The Spooky Times

Think Halloween. Other than pumpkins, trick or treating, witches, and bats, I’ll bet you thought of skeletons, skulls, or bones. Unfortunately there isn’t a perfect skeleton costume yet, but with creativity you can create one that is at least as good as those you can buy from the costume shop.

Skull – the skeleton’s head

Even if you only show up with a skull people will know you are a skeleton. If you have the money to invest in a skull mask I really recommend you do, but it is also possible to create one from scratch.

Take a long piece of black fabric, a large hood, or anything you can wrap around your face. Cut holes for the eyes, for breathing, and for the mouth (unless you don’t plan on eating or drinking). Now you just need to paint or glue a skull!

You can also use a balloon. Fill the balloon and glue several layers of paper on it. Let it dry. Now cut in half and you have the skeleton (pun intended) for two masks. Just cut the same holes, paint in black, let it dry, and then paint the skull. Use a string to hold it in place and then use a black hood to cover the rest of your head.

Costume – the skeleton per se

Take black clothes and white paint. That’s all you’ll need. That and a little knowledge of anatomy (or a fantastic new tool called Google). Just paint the skeleton over the clothes.

Accessories

The skeleton itself doesn’t need any accessories, however you can give it some personality by using a few simple items. A top hat and a walking stick will make for a stylish skeleton. A black hood, a black cape and scythe will create Death. And menacing skeletons will use a mace or axe (ideal weapons for crumbling other skeletons).

If you aren’t a girl you can’t possible understand the fascination with princesses. If you are you don’t need explaining. So there is no point in trying to explain why girls want to dress as princesses for Halloween. Lets just look at how you can create this look.

Making the dress

A princess’ dress is like a bride’s dress. You need to make it pop. It doesn’t need to be too complicated, it doesn’t need to be simple, but since Disney came into the scene it does need to be pink and with a wide skirt.

If you don’t have experience making clothes creating a princess dress may not be the best place to start and it is highly unlikely you have one laying around (though dresses from weddings or the vows sometimes look great), so you may want to buy this part of the costume.

Crown or Tiara

What is a princess without a tiara or a crown? Maybe a dutchess, but that’s not what every girl dreams about being, so don’t make your girl one.

To make a crown or a tiara you only need some card stock. Then you can decorate it using fake jewelry and it will look great. Alternatively you can buy one already made. Unless you already have fantasy jewelry you can use to create your own maybe that is less expensive.

Accessories

A princess usually has other jewelry. Make sure it matches the tiara or crown you made for your girl (don’t put a silver bracelet with a gold tiara), but if she is going trick or treating you may not want to use real jewelry.

A popular accessory is the Disney Princess necklace which is just a black band with a diamond or other jewelry in the center. You can create your own using black fabric. Google Disney Princess and you will see what I’m talking about.

This Halloween turning your girl into a princess does not require a fairy godmother. It just requires a caring parent, some patient, and lots of creativity.

Princes, or the more “manly” version the knight, are part of every boy’s childhood – who never pretended to battle a dragon, go out on a quest, or rescue the princess? This Halloween you can give your boy a unique knight costume, made at home.

Costume

Knights used chain mail over their clothes and this is a really hard pattern to mimic. Either buy one or you will need to create a knight in off-season, which resembles more of a prince. In that case, for undergarments use dark brown, dark red or dark blue sweaters and tight pants.

Then the signature clothes of the knight are the upper vest with a little skirt. I’m not sure what is the technical term, but google for medieval knight and you will get the picture. This piece of the costume should be in a bright color to contrast with the undergarments. If you want, you can include a symbol, either buy a ready-made fabric symbol or do one using card stock or paint. Look for medieval flags for ideas.

Weapons

What is a knight without a weapon? The classic weapon is the sword, but nights are keen with the axe, the spear, or the bow too. Whatever weapon you choose I recommend you buy one from the store to make your little knight feel like he is really special.

However, if the budget is tight you can easily cut one from cardboard and paint it. If you choose to do this I recommend you make it detailed in shape and painting to make it more interesting instead of “just another cardboard sword”.

Other Accessories

There are many other accessories for the knight, although they are not really necessary. If you want a truly unique costume choose a great weapon and consider the following accessories: helmet, shield, fake horse (or real, if budget and space allows), flag, cape, more than one weapon, or the more expensive plate armor.

Although knights were nobility, anyone can be a knight or a prince this Halloween with a little creativity and the right pictures for reference.