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Our family loves Halloween. We’re also a theater family so naturally dressing up is an event all on its own. Halloween always presents the great costume debate of (insert whatever year is and whatever character is most popular!) The kids go back and forth between ideas until they ultimately decide on a costume idea that would break the bank and is super complicated. I have had to get creative over the years and have learned how to make ridiculously easy Halloween costumes.

Plan a Budget Costume
What is a budget costume? It means you may need to piece parts together with items that resemble a character. We have gone to thrift stores to do this. Sometimes this means going to a thrift store and looking around at clothes, accessories, and shoes and planning a costume around what we discover. It can also mean just digging through the costumes they already have on hand and putting something together from that. Thrift stores are a treasure trove for ideas.

Easy Disney Halloween Costumes
Thrift stores can also be a place for putting together DIY Disney Costumes. For instance, this Snow White inspired outfit consists of a blue t-shirt, yellow shorts, and a red headband bow. It’s simple. It’s easy and it can be built around whatever you can find. She came along with dwarf inspired siblings! Also very easy to put together with thrift store finds of easy solid color shirts, pants or shorts, hats, and accessories.
Dress it up
You can add a little to your basic outfit utilizing makeup which can also be found in thrift stores or dollar stores. Here are a few easy links to order from. You can search YouTube for tutorials on easy DIY makeup for whatever character you are using. These videos are helpful in giving inspired ideas for makeup as well as possible accessories to dress up your costume. These budget costume ideas are full of potential when you add a little pizzazz.
Benefits to DIY Halloween Costumes
- No one will have the same costume as you.
- You can be inspired by a character and not have to dress in the same costume.
- Save yourself a lot of money.
- You can get super creative with ideas.
- You can use make-up and accessories to make it all your own.
Having a DIY costume on a budget means you can be original and creative. Own your crazy and go Halloween on a budget!
Want to teach your kids about budgeting? Check out our post Teaching Kids How to Budget Easily with Groceries.
I love these costume ideas! And I’m pretty sure I have guesses for the other images above. Totally agree that the uniqueness outweighs whatever bells and whistles you may get from a store bought costume. I’d much rather see kids being creative when I open the door than the 15th identical store bought of whatever Princess is popular this year.