How to Make a Kid's Cowboy Costume

Being a cowboy is almost a rite of passage for a little boy on Halloween. The Old West gunslinger never goes out of style (even though you may have to check his gun at the door if he wears his costume to school). Making up the costume is fairly easy if you start early and canvass local thrift stores to build your creation. You need some basics, and you can get away with being very creative in your assembly of the dollar store additions that tie the whole costume together. Don't forget the boots!

Things You'll Need

• Flannel shirt
• Vest or fringe jacket
• Jeans
• Belt
• Cap gun
• Boots
• Spurs
• Cowboy hat
• Fake mustache
• Rope

Instructions

1. Visit your thrift store well before Halloween to start finding all the pieces you need to put together the costume. Finding the cowboy boots might be the hardest part, and if you can't find any affordable ones, you may have to settle for work boots.

2. Search for a fringe cowboy jacket, the next hardest thing to find. Look in the ladies' jackets, as sometimes a ladies' jacket will fit nicely on a young boy and no one will know the difference. If you can't find a jacket, get a brown vest, the more beat-up, the better.

3. Find some old jeans, a flannel shirt and a cowboy hat. You may already have these at home.

4. Go to the dollar store to get the accessories. A stick-on mustache, a cap gun with belt, a sheriff's badge, plastic spurs, rope and a cowboy hat if you couldn't find one at the thrift store. A brown eyeliner pencil makes great freckles across the nose.

5. Dress your cowboy at home. Dress him up in jeans and flannel shirt, vest or jacket on top, boots on the bottom, cowboy hat on the head. Dot his face across the nose with freckles. Stick the badge on the jacket. Put the gun belt across his waist. Coil some rope and hang it over his should. Stick the moustache on last, since it's itchy. You might want to have him carry a stick horse, for effect. Chewing a piece of hay is always a nice touch.