Do you miss the days when you could dress your kids up for Halloween any way that you chose? You probably have a box full of costumes that your kids wore and traded between each other year after year. But now you have a teenager, and things have changed. Your teen doesn’t want to be “cute” on Halloween. Teens want to be cool, funny, attractive and the envy of their classmates. That bunny costume or that clown outfit made out of old footsie pajamas is not going to work anymore.
So what is a parent to do when their kids want to look great but you do not want to spend a fortune on an outfit that will only be worn one night? Fortunately there are a lot of good ideas for great, low cost, Halloween costumes for teens.
Good old fashioned creativity
One of the biggest factors to keep in mind if you are going to save money by making your teen’Halloween costume is creativity. Every teen wants to be the best looking person at the Halloween party. Although you may not think that you can compete with the budgets of some of the other kids, you can come up with a costume that is so creative and original, kids won’t think about how much it may have cost. Such an example would be to dress your teen as a celebrity (dead or alive) that other kids think they look like. You could even get your teen’friends involved and have them all go out on Halloween night as couples or groups of people who look like actors who were in movies together. Of course the creativity does not stop there. There are plenty more ideas that can get your creative juices flowing.
Goodwill and other second hand stores
Goodwill and second hand stores are fabulous places to find costumes at a low cost. Sometimes you will find a costume that was intended to be a costume and other times you may find an article of clothing or some other prop that gives you an idea for a costume. Some examples include dressing as road kill. All you do is buy some old articles of clothing, stain them with fake blood and paint tire marks on the clothes. An old pair of scrubs will turn your teen into any medical professional they like. Torn and tattered outfits can make an otherwise un-scary uniform into something creepy. Oversized Hawaiian shirts and a camera makes a great American tourist costume and an old prom dress can take your teen back in time to eras long past. You may be surprised what you can find at a discount store.
Accessories and makeup
Even the dullest costumes can be given renewed life when accessories and make-up are used to accentuate the outfit. Think of what types of little extras you can add to a costume that you may be able to modify. Wigs, masks, face paint, jewelry, knives, etc. can add a lot more to your second-hand things.
Use what you have
Try to find things around your house that you can give new life to and turn into something neat for a costume. With some paint and glue everyday objects can be modified to look like something unnatural (or scary if you prefer). Try to look at things that you and your kids have in their closet that could serve a dual purpose.
Ultimately if your kids do not want to wear the costume that you create for them then all your work was in vain. Avoid this problem by having your teen participate in the process. Make sure that you are creating something that you think is appropriate but that your teen will be excited to show off.