Saturday, August 31, 2013

Tips for Cheap Halloween Costumes

Homemade Costumes
Photo by Jessica Quirk
Halloween and pretend play do not need to cost a bundle.  As a stay-at-home mom helping her family live on one income, learning frugal tips and tricks to create great costumes on a budget was not only a fun challenge, but vital.  I'd love to share my tips with you.

Frugal moms know it pays to plan ahead; October is not the best time to find cheap Halloween costumes. 

Read on to find out when you should start shopping, and other key tips to help you save money while putting together amazing costumes.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

3 Adorable DIY Doctor Who Costumes For Children

Tenth Doctor
Photo by Roger Chang
Here in the U.S., Doctor Who costumes are largely a do-it-yourself affair, particularly for children.  When I decided to put together a role play outfit for my son of his favorite Doctor (Ten), I wasn't sure where to start.

Fortunately, to create costumes for two of the most popular Doctors, normal clothing can be used for the most part.  Our children may already have some of what they need in their closets; local thrift stores can usually help with much of the rest.  I'll include Amazon products, where available, for your convenience.

It's not at all uncommon for girls to to portray the Doctors themselves (Quirky, brainy hero who saves the universe?  Why not?!), but that's not a little girl's only choice.  Amy Pond, too, is handily normal in the basics of her outfits, giving us another easy costume to put together for little Whovians.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

DIY Pirate Costumes For Kids

Used under a CC 2.0 Attribution License
Swashbuckler
by makelessnoise
Pirate costumes can be very quick to put together from items you already own, or cheap thrift store finds.  Because of this, they make great last minute costumes for little ones. 

Yes, I'm already thinking ahead to Halloween.  My kids are big into Jake and the Neverland Pirates this year, because they just found the series on Netflix.  Now my three-year-old wants to dress like a pirate.  Arrr!