How to Make a Grinch Costume

"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch..." This popular song has gotten more play since the recent Hollywood adaptation of the original Dr. Seuss character who wanted more than anything to ruin Christmas. The grinch makes an interesting holiday costume as one of many new cultural icons for the 21st century.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. The main part of a grinch costume is simply a green, furry suit. The "fur" can be anything from AstroTurf to old carpet. As with other body costumes, there are various ways to go about making the grinch body. The simplest way is a square sheet of material hanging from the shoulders in a loose blanket form. Green tights or pants can complement this well. And if you have a master seamstress to make a form-fitting green body suit, so much the better.

2. Make a face. The Grinch's face is green, and in the movie, it's a kind of animalistic, pug-nosed visage. Actually, an old cat or dog mask could work pretty well for the grinch, spray-painted green, of course.

3. Cut out some other green material to form the plume that sprouts from the Grinch's head.

4. In the movie, the grinch has yellow, jaundiced-looking eyes. Colored contact lenses would do the trick.

5. Figure out accessories. No, the grinch doesn't really have a signature prop, but in some of his manifestations, he shows up in a Santa suit (slimmed down) or with a red Christmas hat. A Grinch in Christmas gear is a rich presentation of Grinchian irony.

Resources

• Grinch website
• Includes pictures of the Grinch
• Ideas on cool movie characters at Mania.com