Costume Ideas With Home Items

Get crafty with things around the house.

Whether you're looking for a last-minute Halloween costume or you're attending a party, it's easy to put together a costume from materials you have lying around the house. Fabric remnants, glitter, newspaper, paint, cardboard and makeup are just a few household items that can be used in a variety of creative ways. It's a lot less expensive -- and more original -- than buying a costume.

Toilet Plunger

Plunge into a plumbing costume.

Put on jeans, a plaid shirt and a cap and grab a toilet plunger. In less than a minute, you're a plumber.

Felt

Look delicious in your cookie costume.

Dress in brown clothing, pin brightly colored felt circles to yourself and you're a candy cookie. Use different-colored felt circles for different types of cookies -- white circles for a white chocolate chip cookie, dark brown circles for a regular chocolate chip cookie. Or, cut dark brown felt in shape of raisins and go as an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Glitter

Rock on.

Bring out your inner rock star with some glitter. Glue generous amounts of glitter on a black T-shirt, throw on some jeans, rocker boots, a guitar and sunglasses. Pink hair is optional.

Newspapers

Recycle yourself.

Hot-glue wadded up newspapers to your old clothes. You are now "papers for recycling."

Toilet Paper

Toilet paper yourself.

Wrap toilet paper around your body to look like a mummy. Start with a roll at each ankle and wrap upwards, covering the torso, arms, chest, neck and head.

Balloons

Balloons make an easy gum ball or grape costume.

Blow up some colorful balloons. Pin their tails on a sweatshirt and sweatpants and you're a gumball machine. Or, use all purple or green balloons and be a bunch of grapes.

Gift Bows and an Unused String Mop Head

A mop head and gift bows make a hula dancer.

Fashion a hula dancer costume. Put a classic rope mop head around a little girl's waist and gift bows around her neck. In lieu of gift bows, a string of artificial flowers could also be used.

Camera, Vest and Sunglasses

Annoy a celebrity at your next party.

Make your own photos ops when you're the paparazzi. You'll have plenty of "stars" to shoot at that next costume party.

Aluminum Foil

Hold the sour cream.

Wrap your baby in aluminum foil and presto -- your little tater tot is a baked potato.

Bridesmaid

Be a bridesmaid.

Put that old bridesmaid's dress that's been collecting dust in your closet to use. Add some pearls and carry a bouquet of flowers -- real or fake -- and head down the aisle to that costume party. See, you really can wear it again.

References

• Martha Stewart: Easy Costumes Kids Can Make Themselves