I am blessed to have the ultimate DIY extraordinaire as my mother. Ever since I can remember, she has readily taken the reigns of any costume project that presents itself in my life. She did it all: school play costumes, group project costumes, and most of all, Halloween costumes. At the cost of bragging about her for a brief moment, I must admit that, each year in elementary school, all of my friends fought over pairing up with me for a Halloween costume so that my mom would make one for them as well.
Thanks to my mom, I rocked the grooviest costumes year after year (that is, until middle school, when “trying” on Halloween became weird and I resisted all costume guidance from my mother). From salt and pepper (complete with colander hats) to Thing 1 and Thing 2, my mom managed to create ensembles that were always far more ornate and funky than anything that could be found in a Halloween store.
Now that I’m in college and my mom is on the other side of the country, I’m on my own in making Halloween costumes. It hasn’t been easy. I definitely still think homemade costumes are the way to go, but I’ve had to develop some money-saving tricks in order to keep my crafting from emptying my checking account. Luckily, if executed properly, making a Halloween costume is a much more inexpensive route than buying one.
Here are some tips that will save you money when making this year’s costume(s):
1. Get your costume pieces from a thrift store.
The thrift stores of Central Pennsylvania are highly underrated; you can find almost anything. Plus, if you buy pieces for your costume used, you’re not only saving your money, you’re also saving the environment by recycling!
2. Make something instead of buying it on Amazon!
Sometimes making an item is way easier (and cheaper) than you think. This doesn’t mean you have to sew; fabric glue is your best friend.
3. Use the Craft Center.
No need to buy crafting supplies when you can find them for free at 7th Street Studio!
4. Find streamlined inspiration first.
Conduct thorough research via Google and Pinterest before heading out to shop. This way, you won’t end up with more than you need.
5. Compromise!
If you are trying to be frugal, your costume isn’t going end up exactly how you expect and that’s totally fine!