I entered into my first Halloween costume contest at the age of five, alongside my two sisters. We were dressed as crayons thanks to a touch of craftiness from our mother. To make the homemade Halloween costumes, she measured around our bodies, cut out tubes of felt and affixed Velcro at the back. The tubes covered from chest to feet with short and simple suspenders sewn onto the felt. Crayon point hats were created with the help of a cardboard triangle glued into a funnel shape and covered with felt. Black felt supplied the “Crayola” and squiggles at each end.

The brilliant thing about our homemade Halloween costumes is that they were so easy to make but looked quite adorable (if I do say so myself). The felt tubes were quick to toss on over coordinating clothes and were quite comfortable, important requirements for impatient trick-or-treaters.  Requiring only felt, Velcro, scissors and glue, they were also cheap for Mom. Any kid or adult could immediately identify our costume, which indulged such a pinnacle kid favorite. While we did not win the costume contest that year, we still have these homemade Halloween costumes made so many years ago.

No one ever wins a Halloween costume contest with a purchased costume, no matter how intricate. Homemade Halloween costumes are simply superior. Those winning homemade Halloween costumes demonstrate superior creativity, crafting skill and most of all, effort. The costume can even be quite simple, as long as the idea is clever. Homemade Halloween costumes based on puns score extra points.

Those crayons will always be first in my heart, but I have seen many great homemade Halloween costumes over the years. Groups of people seem to be a contributing factor in great homemade Halloween costumes. A group of costumed people creating a Halloween theme together just compounds the cute, just like with puppies. One year, a group of my friends went as Tetris pieces that actually fit together. A series of cardboard boxes and paint provided all the materials. Painting and assembling those boxes might have been more fun than the Halloween party we wore them.

Another year, we decided on a rather dark yet nerdy Halloween party theme, Dead Authors. With such a specific topic, homemade Halloween costumes were absolutely essential. We had a prize for the best costume, a collapsible ping-pong table made out of scrap wood salvaged by my engineer roommate. Extra points were given to dead author costumes incorporating how the authors died. The best and winning costume was Sylvia Plath who constructed an oven around her head with a clear, swinging door and knobs. I dressed as Virginia Woolf, filling my cardigan pockets with rocks.

Sure, our dead author homemade Halloween costumes were dark, perhaps even a touch disrespectful, but they were also funny. They commemorated the darker side of these authorial geniuses. More importantly, they were creative and encouraged everyone to make something with their hands. For students accustomed to reading and writing all day long, the homemade Halloween costumes were strangely therapeutic.

Make your own homemade Halloween costume this year!

On Halloween, a kid‘s imagination is brightly lit with fantasies of dressing up as a pirate, a la Brad Pitt, or perhaps the loveliest little angel. This second most popular holiday of the year gives every kid a chance to fantasize and, be, for that one night a hero, cowgirl, witch, or anything that suits their fantasy.

While there are plenty of shops and discount stores you can shop for ready made costumes, there are two disadvantages to off-the-rack costumes over the homemade Halloween costumes for kids. First, if the kids are going trick or treating and your child sees every other girl in her costume, she may feel slightly deflated. Homemade Halloween costumes for kids are one of a kind. Second, making Halloween costumes is cheaper than buying.

So, what if you’re not a seamstress? No problem. In this case, get a simple ready made costume. For girls, you can embellish with feathers, sequins, beads, lace, flowers and such lavishness. For boys, fancy trims enhancing the realistic Pirate image (or super hero or Fireman), makes this costume unique. How about a scarf for his bandanna? Now, all you need is a glue gun and you’re good to go. Craft, thrift and fabric stores are great places to find these special add-ons.

Some younger kids know right off the bat who or what they want to be on Halloween. If your child can’t decide, help them through their general costume themes, such as movie or cartoon characters. You can probably make suggestions when you have a good idea whether they’d rather be funny, pretty or scary.

As kids get older, their appreciation for unusual and perhaps a tad more bizarre Halloween costumes grows. Sometimes groups of teens will decide to all wear the same costume to make a real statement as they pluck their loot from your Halloween basket. Let them decide (within your ethical values) on their costume. That and the candy is the whole fun of Halloween!

Once your child has decided on the costume, it’s time to shop. If you are an experienced seamstress, you may not even need a pattern, for, say a ghost! Attaching those neon-glow stars and planets will make your ghost highly visible and add a mysterious glow, enhancing the costume.

Whether you choose to buy or make your kids Halloween costume, be sure the fabric is fire-retardant, for safety’s sake. The most successful homemade Halloween costumes for kids are those made with the add-ons they choose, not you. Talk about original!

Perhaps the best reason in favor of homemade Halloween costumes for kids is that you get to spend some time, enjoying and indulging your kid‘s fantasies.