Do you think that you have to buy Halloween costumes for your kids just because you’re not a seamstress or a “crafty” person? It just isn’t so! You can design and create fun and fabulous children’s costumes from items found in your closet or at your local thrift store.

With mom’s permission, I’m featuring my friend Lisa’s children in last year’s Halloween costumes. Her daughter Louisa wanted to go as Nancy Drew. It was incredibly simple to make. The entire costume was comprised from a coat from her closet, a magnifying glass she had and her mother’s attaché case.

Bobby wanted to go as a school bus. The bus was a cardboard box painted yellow and decorated with poster board for the wheels, tart tins for headlights and bungee cords for straps.

The year before, Louisa went as a woodlands nymph. Lisa took an old white dress that she found at a nearby thrift shop and bought a few plastic flowers at a dollar store. She took apart the flowers and glued them onto the dress. For the crowning touch, Lisa bought a vine (again, from the dollar store) and wrapped it around her head, pinning it in place with bobby pins. The costume cost just under $6.00 to make.

This year Louisa is going as Abby, the forensics lab technician from NCIS. While it might seem a little unusual for an 11 year-old to dress up as a Goth lab tech, Louisa loves this character from her mother’s favorite TV show. Lisa is going to assemble the costume from black lace gloves she has from the 80s, one of her white blouses and a black skirt. Add black nail polish, black lipstick and black hair spray (which will wash out) and voilá! Mission accomplished. Oh wait! Can’t forget Abby’s signature studded choker necklace – a trip to the dollar store for a black studded dog collar will be the perfect solution.

This year Bobby is going to be an airplane. Here are the instructions for making Lisa’s airplane costume.

• Find a long or rectangular (not square) cardboard box
• Cut off all of the flaps – save the pieces
• Cut on of the end panels off of the box – save it as well
• Tape the two side panels together so that they form a point
• Cut the leftover front flaps into long strips for the propeller
• Cross them. Use lots of tape, securely attaching one on top of the other. Attach the propellers to the front
• Cut the back panel so that it has a curve on one side
• Cut a slit in the back of the ‘plane’ body
• Slide your curved piece of cardboard into the slit on the smooth side
• Using the leftover side panels draw and cut the wings, leaving an inch to fold up and tape into place on your body
• Once everything is in place, cover the entire body, excluding the propeller with paper or paint
• Let the glue or paint dry for 24 hours!
• Paint the propeller
• Decorate the plane with stickers, markers, leftover bits, etc.
• Attach bungee cords for straps. One cord for each strap – longer ones for older children

The possibilities are endless – just open up your closet and let your imagination run free – with a little help from your kids. Thanks Lisa for sharing your tips and insights.