Today we have more than 25 different costumes you can put together in less than 10 minutes that begin with a simple pair of black pants and a white shirt.
Let’s face it…there are some years when you are costume maker of the year and spend hours transforming your child into the character of her dreams…and then there are those years that you are lucky to round up a sack for trick or treating.
If it’s the later kind of year this year then this is the post for you!
Almost every kid I know has a pair of black pants (dress pants, leggings, or jeans) and a white shirt of some kind. So with that in mind my 9 year old and I spent the afternoon creating as many different costumes as we could using only those two items and things that we already had laying around the house.
We didn’t do extravagant hair or make-up (although you really could with these costumes and make them look fantastic). We just put together as many costumes we could from the time Grace got home from school until we ran out of light for taking pictures.
For the record she is only dressed up in costumes that she said she would be happy wearing…she vetoed some of my ideas like a “nerd” and “Charlie Chaplin” and she came up with all the poses herself (we could have gotten a lot more costumes in if she hadn’t had to spend time channeling her inner Count Dracula or Dastardly Villain).
So…with all that said…let’s get started with easy DIY costumes you can create in 10 minutes or less with black pant, a white shirt, and random items from around the house.
#1. The Explorer
Jungle hat, binoculars, stuft animal, done.
#2. The Reporter
Or…the paprazzi…or the photographer….whatever you want to call it all you need is an old camera and a black hat.
#3. The Mad Scientist
Goofy glasses, yellow cleaning gloves, some wierd tubes or bottles, and an adult white dress shirt and BAM…mad scientist.
#4. The Waitress
An apron, a notepad, a pencil, some sort of serving tray and plastic cups. Done. (This was one of Grace’s favorites…we spent a long time talking about where she worked and the kind of food she served.)
#5. Bat Girl
A $5 mask and a black jacket=Bat Girl. But any super hero mask would do.
#6. The Chef
An apron, a mixing bowl, a whisk, and a hat (if you’ve got one) is an easy recipe for one happy chef.
#7. The Dastardly Villain
We went old school on this one…curly stick on mustache, top hat, and one long cloak of doom.
#8. The Pirate
Items from the dress up bin…that all came from the Dollar Store.
#9. The Jockey
Pants tucked into boots, vest, black hat (soooo…hers has bunny ears…whatever) and plush horse.
#10. The Hairdresser
Black apron, hair clip, comb, and curling iron. All set!
#11. The Secret Agent
Black blazer, cool sunglasses, old cell phone….and attitude.
#12. The Magician
Vest, cape, top hat, bunny and POOF! Now you see a magician.
#13. The Home Depot Worker
Ok…so both my girls love going to the Home Depot. For reals. So this one was inevitable. She is wearing her sisters Home Depot apron (that they give you for free) and holding her hammer and wearing her safety goggles.
*Note: Her sister wore this exact outfit recently to a neighborhood Halloween party….and LOVED it. 🙂
#14. The Politician
Blazer and a vote sign (although..if you have any “I VOTED” badges those would be awesome too)….I could say more here but this is a post about costumes…not politics….
#15. The Burglar
Black hoodie, black ski hat, shady glasses, fake jewels…great burglar.
#16. The Fisherman
Rain jacket and a fishing pole.
#17. There’s a New Sheriff in Town
Black hat, vest, and stick on mustache. I had a sheriff’s badge for the vest but I think it was commandeered by the sheriff’s little sister…
#18. Harry Potter
A tie, a cape, a chopstick, and some glasses…Voldemort won’t know what hit him.
#19. The Count (Dracula that is)
If she were actually wearing this and going as a vampire we would probably loose the hat and spray her hair black…but she loves this hat…and the red plastic fangs she has been wearing on and off over her braces for 2 weeks now…ewwwww.
#20. The Vacuum Salesman
Alright…this is a favorite…the mustache, the cell phone, the clip board…we get door to door salesmen a lot at our house and this was all Grace’s idea and spot on to the characters we frequently find on our doorstep. Plus Grace is convinced you could loop your trick or treat bag over the vacuum and push it from house to house….I told her that wouldn’t be happening…
#21. The Mime
With a beret and suspenders your little one can stick themselves in a glass box for hours.
#22. The Cat
Cat ear headband, bow tie, and a tail. (I actually bought all 3 things a week or two ago at the Dollar Store…the entire set was $1.)
#23. The Doctor
A stethoscope from a toy set and a dress shirt from mom and dad makes a perfect doctors costume.
#24. Blossom OR Vanessa Huxtible
Basically Grace said she wanted to dress up like I did when I was a teenager…so hooray for the late 80’s and early 90’s…a weird sweater cardigan and a crashed velvet hat with a huge flower. (If it wasn’t a black pants white shirt challenge I would have gone for grunge…a look I fully embraced…but…that’s not what we were doing so I went back to my Cosby Show watching roots.)
#25. Ventriloquist Dummy
So I saved the weirdest for last…and again this was all Grace. We watched that Goosebumps movie…and there is the evil dummy named Slappy…and well there you have it. All you need is a vest, a bow tie, and two streaks of eye liner down your chin and you are good to go.
Well there you have it…a pile of costumes that take only a few minutes to put together and should cost next to nothing. (Easy and free…you can’t beat that.)
And I have to admit…that Grace and I had so much fun doing this…we might be making up more costume challenges in the future just to have the excuse to dress up all over again. So keep your eye out for that. (I already have a few more ideas in mind.) But until then…Happy Halloween and may all your treats be delicious.
