If you are a single mom or dad who's slammed for time (or a married parent who's out of time) and you don’t want to spend a lot of money on Halloween fancy dress costumes, here are some suggestions for your girl:
Cheap Ballerina Costume
Yes, I have been a single mom. It seems silly to spend a lot of money or to spend a lot of time on something that's only going to be worn once. So, here are costumes that I've "made" (with one or two cheap store-bought accessories) for my daughters.
Buy or make an inexpensive tulle tutu. A pink or purple tutu is a good investment because your daughter or granddaughter will wear that tutu whenever she plays dress up. You can make anything into a “ballerina” costume. Here's how you do it:
- Ballerina Kitty: Buy a cheap pair of cat ears (they usually come on a headband) and draw whiskers with an eye pencil, mascara or eyeliner. Wear with tutu.
- Ballerina Mouse: Get a Minnie Mouse hat to wear with the tutu.
- Angelina Ballerina Mouse: Buy mouse ears and add a pink bow. Wear with tutu.
- Zoe Ballerina (Sesame Street Muppet): Get a pink tutu and have your girl wear some bows.
- Little Ballerina Girl: You just put rouge or blush and lipstick on a girl, and add a tutu to whatever else she is wearing.
- Put on Swan Lake and let your little muffin learn her own ballet moves.
If you don't have a ballet leotard handy, put the tutu on over a one-piece bathing suit or a long-underwear top. Any tee shirt will do in a pinch. Even if it's raining, you can have your girl wear a heavy jacket if she is going outside (door to door) and people will know she’s a ballerina because she'll be wearing a tutu.
Cheap Hula Girl Costume
You will need:
- A child's hula skirt: These start at $4.99 and you can get little grass skirts in all colors. If your daughter only wears pink, get a dark pink skirt.
- A flower lei: A cheap plastic lei is less than a dollar.
- A flower headpiece: This is optional but it will help you get great photos. Get a lei for your daughter’s head (like a circlet) or take another regular lei and double it to make a circlet. Attach to hair with bobby pins.
- If she has a bikini, put the bikini top over a leotard or t-shirt.
- Makeup: Use lots of rouge and lipstick to make your girl feel special.
- Show her how to do the hula.
Cheap Princess Costume
Your daughter doesn’t need to be a Disney character to become a princess. You will need:
- A cheap tiara: They are sold at costume shops.
- A child-sized tutu
With a crown and a tutu, your daughter will become royalty. She can wear the tutu over a dress, over pants, or over anything - even over her coat if it fits. Let your kid choose what she wants to wear with her tutu.
She will out-sparkle all of the girls in store-bought costumes if you give her lots of costume jewelry. And, you can find or make a cheap magic wand if you have time. Use Sculpey (or salt dough - 1 cup salt, 1 cup warm water, 2 cups flour, bake at 250 degrees for one and a half hours or so, paint later) to make a star for your wand (and to make jewelry if you want). This is a good rainy day project that will yield hours of dress-up fun throughout the year.
Let your daughter come up with her own princess name...something like Princess Alliabeauticrown, or Princess Sparkleponyblue. And, don’t forget the lipstick (red is good) and blush/rouge.
Homemade Gypsy Costume
I was a gypsy almost every Halloween. And, I loved it. You will need:
- Lots of scarves; square scarves work best
- Costume jewelry
- Makeup
Your daughter can wear pants or a skirt or both with her cheap gypsy costume. It's more fun if you let your child come up with her own combination. The results are always adorably funny.
- Get a belt or something like a piece of rope that can go around your daughter’s waist. Tie a lot of scarves to this so they hang down the long way and form a multicolored skirt. (Try to make most of the scarves the same length. The scarves will fan out when she twirls.)
- Take a scarf and tie it like a bandanna. Make sure the bow or knot is on the side of your daughter’s head, so that it’s visible from the front.
- An alternative headpiece can be made by taking a long rectangular scarf and tying it like a headband. I like to tie the scarf so the bow is next to the ear. How you arrange the scarf depends upon your child's hair and her face.
- Pile on as many cheap necklaces and bracelets as you can - within reason.
Check out the thrift store for cheap jewelry and scarves. If your daughter has pierced ears, or you can find clip-ons, add hoop earrings to the mix. Chandelier earrings are the next best option.
As long as you have lots of red lipstick and a tutu, you can always come up with an easy last-minute costume. Single moms and dads should have a dress-up tutu in the toy box for year-round play and impromptu "dance recitals".
More Ideas:
Toys R Us 2011 Top Christmas Toys: Ugly, Quirky Stuffed Dolls
Toys R Us Top 4 Kids' Game Apps for Christmas 2011: My Reviews
Halloween Music for Kids - Monster Mash, Disney, Alice Cooper, Etc
Baby Girl Costume - Princess, Fairy, Flowers
Punk Baby Hats - Cool Funky Rocker Gifts for Girls & Boys
Infant Costumes - Newborn Baby Bunting Costumes
Cute Baby Girl Clothes - Hippie, Rock Star, Punk Baby Tutus
Christina Gregoire - Christina Gregoire writes about divorce, fashion, and baby boomers. Her forte is explaining complex ideas in simple language.
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