99 Easy DIY Halloween Costume Ideas for Kids of All Ages to Wear in 2023

This simple idea makes a big impact on Halloween night. Start with a neon green dress. Add an antennae headband and a pair of black wings. Secure a clip-on white safety light to the wings so that the firefly “glows” throughout the evening. Pair with a classic neon green jack-o-lantern trick-or-treat pail.

This one’s so easy! Start with a solid blue shirt and a pair of jeans. Coat a plastic plant saucer (ours is 13 inches; size up as needed) with blue spray-paint. Secure rubber ducks to the saucer with Velcro. Add a “Duck Pond” sign to the “pond,” then hang it around the neck using grosgrain ribbon. (You can secure the ribbon to the pool with duct tape or drill holes.) Hot-glue a rubber duck to a blue headband.

Note: This costume idea can also be repurposed for a pet; simply secure the duck pond with Velcro to the back of a yellow pet raincoat.

Is there such a thing? There is now! Start with a white dress. (Tip: Seek out used flower girl dresses on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.) Add a band of tan velvet ribbon and a DIY cardboard or felt “graham cracker” at the waist. Add brown felt “chocolate bars” to the shoes. Find a stick from the yard and add a marshmallow for the fairy wand. Cut out wings from cardboard; add graham-cracker like dots and dotted-line (perforations) using a dark brown marker. Construct a complete “s’more” with felt; secure to headband with thread or hot-glue. Pair costume with a vintage Campfire Marshmallows tin repurposed as a trick-or-treating bucket.

Come and get yer corn dogs! Start with an open-topped cardboard box (ours is 9 by 18 inches), such as a store display or produce box. (There are plenty to be found on Amazon, but most are sold in bulk.) Spray-paint box white, then use red one-inch painter’s tape to create stripes. Add a band of wide yellow rickrack and the words “Corn Dogs” across the front. Fill box with striped food sleeves and corn dogs made from felt. Add a mustard and ketchup bottle. Pair with a red apron, white shirt, paper hat, and your strongest salesman’s voice.

Start with a light blue t-shirt, light blue leggings, and a plastic plant pot from the hardware store (a 17-inch pot with a 12-inch-wide bottom was roomy enough to accommodate our 6-year-old model). Use a mini hand-saw to cut out the bottom of the pot. Drill four holes (two in the front, two in the back) to accommodate grosgrain ribbon “straps” that will make the pot wearable. Fill with faux hydrangea blooms, securing stems to pot interior with duct tape. (Note: It’s best to do this once the child is wearing the costume.) Cut off a single bloom to secure to a blue headband with hot glue. Pair costume with a galvanized flower stem bucket or watering can, either of which can be used for collecting candy.

Kids can get in on the Eras Tour fun too! Print a screenshot of the infamous ticketing waiting screen on a 18 by 24-inch foam board at a local printer or UPS store. Add pink grosgrain ribbon and wear it around your neck like a necklace. Pair with your favorite Eras-inspired look and a few tear-shaped rhinestones on your cheek.

Shop Sequins Dress

This idea is sure to win any Halloween costume competition. Make it personal based on where you live, or perhaps a favorite place to travel. Then pair the idea with a coordinating outfit from her closet.

Get the Snow Globe Costume tutorial.

Shop Clear Umbrellas

Everybody loves field day, making this a fun costume that's comfortable and pretty easy to throw together. For a group Halloween costume, pick a color palette (here, primary colors rule), then pile on the sweatpants, athletic shirts, and sweatbands for a fetching field day look. Props like racquets and trophies bring the nostalgic theme to life. And you can even let your pet in on the fun with a referee costume!

SHOP SWEATBANDS AND SOCKS

This one is for the girls who dream of chicken coops, farmhouse living, and wide open spaces. Dress in denim overalls, a solid tee, and a pink bandana tied headband style. Props like a stuffed chicken and a basket of faux eggs brings home the promise of "more hen, less Ken." She'll likely want to shed the box when it's time for trick-or-treat.

Get the Farmhouse Barbie tutorial

SHOP STUFFED HEN TOYS

This super-sweet idea even has the cherry on top! This milkshake costume comes together easily with a few crafty supplies, plus a white shirt and tights from her closet.

Get the Milkshake Costume tutorial.

Shop Pool Noodles

This sweet cotton candy costume comes together quickly, starting with a show-stopping dress (we love the puffy sleeves!). For the head piece, attach pink fiber fill to a headband, and then top with a cone made of striped paper.

SHOP PINK DRESSES

Willa Gray, daughter of singer-songwriter Thomas Rhett and Country Living Contributor Lauren Akins, shows off this easy DIY corn costume. The base is a simple green dress that will keep your kid comfortable on Halloween.

Get the tutorial.

If you've waited until the last minute to pull together a Halloween costume, you'll likely have just about everything you need in your closet for this adorable painter costume. Throw on any shirt (we love these stripes), denim overalls, and white sneakers. Tie a bandana as a headband or go kerchief style. A paint pail prop doubles as a clever candy carrier.

SHOP PAINT CANS

Take inspiration from our favorite teenage detective. Pair a yellow cardigan—this one’s the perfect shade—and a white collared shirt with a plaid yellow pleated skirt. Accessorize with a yellow headband, a vintage flashlight or binoculars, and a couple of vintage Nancy Drew books.

Start with a long-sleeve brown t-shirt. Cut out “flames” from red, yellow, and orange felt and sew on (or secure) as desired. Secure brown grosgrain ribbon to shoulders to tie on an 18-inch grapevine wreath. Embellish the grapevine wreath with logs made from brown or wood grain cardstock and orange battery-operated string lights. Use a white foam sheet to create the marshmallow head piece. Secure foam sheet to hair with bobby pins. Embellish with orange tissue paper and a long stick (secured to the inside with duct tape). Pair costume with a vintage Campfire Marshmallows tin repurposed as a trick-or-treating bucket.

It's all in the details for this adorable gnome costume! Cassandra of Stumbling Grace paired faux flowers, felt, fencing, and more for this one-of-a-kind idea.

See more at @stumblinggrace.

This idea is a guaranteed show-stopper at any kids' Halloween costume party! Sarah Kress put together this look with items she found at a resale shop and went to town with a can of gold spray paint and face paint. The baseball player can hop off the trophy stand when it's time to trick-or-treat.

See more at @sarah.w.kress.

Ada James, daughter of Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins, makes an adorable bushel of apples.

Make the costume: Start with a peck bushel basket and remove the bottom. Attach red suspenders. Make the balloon apples by using small red balloons(with uninflated green water balloon ties) to fill basket with “apples.” Embellish a red felt beret with a felt “stem” and “leaf.”