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3 DIY Halloween costumes you can create in an hour or less

Calling all procrastinators! We are here to help you out. We found 3 easy costume ideas that you can make for your little one or yourself! Each takes less than an hour and all supplies can be found at one store.

Halloween is tomorrow night, and by now, most of the stores’ costumes are picked over, and whatever is available may not be in your size.

Making a costume can seem daunting. But it doesn't have to be! I tracked down three costumes that are easy to put together -- an octopus, a domino and a garden gnome.

One is for kids, the other two work for both children and adults.

Each took me less than an hour to make, plus I was able to find all the supplies needed at one store.

Octopus

I’m usually pretty good at getting Halloween costumes ready early. This year, however, was different. About the time I start looking for family ideas, I found out I was pregnant and morning sickness has really limited me in what I feel like doing.

Fortunately for me, my husband went out, without asking, and found the kids’ costumes on his own! Otherwise, this is what my kids would be wearing!

This costume was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It requires no sewing and took me about an hour to make.

All clothing items should be in the same color family.

What you’ll need

  • Sweatshirt and sweatpants
  • 3 pairs of tights
  • Winter hat
  • Belt or ribbon
  • Safety pins
  • Batting
  • White and black felt
  • Scissors
  • Glue

Directions

1) Make the legs. Stuff each leg of the tights with batting. Only fill to the top of the leg, not the waist.

Credit: KUSA
Credit: KUSA
Credit: KUSA

2) Make the head. Cut out large eyes using the white and black felt and glue onto the front bottom of your hat.

Credit: KUSA
Credit: KUSA

3) Attach legs to belt/ribbon. We don’t have a belt at my house, but I do have a TON of ribbon! Simply place the belt or ribbon at the top of the legs of the tights, fold over the waist and safety pin in place.

Credit: KUSA
Credit: KUSA
Credit: KUSA

4) Let the glue dry and assemble your child!

You can make this costume fun by finding cute pairs of tights that have a design on them. If you go that route, buy 4 pairs of tights so your child’s legs match the others. I decided to keep this one simple because it is going to be cold, and I’d rather my child in pants and not just tights. To make mine a little more interesting I varied the color of my tights with red and pink.

Domino

This is, by far, the easiest costume to make. Don’t let the circles intimidate you!

What you'll need

  • White felt
  • White Duck Tape
  • Black shirt
  • Black pants
  • Pen
  • Scissors
  • Jar
  • Glue

Directions

Do you keep empty jars of salsa or spaghetti sauce at the house to catch extra grease? I do, and store extras under my kitchen sink. As long as you have that jar, you can draw a perfect circle on white felt.

1) I decided my domino would be the number 9, so I traced and cut out 9 white circles.

Credit: KUSA

2) Now arrange in on your black shirt and pants domino style! I put 5 dots on my shirt and 4 on my pants. Realistically, you’ll be limited to putting 2, 4 or 6 dots on your pants. And to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions, put your shirt on first, then figure out where you want the dots to go.

Credit: KUSA

3) Once you’ve got that settled, glue them in place!

Credit: KUSA

4) Finally, take your white duct tape and stick it to the bottom of your shirt. This is your line for the middle of the domino!

Garden Gnome

I thought this costume was the hardest. That being said, it still took me about an hour, and the only thing you have to make is the hat and beard.

What you'll need

  • Square of white felt
  • Batting
  • Cotton balls
  • Elastic string
  • Red poster board
  • Glue
  • Stapler
  • Pen
  • Scissors

Directions

1) Draw the shape of the beard. To do this I took my square of felt, placed it on my face and marked where I wanted the side burns of my beard to be and where the bottom of my mouth was. Once I knew those spots I was able to draw and cut out the rest of the beard.

Credit: KUSA

2) Finish the beard. Using your batting or cotton balls, add some fluff to the front of your beard and glue in place. Let dry.

Credit: KUSA
Credit: KUSA

3) Make the hat. Draw a large half circle out of your poster board. Find the center on the straight side. This will be the point of your hat. Wrap the poster around the center to form the rest of the hat and staple in place.

Credit: KUSA

4) Tie the elastic string to either side of your hat so it will stay in place on your head!

Credit: KUSA

5) Now that you have the hat on, glue cotton balls to your hat to make eyebrows.

6) Once everything was dry, I chose to attach the beard to the hat with safety pins. But you can use more elastic string to attach it to your head however you like!

If I were to do this again, I would probably choose to fluff my beard with cotton balls instead of batting. The batting looks really good, but the cotton balls will glue on better.

Finish your costume off with a flannel shirt, overalls, suspenders, or whatever other clothing you think a garden gnome would wear!

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