Budget Halloween costumes

Costumes you can make with hair gel

'What's a quick and easy costume for the toddler? How about a 'baby rocker'? Use hair gel to slick his hair back, a white T-shirt, jeans rolled up, a comb in his back pocket and a jacket. We used a black spray-painted raincoat from a charity shop but you can also use a denim jacket or similar.' cl-mon71

Costumes you can make with a cardboard box

'Make a fridge out of a box. When you open the "fridge" door, there are pictures of food glued inside.' terri55

'When my sister and I were younger my parents made us into dice. They got a box for each of us, painted it white, cut out head and armholes, and then painted black dots on each side. I was six and on the front of my box were six dots, and my sister was two and so the front of her box were two dots. I have also seen this done with dominos (although that would be harder to sit down in, I imagine). We got tons of compliments and it cost next to nothing. Many shops will give away the boxes they have in storage!' mkadera

'The easiest costume (and cheapest) I ever made for my daughter: I got a big box, took off the bottom, cut holes for arms and head, and wrapped it in gift wrap. Then, I taped ribbon around it, and tied lots of curly ribbons in her hair. Everyone raved about how cute and clever the costume was. I was thrilled that, after years of sewing, one with so little effort got such a result!' Cherie J

Bag costumes

'When my daughter was 18 months old, I made a peacock costume for her. I picked up turquoise material and stitched it into a large bag - large enough for her to wear her snowsuit underneath. I then took the leftover material and made a hat for her. On the hat, I glued a few feathers, googly eyes and a foam beak (using craft foam). I also cut out foam feet and attached elastics to them to use as boot toppers. For the tail, I cut out a tail shape and glued peacock-feather wrapping paper (the most expensive part of the costume) on both sides. She looked adorable! (I kept the costume. Sigh.) I even made a 'matching' costume for me, using a turquoise jumper, plastic mask covered with feathers and matching boot-toppers. It was a lot of fun! Both costumes cost me less than £15.' wintersweet

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