How to Make Cheap Christmas Costumes

You can save money by avoiding expensive, store-bought costumes

Making your own Christmas costumes is a great way to save money around the holidays. You can make simple Christmas costumes, such as Santa, elves and reindeer, using items you already have around the house. Ask friends and family if they have any leftover costume pieces you could reinvent for your own Christmas costumes.

Things You'll Need

• Red, green, and brown sweatshirts and sweat pants
• Facepaint
• Jingle bells
• Felt
• Pins
• Red or green tights

Instructions

1. Gather costumes and props from around the house. Leftover costume pieces from last Christmas can be recycled into new costumes. Take stock of all your current costume pieces before going out and buying more.

2. Turn a sweatshirt and sweat pants into a base for an inexpensive Christmas costume. A red sweatshirt and sweat pants with a Santa hat and beard make for an easy Santa Claus. A brown sweatshirt and pants, plus a little red face paint on your nose, and a set of brown pipe cleaners wrapped around a hair band makes for a quick and easy reindeer. And a green sweatshirt, plus green or red tights, and a pointy hat are all it takes to create a simple elf.

3. Go to your local thrift store for extra costume pieces or accessories. You can find inexpensive belts for Santa or an elf, brown and black boots for a reindeer, or a sack for Santa to carry. Many thrift stores will have a Christmas section around the holidays.

4. Add jingle bells to your costume to make it more festive. You can safety pin jingle bells to nearly any costume for a Christmas feel.

5. Construct an easy Santa or elf hat out of felt and pins. Cut two triangle shaped piece of red or green felt, pin them together along the sides, and open up the bottom to make a hat.

References

• Pajama City: How to Make an Adult Elf Costume
• Thrifty Fun: Homemade Christmas Costume Ideas