It’s that time of year, everyone — Halloween season! Halloween is easily one of my favorite holidays, with the exception of Christmas, of course. I particularly love all of the fun decor projects, fall crafts, and costumes that come along with Halloween. Especially the costumes. However…. I don’t know about you, but I am not very good with a sewing machine.

I’ve got a little story to tell you about my daughter, Harbor Farm Wreath co-owner, Mandi Harrell Leman. Back in the 80s, I was a working mom. And, like so many busy moms and dads, I usually had the best of intentions to start looking for the perfect costume early in October, yet inevitably, would find myself scrambling to get something at the last minute. Here are some photos of Mandi in the embarrassing plastic blow up head costume I bought her in 1982. LOL! What WAS I thinking? :)

I don't remember exactly, but I bet my friend's son is saying something like, “What in the world is that weird thing on top of your head??”, right before he started laughing uncontrollably.

Check out how cute the handmade mouse costume is that my friend made!

Mandi is probably thinking, “Hey! Your costume isn't plastic? What's up with that?”

Now, I had thought that little blowup plastic costume was so cute, but you know it wasn’t a good idea when…well, I’ll let that sweet little yellow face speak for itself...

Can I get a collective awwwwwww? :)

That was the last year I resorted to those pre-packaged costumes that flood the streets on October 31^st. I realized that even though I don't sew, with a little pre-planning, a little ingenuity (and a lot of hot glue!), I could make some pretty cool Halloween costumes myself.

To help you dream up the perfect outfit for Halloween night, I thought it would be fun to spotlight 10 of the most fun and EASY Halloween costume ideas I found while scouring Pinterest and other sources on the web. My criteria was it had to be:
A. Clever!
B. Simple to make
C. Doesn’t require sewing, and
D. Made of items that you might already have around your house.


So, without further adieu, here are my top 10 choices for DIY Costumes for Halloween 2015...

1. Lego Costume

How cute is this? I know LOTS of kids who LOVE legos. And yes, I really think I could make it pretty easily.

All you need to do is:

1. Choose the lego color of your choice and some sweats or shirt and pants in that color.

2. Get a cardboard box, save some empty soup or veggie cans and cover with craft paper.

3. Cut holes in the box for the head, arms and the 8 lego pegs.

4. Spray paint and voila! Your little lego is ready for trick or treating!

2. Bubble Bath Costume

All you need to do is:

1. Cut a hole in the bottom of an inflatable baby bathtub. Leave at least 2 inches for the rim.

2. On the remaining bottom rim, punch two holes near the front and back. To make the suspenders from wide ribbon, measure your child from shoulder to waist and multiply by 2; cut two lengths of ribbon to that size. Thread through the holes, knotting the ends underneath to secure.

3. Blow up 15 white balloons and attach them with double-stick tape inside the tub and to the sides to make it look like bubbles are overflowing.

4. Accessorize with bath poufs as hair accessories.

3. Buzz Lightyear Costume

All you need is:

1.White shirt and pants or leggings. Have your child wear a light hooded jacket under the white shirt & they'll stay toasty too.

2.Cut two rectangles and a square out of cardboard. Attach them together so that the two rectangles will connect across the back, but also drape forward.

3.Get lots of felt and some hot glue and have at it!

4. Snowball Costume

All you need is: an over-size pale-blue sweatshirt, string, batting, an extra-large sewing needle, white felt, seam binding, Styrofoam balls in assorted sizes, elastic, Velcro, fabric glue, a large safety pin. Have the child wear a white shirt and tights underneath. Cut the arms off of the sweatshirt.

Your little Jack or Jackie Frost will be a hit and all the supplies can be easily found at most arts and crafts stores. You could substitute cotton balls for the snow balls instead of Styrofoam.

5. Weather Girl Costume

All you need is: a cardboard box, large helium balloon, dowels, fabric glue, burlap, batting, rope, jute twine, an extra-large needle, foam weather stripping, tape, and, if you want, a toy barometer, a lab coat, a clipboard and binoculars.

6. Raining Cats and Dogs Costume

All you need is: a child-size clear umbrella, black sticky felt or regular felt with double stick tape, black poster board, fabric pencil, gray thread, and a needle

This clever idea pairs the decorated umbrella with the raincoat and rain boots your child already owns and they'll be set to have a blast in any weather. This one is SO easy, but so effective!

7. Mr. Twister Costume

All you need is: a hula hoop, 2 large adult-sized dark-gray T-shirts, fabric glue, 10 yd black tulle, a stapler, twigs, dark-gray gloves

What a fun and easy to do costume, ready for candy and trick-or-treating fun on Halloween night.

8. Mummy Costume

All you need is: white rags or sheets,torn in strips

Now, this might be the easiest one yet and big on the cute factor!

9. Static Cling Costume

All you need is: an all black outfit and then just hot glue dryer sheets and whatnot to it. I saw one version of this where it was just all socks – one of each kind, of course.

Isn't this precious!? (And where do all those lost socks go?)

10. X-Ray Costume

All you need is: a box and some paints. I really like the ones where you just use a box and some simple artwork. That’s all you need for this one. I saw another cute version where they decorated the box like an iphone, front and back.

My daughter Mandi owns Harbor Farm with her husband, Michael. They have beautiful fresh wreaths for sale as well as perfect fresh centerpieces for your Christmas table. If you follow their page on Facebook, they are always sharing tips and tricks for not only Christmas, but for all of the seasons and holidays, year round. Check them out at http://www.facebook.com/harborfarm

So, that’s it for my top 10 picks for clever, but easy peasy Halloween costumes that you can make yourself. Have a happy and safe Halloween!