting point for inspiration, either draw or paint a flower pot onto a white onesie or t-shirt, and add a green stem using construction paper or felt. You can even use cloth flowers (sold at most craft stores) to add to the top of the onesie or shirt for an extra beautiful plant! 

If you try one of these DIY projects for your child’s Halloween costume, we’d love to see your pictures! Please remember to share your pictures with us in our Facebook support group, KeaBabies Love, for a chance to be featured! We’d love to see how you can incorporate other KeaBabies accessories, such as the socks or bandana bibs, into your DIY costume projects!

Do remember to follow us on Instagram @keababies and join our loving and supportive KeaBabies Love Group! 

Parenting is awesome. Sleep is overrated. Every day is an adventure.