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Do you make your Halloween costumes or buy?

  • Make my own

    Votes: 48 46.2%
  • Buy

    Votes: 37 35.6%
  • Other

    Votes: 19 18.3%

Halloween Costumes - Make your own or Buy??

5K views 59 replies 50 participants last post by  BurgundyElephant 
#1 ·
I've always made my own costumes but at ds's preschool today I realized that I was the only mom there who used a homemade costume. Now I'm curious if I am the last of a dying breed or if it is just where I live. So what do you do?
 
#2 ·
I voted Other. Because I don't sew, my Mom makes them. Last year she (uh, my kid, not my Mom) was a hobbit: white, puffy-sleeved shirt, suede-like cropped pants, brown vest, shoulder bag.

This year we're reusing the white shirt. Mom made a jumper in some leftover brown material, and I bought some yardage on eBay that looks like drapes. I am going to cut out 7 figures and Stitch Witchery them around the base of her skirt: Maria von Trapp. She loves that musical.

I think even if she wanted to be something like a witch, I'd encourage her to assemble it from Goodwill, etc, rather than buying something prepackaged.

What were the kids last year? What about this year?
 
#3 ·
I always, always used to make my kid's costumes, starting several months before, gathering cloth and materials, and then doing *all* of it, from making my own pattern to all the sewing, accesorizing, and etc..... but then along the way I became a single (solo, working, student) parent, and - it's just not possible. And I've realized that really I can use all that extra time (the time I'm NOT doing Costume-related Stuff) to spend actually engaging with my kids.... so it's been a win-win situation. But it took me a year and a half to get rid of all the associated guilt that came with not making their costumes myself.
 
#4 ·
Last year my boys were a tiger and a mouse. This year my younger ds is using the his older brother's tiger costume and my older one is going to be a red panda, which has been quite interesting to make as I think we have the only red panda costume in existence. I hand sew (also am an avid cross-stitcher so it comes naturally) and so making the costumes actually lets me spend more time with the boys, because they sit next to me and read, play with their trains or whatever, and we have great conversations.
 
#6 ·
We do a bit of both. One year ds was a sanitation worker (garbage man to ds
) and it was just some stuff we found around the house. A vest, some gloves, etc... Last year ds wanted to be a rhinoceraus. Try finding that premade costume
. So, we made up a paper-mache head using an old ball cap, sewed some rhino muscles into a shirt and he was set. This year he wants to be a cowboy so we bought one off eBay. It was made to order so it was technically homemade but not by us. Dd is going to be a lion which is a homemade costume made by someone and we bought it second hand.
 
#7 ·
I voted other - I don't sew, so I don't actually MAKE the costumes, but we don't use store bought ones either. I put together costumes form things we have - with store bought accessories. So I am not really sure where that falls. But I don't like the packaged costumes!
 
#8 ·
I had to be creative with a bin liner so d**m it, dd will too!

Actually this year she is going to be a punk baby (with her 3 little friends - they are going to be a band), so she is just wearing her 'punkier' clothes with pink hair dye and the cat's collar. Her motor skills at one were just not good enough to transform the trash bag.
 
#11 ·
I want to make them, but have discovered two things: 1) with my dd being a very demanding 2 years old this year I'll be lucky if I can do half of the projects that I want to before her birthday and Christmas-- Halloween just doesn't rank high enough in comparison 2) I was able to find a really great zebra costume on E-Bay for $4-- which is far far less than I would have spent on the fabric alone to make it myself. I think as she gets older that it might be fun to make them together, but for this year buying one just made the most sense.
 
#13 ·
this is my first year making a halloween costume! last year we decided to go trick-or-treating at the very last minute, so i borrowed my friend's ladybug costume for ds.

this year, i am making him a kangaroo costume. i bought a large long sleeve brown shirt from goodwill and cut off both sleeves (its still hot down here in florida). i stuffed one sleeve and sewed it on as the tail. the other sleeve is going to become a hood with ears. i am also going to sew a pouch on the front and ds can either carry a stuffed animal as his baby, or use it for candy. i havent decided if 16mo dd will dress up or not.
 
#14 ·
I've always bought, but after Claire spent a night recently in the ER because of an asthmatic reaction to her costume, she'll be getting one that is put together. Not homemade (I can't sew), but it will be a dance leotard that we'll dress up with fairy wings or a crown/wand etc.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
this year DD will be an owl (I will be the tree the owl roosts in and DH will be the night sky she flies in!
Oohhh...I LOVE that idea! Hope you don't mind but I might have to steal that for next year! I actually saw a really cool adult tree costume; I think it was on Martha Stewart's website and looked really easy to make.
 
#19 ·
We make. I don't often sew. Last year DS was a scarecrow which entailed overalls and a plaid shirt with a bucket hat...all that had twine sewn around the edges as though he had straw sticking out.

This year, he's going to be a train. I bought an engineer's hat, and he'll wear his blue/white stirped engineer's overalls with a blue shirt underneith. Turn a box upside down, cut a whole for his torso, put on some straps and decorate the box acordingly- voila, train!
 
#20 ·
I make or compile (but I bought ds' last year... too much effort for a 1 yo). This year he will be Fozzie Bear and I'm making the pattern as well as the costume. Normally I wouldn't have put this much effort into it but I think it's some early nesting kicking in! I've had fun and learned a lot of new techniques too so I guess it's not a total waste of time! I will however nail him to a chair for lot's of cute pictures after all that effort!
 
#21 ·
When I was a kid (now that makes me sound like an old-timer!), we bought our costumes, but not the way kids do today. We went to thrift stores and bought old clothes; we were gypsies or frumpy housewives or whatever. I think it's a shame most kids no longer put that kind of creativity into costumes.

That said, I wanted to sew my daughter's costume this year, but I just didn't have time. I ended up buying her costume...used.

Kristina
 
#22 ·
Even if I buy a bunch of components I feel like I have to put it all together myself. This year DD is going to be a skeleton. I bought her a skeleton sweatshirt at Target about a month ago. Found her a mask at the grocery store and I'm going to paint some glow in the dark bones on some black pants. Some years I get elaborate. Last year I cheated a little, too. DH and I were pirates and DD was a parrot. We reused costume pieces from our own stash and borrowed some other stuff from friends. For DD is got her red sweatpants and a red hoodie. I added wings, a beak and eyes to the hoodie and called it good.
 
#23 ·
I make DS's costumes This is last years. http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...r/DSCF0036.jpg And after all that effort, this is probably around the twentieth time I've posted this picture and I've emailed it to practically everyone


This year he is going to be an elf. I knit and felted him an elven cloak. I'm going to sew a tunic. I did just buy the leggings. I'm not sure about the bow and arrows, I can make it but I don't know if I should. And I'm at a total loss about the ears since he has eczema so normal cosmitics are out of the question.
 
#25 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by eepster View Post
I make DS's costumes This is last years. http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...r/DSCF0036.jpg
That ROCKS!!!!!

I voted other. We don't have Hallowween here. It hust started coming in the last couple of years. Maybe 4 or 5 kids total will come to the door, barely dressed up, and people are more likely to give coins than candy. Adults consider it just one more american commericialism taking over - like Valentines Day. The kids themselves don't know what to say and feel awkward, so most don't do it.

We did buy a pumpkin, and our childrens nursery had pumpkin carving yesterday for the first time, so it is coming here, like it or not.
 
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