The spooky season is upon us! And one way to make Halloween extra fun is to create costumes with your kids!

I’ve made most of my kids’ costumes over the past 6 years. One thing that has kept the tradition going is that my kids have so much fun with it. They love coming up with their own ideas for costumes. We also try to stay away from the scary stuff, which leaves a lot of room for creativity and their own personal interests. My oldest son has been a scarecrow, a cowboy, the Alphabet Tree from Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom, the letter B (you read that right), an eyeball, and a robot. This year he wanted to be a cave (seriously, what?), but fortunately decided to be Minecraft Steve instead. My daughter was a stacking-ring toy for her first Halloween, then a hippie, a butterfly (that was a store-bought costume), and this year she wants to be a cowgirl. Our toddler son was an owl last year and this year he’ll be big enough to wear the scarecrow hand-me-down.

Trust me, it is not as hard as it seems. I’m no more creative than the average person, and I just have basic sewing skills. Truthfully, a lot can be accomplished by owning a good pair of scissors and a hot glue gun! My results are far from perfect but that’s OK! We don’t do it to compete for best costume, and I’m not trying to win the Best Mom award. It’s just a great way to spend quality time together and encourage creativity and individuality.

If you’re thinking of making your child’s costume this year, don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to think of the most unique or elaborate costume. Just brainstorm the things they love and go from there! If you’re not confident with a needle and thread, then choose a costume idea that uses cardboard boxes or relies heavily on accessories. (Think robot or Lego piece, a queen or police officer.) If your son loves Ninja Turtles, you can find a green sweat-suit, buy a round plastic veggie/dip tray at the Dollar Store, turn it backwards, spray paint it light green or brown, and strap it on his back. Add an eye mask out of colored felt, and voila, Ninja Turtle!

You can search Google or Pinterest for tutorials for practically any idea, and costume supplies can be found anywhere. Raid your craft bin, find fabric scraps, and use shortcuts like spray paint and hot glue. Use a cloth diaper and BabyLegs. You can find a lot of great supplies and accessories at a thrift store, Dollar Store, and even the hardware store! And the Garanimals line of clothing at Walmart has solid-color matching tees and pants which are perfect to go under a costume to keep the kiddos warm. (Solid-color clothing was surprisingly hard to find until I stumbled upon Garanimals!)

What will your kids be for Halloween this year? Whatever they choose, just have fun with it! They will be so proud to show off their handmade creation!