Creative Halloween Costumes to Make for Kids

This strong man will show off his impressive muscles on trick-or-treat night when he juggles his heavy weight and his treat bag.

For the aspiring chef, this sweet concoction will be a five-star dish for trick-or-treating. Plus, after Halloween, your little baker will have a new apron to wear in the kitchen.

You've never seen such a sweet-smelling skunk as your little boy or girl in this cuddly costume.

If scary or trendy Halloween costumes don't appeal to your little trick-or-treater, this classic fairy-tale character might do the trick. You may even already own the costume's foundation: a black-and-white checked dress. (Nothing like that in your closets? Shop a secondhand store for an affordable alternative.) Finish the costume with our easy-to-make red cape.

With a dapper black-and-white costume made from a sweatshirt, felt, and fleece, this debonair penguin is one chill guy.

Scurry from house to house on trick-or-treat night in a mouse costume that elicits smiles rather than shrieks.

Your child will love dressing as an ice cream cone for Halloween -- complete with sprinkles and a cherry on top!

This aquatic monster is ready to splash through the streets on trick-or-treat night with its fins and goggles.

Delight your Tinkerbell fan with her own fairy rendition that makes her the queen of the butterfly forest.

Dress up to get swatted! Become a trapped fly this Halloween.

In a sea of Halloween costumes, this one makes a splash! The satin tail of reversible blue-and-lime quilted fabric is stitched as a skirt: the front is cut short for walking ease and the back is cut long with fins. Just make sure your mermaid dons leggings and a flesh-tone shirt underneath her bikini top for trick-or-treating in cool weather.

Your little birdie will get plenty of sweets in this adorable Halloween trick-or-tweeting costume.

Dance the night away on Halloween. This recital-inspired costume starts with ballerina basics -- a leotard, tutu, and tights -- and is dressed up with fun embellishments.

Take off for Halloween trick-or-treating costumed as an airplane pilot. This easy-to-make costume starts from a simple sweat suit.

This grand ensemble reuses that special-occasion dress (that your daughter will soon outgrow) and transforms it into a costume fit for a princess. Simply tie a full-length overskirt around the waist of the dress and drape a fur-trim stole over the shoulders.

Turn a pajama cocoon into a dazzling butterfly by adding fabric wings that shimmer. Just cut out the wings as a single piece and add elastic for shaping and fastening. For extra sparkle, frame your butterfly's face with boa-covered antennae.

Half the fun of this creation is pulling the materials together: a box, duct tape, and an old bike helmet from the garage; foam beads and a Slinky; and flexible dryer duct and pipe insulation from the hardware store. Just cut, spray-paint, and tape away! The candy-filled center is simply a clear envelope filled with treats and taped to the back of a box opening.

Rock your little diva's world with this sizzling ensemble that's born from modest beginnings: khaki pants and a pink T-shirt.

Here's a scholarly fellow who can deliver a message from the Owlery. Fix up his feathered coat using shaggy white fleece attached to a hooded oatmeal-color sweatshirt.

No need for heavy construction here. Zip ties and hot glue easily attach the playful roads and trucks to an orange T-shirt uniform.

No need to shoo this bee or her stinger. Follow our instructions to craft the smock, antennae, and stinger, and your little bee will be ready to buzz around on Halloween night.

Think of the all places a spider can go with eight legs instead of just two. What kid wouldn't delight in the prospect?

Don't go batty trying to sew a head-to-toe ensemble from scratch for your little one. Turn her into a winged critter by tacking pieces of sequined fabric to a basic black sweat suit.

Talk about scary! Who wants broccoli this Halloween? Cut hollow pool noodles in half for broccoli stems, and hot-glue them onto the front of a green sweatshirt. For the tops, trim dark and light green foam sheets in a wavy line. Accordion-fold the flat edge of the foam and staple each fold, leaving the wavy, top edge open. Glue some of the florets above the stems and attach the rest to the top of a wide-brim sun hat. Tie ribbon around the bunch of broccoli.

Be a walking, talking s'more this Halloween. For each graham cracker, glue four sheets of light brown crafts foam onto a large sheet of dark brown corrugated plastic (repeat for the back cracker). Stuff two pillowcases with fiberfill, then glue the openings shut. Glue a filled pillowcase to the back of each corrugated plastic sheet. Use a utility knife to cut slits on the top edge of each graham cracker and halfway down each side. Attach the front and back of the costume by threading lengths of ribbon through the pairs of top and side slits (like a sandwich board). See next slide for the hat directions.

For the Snacky S'more hat, cut a corner off a pillowcase, stuff it with fiberfill, and glue it shut. Glue the filled pillowcase corner between corrugated plastic rectangles lined with smaller foam "chocolate" rectangles. Glue the mini s'more to the top of a white painter's cap.