Halloween Costume Ideas For the Family

Do you need help hunting down your Halloween costumes this year?  Here are a few places to dig up the perfect outfits for you and your kids.

Trick your costume out while treating your wallet

• Typically, the first thing that comes to mind for those on a budget is making your own costume. Two indispensable DIY sources are Coolest Homemade Costumes and Instructables, where you can see actual homemade costumes, along with instructions for designing them. 

• When photos are not enough, check out Threadbanger for excellent how-to videos of everything from costumes to makeup.

• Of course, the queen of DIY is Martha Stewart. Her site features plenty of costume ideas from no-sew to intricate. However, remember that the cost for materials can add up quickly (last year, my homemade costume cost $30 in materials, not to mention hours of assembly!). 

An alternative is to check out these deals:

• The Disney Store has a current sale, but often makes significant markdowns the week before Halloween.

• Slickdeals.net posts coupon codes for retailers, as well as individual, costume-specific deals.

• Don’t forget your local , consignment and 99 cent stores, as well as Craigslist and Freecycle.

• Love Harry Potter?  Grab this deal from Living Social before it’s gone.

The more, the merrier

Costumes can pack a bigger punch when part of a group. Example: dying to dress up as a pirate? Grab some friends to dress as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell (and maybe even an alligator)!  Here is where to look for inspiration:

• Do your kids have a favorite fairytale or cartoon character?  My kids dressed as Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego one year. Last year, they dressed as Ariel and Flounder while I donned an Ursula outfit (sadly, I could not persuade my husband to dress up as King Triton).

• Movies and TV shows are always easy sources for group ideas. One of my personal favorites was the year a redheaded girlfriend and I hijacked one of our guy buddies, dyed his hair blond, stuffed him and two socks into a tube top to become the Charlie’s Angels. 

• BabyCenter readers will jumpstart your collective imaginations with their creative ideas.

Procrastinators deserve costumes too

Did you just realize that it was October, not September? For costumes in a jiffy, check out these ideas.

• Real Simple lives up to its name by providing these ideas for simple costumes made from household items, clever last-minute costumes, and DIY costumes.

• Family Fun magazine is another great source for costumes, last-minute and otherwise.

• Fox News shares eight last-minute costumes, as well as five important tips that apply to costumes in general.

Don’t forget Rover

Everybody knows that your pet is like another member of the family, so don’t let them feel left out. Let them join in the Halloween fun with their own pet costumes.