Cant remember how old your kiddos are but even if they are as young as three or so you can get them siked about homeade costumes by letting them design, help buy the supplies,and help put together/sew their own costumes....I have done this with all my kiddos..infact I dont think my bios or SD have ever had a store bought costume I have always made them...
Another good "selling" point w mine has also been to tell them that no one else on this earth has a costume just like theirs...makes em feel special..lol

Well my girls are being china dolls this year. We went to Chinatown last year and they both had to get those silk robes. So we decided for halloween I would buy nude colored long underwear for them to wear underneath to keep them warm. We would put their hair up in buns and put white colored base on their face. Then I would do their make-up.

My friends son is being a hilbilly. They found some overalls at a thrift store and a flannel shirt. Got some of those funny teeth at the dollar store and a mullet wig for cheap. He is siked about it.

Just look through what you have at home and google some homemade costume sights and show your kids ideas you think they would like.

I was poking through blogs awhile back and saw a funny "Chick Magnet" one. The mother affixed Marshmallow Peeps to the kid's clothes. Of course, if you're convincing a reluctant kid, he/she would have to get the joke and think it's funny enough to want to do it.

Well my SS is going as a Hockey player..do not know what SD is doing.
For my son, i still have a few ideas going around. He's going to be 3...and i'm thinking of dressing him like stewie from family guy! lol..should be funny cause he keeps repeating 'mom, mum.mummy...lol!!!
I can't wait for halloween. Its my favorite holiday here! Dont' know if the Stepkids will make it this year or next..its our year to have them...falls on my DH weekend. but we brought it up to them and i honestly believe they will stay at their moms. I told my DH, dont take it personal if they do that. THey have all their friends up there. THey wont want to miss that, they had it up their all their lives.
Too bad, i would have been a blast. I'm inviting 3 other families with their kids to join us this year!

one year I found a formal dress at goodwill. gold & red damask, empire, tight-fitting, small size. I cut it in half, made a top and balloon pants for dss aged 4. added a cummerbund from red silk (more likely fake silk) and a towel-wrap hat & little booties from left over fabric. Wha-la. a genie. He was adorable. That was one of the costumes that always won contests.

Those kinds of stores are also really good places to find wedding dresses to cut down if you have any little girls, too. Or fancy dresses to make her into a ballerina,princess, queen. I usually had more imagination with the girl stuff. Too bad: only one girl. 4 boys :~)
j

DS always wanted to be a Armadillo but we could nevr figure out how to make it?

Well I talked to the kids about the fun of making their own costumes with me and how nobody would look exactly like them. They all thought it was pretty cool. So over the weekend we went to some halloween shops to get good ideas and then hit the thrift stores to pick up things we did not have at home already.

Oldest SD is going to be a china doll (got the idea from helpwiththis). She also had a chinese robe so we are using that and she has those sticks to hold a bun in place and we have make-up for her.

Middle SD has decided upon being a hippy. She had some jeans that got torn in the knees so she is drawing peace signs on them and wearing a tye dyed t-shirt she made. We will straighten her hair and she got some round sunglasses and hemp necklaces from the thrift store.

My son decided upon being a doctor. We found some scrubs that I can hem and a toy dr. set that looks real at the thrift store.

My ss decided upon a lawyer. We found a suit and tie set at the thrift store and my dh had an old briefcase. We also found some fake clear glasses.

They are all excited. And I have to say this is a very affordable Halloween :) Makes me wish I needed to make me a costume too!

The best adult costume I have ever seen was "The invisible man"

The man in question wore a white turtleneck, had a white leotard type stocking fitted over his head with holes for eyes nose, ect, and black rimmed glasses. He wore white gloves, a fedora , and a trenchcoat and tie.

He didnt speak a word all evening at the party and no one knew who it was. It was great. Of course, younger people today wouldnt know who the invisible man is. Sigh. I feel very old

I was going to suggest hippie but didn't know if it would be 'cool.' I remember doing that as a kid - loved it. Sounds like your kids will have a great time - kudo's to you all for being creative!

Catlettuce:
http://www.costumeholidayhouse.com/deluxe_costumes/deluxe_category1.asp?ID=611

For the "shell": Take a piece of cardboard, cut in a circle, and draw black designs on it. Staple it to elastic loops and hang over his shoulders. Or, find a big brown round pillow at a second hand store and take out the stuffing. Then you can sew or pin it to a brown shirt.

Ears: Get a pair of deer ears, or other ears from the halloween store, cover in brown fabric.

Tail: Brown pantyhose with cotton batting or a brown sock.

Hands: Brown gloves (nice and warm!)

Nose: 1) Find a clown nose, or something pre made and build over it. Or, elastic around a half ping-pong ball or tennis ball. Then put a toilet paper roll on the end with the other half of the ping pong ball glued in. Spray paint the ball black. 2) Get face paints, and paint his face with stripes and splotches, spray paint a clown nose black. 3) Or, paper mache would work good too.

Sounds like fun!

I completely stole you idea... so thanks. I was contemplating how expensive halloween is myself and after reading this the kids took a vote and we are making our own costumes this year as well... They are currently in overdrive trying to figure out what they want to be so we can make a list of supplies :-)

The best costume I ever had was last October for FSD's carnival, I was Marie Antoinette's head on a plate. All it cost was a wig, a plastic serving tray (looked like silver) and a plastic tablecloth. First we cut out one side of a large box we had, leaving 5 sides in tact; then we cut out a horseshoe shape in the top of the box and glued the tablecloth around it and slightly over it; then we cut a horseshoe shape out of the plate and glued it to the top of the box. I put TONS of makeup over my white grease makeup so I looked very made-up, but had a bluish-grayish tint to my skin, painted a mole above my lip and put on the wig I had bought (from a Marie Antoinette costume set). I sat a stool inside the box and placed my head all the way in the circular part of the plate and box. FDH put a feather boa around my neck so no one could see where my neck met the plate. It was so hillarious! I'd close my eyes and the girls would come all the way up and start poking me in the face to see if I was real. I would open my eyes and they would almost pee their pants! I even scared most of the adults! The best thing about it is that it wasn't gory at all. No blood. Very tasteful. And I just wore a t-shirt and jeans since no one could see the rest of my body.

Is that not great??? LOL!

that is too cool...now i wanna dress up!!!!!!!!!!!