Countdown to Halloween: 27 More Days - Time to Make Costumes!

Halloween is by far my 2nd favorite celebratory day of the year, Christmas being #1 of course, and the tradition of spooktifying our home has begun! Sadly, I am actually running behind in the decor department, but lately I have been running behind on everything :(

I did place my order with my father-n-law for one bale of hay (he gets them for free from a farmer by his work!), sorted through our creepy decorations from years past, and made a shopping list of must haves for this year.  By the weekend, I will have everything spooked out and all that will be left is the costumes!

A few things are going to be new to me this year. First, I am MAKING my kiddos Halloween costumes.  NEVER EVER have I done this before!! I am honestly terrified at the thought, but I have a tight budget (obviously) and they have faith in me...I think...

The theme this year - ZOMBIES.  My wonderful cousin throws a huge themed Halloween bash every year and this just had to be the year of the ZOMBIES! Ghosts would have been right up my alley, my parent's probably still have the white bed sheets with holes cut out for eyes laying around they used for our costumes.  But no.  It's ZOMBIES!  Don't ask why, but I feel the need to capitalizes all letters in the word ZOMBIES, I guess for dramatic purposes...

So, to get me in the ZOMBIES mood I picked up a Styrofoam wall hanger:

This was only a dollar at Dollar Tree and proudly rest on the center shelf of my entertainment stand for inspirational purposes.  I asked the kiddos, "What type of zombie would you like to be?" and my daughter replied first, "A girl who just woke up and turned into a zombie."  OK, the eleven year old knows what she wants!  She then proceeds to explain which pajamas and how her make up should look and so on.  My son however, seven years of age, had to mull over the idea for a bit.  In fact, he is still mulling it over.  Hopefully we have a specific type nailed down soon - I'll get back to you on that.  As for my eleven year old's costume - old pajamas, blue eye liner to draw on veins, white clown make up, and some red and purple under her eyes. Simple enough and all I have to buy is some dollar store body parts (specifically a rubber arm?) she claims to need. OKAY...

Whatever happened to being a cute Disney character or action hero?  Ahh, how the times have changed.  Any how - I evidently have to make costumes for myself and my hubby as well.  Everyone must be a zombie to attend and trust me, you want to attend!  Here I was thinking of great ZOMBIES I could craft, looking on You Tube for ideas, and what should come on tv at that moment?  A Halloween episode of my all time favorite tv show, Roseanne.  The episode title was "Halloween IV" and Roseanne gets visited by three ghost to help her out of her Halloween funk, great episode.  As I am watching, I see Darlene's costume of Tippi Hedron- she's in a gray blazer and pencil skirt with birds attached every which way to it, for all true horror fans we know this comes from the classic movie from 1963, "The Birds", in which a small town is terrorized my killer birds.  Now - the costume might not be original - but it would be CHEAP to make!!

Scary, huh?  LOVE IT! For starters, I can get the birds at Dollar Tree, just saw them there last week when I picked up the ZOMBIES plaque. The only thing I really have worries about, the eyeball effect.  That might require a little research but will definitely bring home the ZOMBIES affect I want. 

Now, my husband and I usually dress as something similar, mustard & ketchup, a pirate & his wench, sumo wrestlers (these were inflatable and awesome) but this year he is unsure if he'll even be in town.  Ah the life of a trucker's wife, impossible to plan anything.  In other words, I should be prepared to zombie-fi him one way or the other.

Now, here are a few excellent ideas for tips on making your own costumes at home & some great sites to visit for ideas, whether you want something super scary or super sweet (candy corn, yummy):

1. Use items you already have at home.  Robots are always fun and easy to create. Use boxes covered in foil to create that shiny robot body. Stickers with electronics designs for controls or buttons.  There are a ton of easy DIY costumes here.

2. Mask are inexpensive but can be uncomfortable to wear all evening.  Opt for easy to do make up or non toxic face paint.  For great face painting tips visit here.

3. Remember, it's all in good fun! Don't stress your mind or budget, the kiddos will be thrilled even more if you let them help!

Good luck costume makers! And if all else fails, there's always Walmart!!