Halloween costumes you can put together with things you already have at home

Round up any khaki and tan clothing you have around and fashion a safari-worthy outfit for your child. Bonus points if you have a tan hat, but you could go with a different colored hat as well. Use a belt over a shirt or jacket and attach a rope to it for added detail.

There are so many Halloween costumes that you can create with face paint or makeup that you already have. You can opt for a mime, a cat, a clown, a zombie, a skeleton—the list goes on. Pair the face paint with clothing that you already have and you pretty much have made a costume for free.

Nope, your little girl does not need an exorbitantly expensive but, honestly, chintzy store-bought princess gown for Halloween. Any pretty party dress can double as a princess gown, so just dig around in the closet and find one to her liking, add some tights and dressy shoes, give her a fancy hairdo, and top with a simple paper tiara, like this tiara from Instructables.

A beauty queen costume is as simple to make as the aforementioned princess costume. You can use a dress-up tiara your child already owns or make a paper one, then create a sash using a long strip of fabric, ribbon, or paper and a marker. Easy peasy.

My parents didn't have money for a new Halloween costume every year, but I had a back-pocket costume. Whenever I wasn't sure what to be for Halloween, or a store-bought costume wasn't in the budget, I would dress up as a baby. Throw on some pajamas (bonus points for footie pajamas), dig out an old pacifier or baby bottle, and grab a blanket, and you're good to go, not to mention warm and cozy for October weather.

Transforming your little one into an old person is a cinch, whether your kiddo is an infant or a teen. Just find their most sophisticated duds—think cardigans, below-the-knee skirts and dresses, slacks, button-ups, etc.—and construct a white wig out of cotton balls or pillow stuffing. For an even simpler option, you can use baby powder or white chalk to create a salt-and-pepper hairdo. Don't forgot the bow tie or pearls!

In our house, we grow readers, so throwing together a bookworm costume would be a cinch. Dress your child in one earth tone from head to toe—brown, green, black, etc.—throw on some glasses, and have your little one carry around a book or two. So cute!

It's time to repurpose it! If your son has a black suit that still fits, you can use it to make him a secret agent costume. Pair it with dark sunglasses and he can be an FBI agent, Secret Service agent, or even a Man in Black. Of course, this costume works for girls, too!

Most kids have a superhero costume or two that can double as a full-on Halloween costume, but even if yours doesn't, it's super easy to craft one. You can help your kiddo come up with a superhero concept and use an old T-shirt and a towel, scarf, or blanket to make a caped costume. Either cut out shapes and letters from the same fabric to make a custom symbol or draw it right on with a marker. A scrap of fabric can be used to make accessories like a mask, wristbands, emblems, and more. Just use your imagination!

Giirrlll, I know you have a few of those Amazon Prime boxes lying around. You can repurpose one or more to create a cool and classic DIY robot costume for your child. The box can be used as the base, and you can cut buttons and dials out of another box, the flaps of the same box, or even construction paper. Use some color to make the costume even more fun.

My husband and I are big horror fans, so when my firstborn was just a year old, I made him a Walking Dead-inspired zombie costume. I basically took some baby clothes that were just a bit too small and then wrecked them by ripping them and rubbing them on the sidewalk and in the grass. Then I used corn syrup and red food coloring to make blood and black marker to make the dark stains. Lastly, I used my own makeup and a tube of white face paint left over from a previous year to give his skin that undead pallor. The costume was a hit and had just the right amount of shock value.

If you have kids, chances are there's some form of a baseball or softball uniform lying around your house. And as long as you have one single piece of baseball equipment—ball, mitt, bat, whichever—you can transform your kid into a ball player. Bonus points if you have a jersey or a Little League T-shirt, but a regular one and some sweats or leggings will do. Top it all off with any old ball cap, and your kid is good to go.

This DIY aerobics instructor costume is particularly cute and easy to throw together for infants, but you can make it work for older kids as well. As long as you have a pair of leggings or tights and a bodysuit, bathing suit, or leotard, you can achieve the right look. The leg warmers are the only thing that might require a bit of effort. But you can simply use a pair of adult socks and slouch them down or cut them out from an old pair of leggings or tights.

This crazy cat lady costume is hilarious! Whether you use a robe or a simple nightgown, it's a DIY Halloween costume that is pretty easy to achieve using things you already have at home. Gather up some tiny stuffed animals and tie them to the robe or nightgown, and you're pretty much done. And remember, you don't have to use quite as many as shown here; two or three will do.

Grab a pair of fake glasses (or pop out the lenses from an old pair of sunglasses), and dress your kiddo in the stuffiest, most old-fashioned clothes you can find. Be sure to pull up the pants or skirt really high and add a book, calculator, or other nerd gear to drive the point home.

If toilet paper is all you've got, it'll work in a pinch, but if you want to make a mummy costume that's a little sturdier, try using elastic bandage rolls or even tearing an old white sheet or towels into long strips to create a classic Halloween costume for your child.

As with the aerobics instructor costume, if your child doesn't already have a dance leotard, almost any solid-colored swimsuit or bodysuit can be made to look like one. Just add some tights and a tutu (you could even make one out of the tulle skirt from another dress). The ballet dancer costume is actually even easier for boys, since most male ballet dancers simply wear a white T-shirt and black leggings or sweats when they are young.

Break out those cardboard boxes one more time! All you need to make a quick DIY emoji costume is a big piece of cardboard, a good knife or utility scissors, same paint, and string. This costume could not be any easier. The hardest part is waiting for it to dry.

Get the full tutorial from Hello, Wonderful.

You can make your child an adorable bag of groceries costume in less than 30 minutes. Just grab a paper grocery bag and cut off the front and back panels. Then either draw and color or paint various food items on more brown paper, construction paper, or even printer paper, and glue them to the inside top edge of both sides of the bag. Find a neutral-colored shirt and pants for your child to wear. Tape (or glue if you don't mind not using the shirt again) each panel of the bag to the front side and back side of your child's shirt and…voilà!

It's pretty simple to create structured costumes using large pieces of cardboard and a few other household materials. The ones pictured here are actually row houses, but you can also do high-rises, skyscrapers, or any other type of building that your kid is into. Just make sure you have tape, glue, paint, markers, and maybe some aluminum foil on hand to create all the details that will make your child's costume stand out.

Get the tutorial from The House That Lars Built.

If your kiddo has a toy guitar or microphone, a rock star costume is super easy to throw together. Just have them don their coolest jeans and jacket, vamp up the makeup, and give them a wild hairstyle, and the rock star costume will be complete.

You can use a simple white sheet or curtain draped just so and belted with a leather built, fabric tie, or even a long necklace to create a gorgeous Greek goddess costume. Decorative accents are optional.

Get the tutorial from Mom Behind the Curtain.