31 Days of Halloween, Day 14: Frugal Infant & Toddler Halloween Costumes

October 15, 2008 07:42 PM EDT

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Halloween can be a fun time for older kids, but it can be more hassle than fun when you are trying to take the pre-school and under crowd out and about. They don't remember it, they have no idea what's going on, and could care less about those adorable $30 costumes from the nearest department store- well, aside from trying to eat it, that is.

Here are a few frugal reusable ideas for costumes for young toddlers and infants, all using blanket sleepers as the base.

1. Clown-

Buy a solid, bright colored blanket sleeper- red, blue, yellow, or green work great. From there, buy 1/4 yard of brightly patterned fleece material, and a package of thin elastic. Buy a bright colored infant or toddler stocking cap. This requires a bit of sewing, but not much!

Measure out an 2 18" lengths of fleece, about 2 inches wide. Measure out a strand of elastic long enough to stretch over the baby's head, BUT not too tight that it will choke the baby. 14-16" should be good.
Place the two lengths of fabric one on top of the other, so they match up. Lay the elastic length the same ways, with 1 end at one of the ends of fabric- lay it in the MIDDLE of the fabric. The other side should NOT meet the end.
Sew a staight line the width of the elastic, just enough to tack the elastic and fabric together on the end. From here, you need to pull the elastic- do NOT pull it taut, make sure it's still loose, but tight enough to bunch back up.
As it's held out, sew the elastic down to the fabric. Once you meet the end of the fabric, it should bunch the fabric up when you let go. Cut the sides at 1" intervals, or smaller, to fringe both ends, then sew the two ends together.

**This should stretch over the child's head easily, and just sit around his or her collar bone. Do NOT make it tight!

Next, measure out 4 6" sections of fabric, and repeat the same process as above- these will be going around the child's ankles, and can be a bit tighter, but not too tight. Measure the child's ankle while wearing the sleeper!
Lastly, cut 4 squares of fabric, tack them together in the middle, fringe the entire thing, then tack it to the top of the stocking hat.

When you go out to trick or treat, use red lipstick to paint circles on the child's face.

2. Princess-

Buy a pastel colored blanket sleeper- purple, pink, yellow, etc. Next, buy 1 yard of tulle at Walmart (if yours has a fabric department), or at a fabric store- it won't be expensive. You can find all sorts of pastel colors- sometimes, you can find it with a sheen to it, or some glitter on it. Buy elastic that's about 1/4 inch wide to 1/2 inch wide. Buy a soft head band 'scrunchy' (the type for infants) with pretty ribbons on it, or for an older child, a dress up crown.

Fold the tulle in half again and again until it's folded down to a length of about 10 inches- it should be as wide as the length of fabric still.
Measure the baby's waist with the blanket sleeper on with the elastic, and cut it about 1" wider than the belly- again, don't make it tight.
Lay the elastic at one end on the top edge- this should be the edge where all of the fabric is folded, not the edge where 1 portion is loose. Use the sewing machine to tack it to the fabric, then pull it tighter, and sew the skirt's "waist band" to the tulle. When it's done, the skirt will scrunch up quite a bit. Sew the two raw ends together, and slip it over the blanket sleeper.

Add the headband or crown, and your little princess is all set.

3. Puppy-

Find a brown, tan, black, white, or blue (blue's clue's) blanket sleeper. Buy felt in a contrasting color, but keep the color contrasting in a natural shade (Or a darker/lighter blue for Blue's Clues). Cut the felt into doggy spot shapes, and use baby diaper pins to pin the spots to the sleeper- put the spot on the outside, but pin it from the inside. Diaper pins are completely safe to use, but make sure to have a onsie on the inside of the sleeper so the metal isn't cold against their skin. Use makeup or face paint to paint a puppy face on the baby.

For ears, use a similar colored stocking hat, and cut ear shapes out of the felt, and pin those to the hat as well.

4. Dr Seuss' Thing 1 and Thing 2- Great for twins, cousins, siblings or friends of similar age-

Buy 2 red blanket sleepers, 2 bright blue stocking caps, white felt, diaper pins, and a black permanent marker.

Cut 2 large circles from the white felt (you'll likely need 2 sheets- use a small plate for a template on how to make the circle). Use the marker to write "Thing 1" or "Thing 2" onto the felt, then use the diaper pins to pin it to the sleeper. Add the stocking hats as the blue hair.

5. Pumpkin-

Buy an orange blanket sleeper, black felt, and diaper pins, and a green stocking cap.

Cut a Jack O Lantern face, and pin it to the sleeper, add the stocking cap, and you're all set!

All of these costumes are made in a way that the blanket sleepers are totally reusable afterwards as PJ's for the upcoming cold months. Just unpin or remove the decorations, and you have perfectly reusable PJ's! And, baby is all set for bed that night. ;)