Try One of Our Last-Minute Halloween Costumes for Kids

You've been staring down invitations to Halloween parties and trick-or-treating festivities for weeks, but you still haven't had the chance to actually get working on your little one's costume. Don't lose your head! There are many ways you can dress all the ghouls and goblins in your life without resorting to cliché costumes you'd find in nearby Halloween superstores. Using the materials in your DIY toolkit, you can create unique and adorable looks for preschoolers and school-aged children through pre-teens and young adolescents.

We're breaking down four different costumes that can be made in an hour or less; each are so easy that they can be assembled on Halloween eve if need be (a quick way to salvage any accidents!). They're perfect for boys and girls of any age, as the base of each costume is anchored by clothes that are most likely hanging in their closets. In most cases, you can remove the alterations you made just as easily, making these ideas much more eco-friendly than entirely new costumes altogether. 

First, we use Martha's collection of acrylic paint—available at Michaels, a nontoxic and water-based option that will simply wash off with water—to face paint life-like webs on the cheeks to go alongside our spider costume. If you can't source these festive webs, don't worry; our adorable sailor outfit comes together with toolkit staples like duct tape and Sharpie markers. If you're fond of painting at home, you'll probably have all the necessary materials for our roving masterpiece costume as well, which is a fun option to actually make with your child's help as well. 

Whichever costume you choose to make will scare up as much candy as your little one can get their hands on. If the whole family is in need for a costume, take a peek at other last-minute costumes for adults and a few ideas for your pets, too.

Alison Faulkner of The Alison Show turned a tangle of leftover faux webbing and a few pretend spiders into the creepy-cute Super Spider Kid costume.

Here's what you'll need to get started on this costume:

• Thin paintbrush
• Fun World Super Stretch Spider Web, $10.49, amazon.com.
• Muzboo Realistic Plastic Spider Toys, $9, amazon.com.
• Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Paint, $2 for 8-ounces, michaels.com.

Dress your child in all black. Stretch the web around your child by having them put their arms and legs through openings in the web as if they were putting on a shirt and pants.

Stretching the web as you go, tangle a few plastic spiders into the webbing.

To create a spiderweb on your child's cheek, use a selection of acrylic face paints. These products are nontoxic and water-based and wash off with water. Paint concentric circles on your child's face with a thin paintbrush, then paint lines out from the middle of the center circle.

Use a dollop of corn syrup to stick a spider to your child's cheek or hair. They'll be ready to take part in the night of trick-or-treating.

Kimberly Sneed of A Night Owl blog raided her stores of craft for materials to create this adorable costume on the fly.

Gather these materials before you start making this costume:

• Felt or other scrap material
• Assorted pencils
• Duct tape of your choice, and a small amount of white tape—such as washi tape.
• A pair of suspenders; alternatively, some elastic bands and your choice of ribbon.
• Peel'n'Stick Fabric Fuse Tape, $10.48, amazon.com.
• GrinderPUNCH Costume Glasses for children, $9, amazon.com.

To create the bow tie, simply cut a rectangle of felt or stiff fabric, and gather material at the center.

Wrap with fabric tape or stitch in the middle.

Cut a smaller piece of the same felt or fabric—then, wrap it around the center and pin to the top of a button-down shirt.

For a pocket protector, cut a pocket-size insert out of duct tape or thick paper.

Cut pencils down so that they fit perfectly to the size of the pocket insert and will stick out of the pocket.

Tape pencils down onto the insert for a quick and easy pocket protector.

If you have kids' suspenders, great! If not, grab some elastic banding or ribbon and pin to the inside of the child's jeans for a quick and easy suspender look.

Last but not least, grab those lensless glasses. If all you have are children's sunglasses, simply pop the lenses out and wrap the center with white tape and you're done.

Jenny Batt of Hank+Hunt used a few leftover art supplies to create a simple "Work of Art" costume—perfect for kids who don't like to change out of their favorite jeans or T-shirt (even for candy).

Source these essentials before you begin working on this project with your child:

• Art canvas, 16 by 12 inches
• Ribbon, 18 inches
• Stapler
• Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Paint, $2.39, michaels.com.
• Martha Stewart Crafts Basic Brush Set, $20, michaels.com.

Place dots of paint, as large as a dime if not larger, all around your canvas.

Spread out dots of the same color using your paintbrush. (This would be a great step to get the kids involved.)

Continue with the other colors, blending slightly where the colors touch if desired. Clean brush between colors to get a clear patch of color.

Once done, let the painting dry.

Measure the ribbon around your child's neck for hanging. It should go from their upper chest, around the neck, and back to the other side of the upper chest. Trim ribbon as desired.

Staple the ends of the ribbon to each corner of the painting on the wood frame.

Hang the artwork around your child's neck and go trick-or-treating. Later, you can hang the work of art in your child's room. For a group costume, make one for everyone in the family to create an instant traveling gallery.

Alexandra Hedin of AlexandraHedin.com created a charming sailor costume for her son using materials she swiped from leftovers in her crafting toolbox.

You can easily create this unisex Halloween costume using the following materials:

• Navy-blue duct or painter's tape
• Sharpie in red
• Scissors
• A pair of blue pants
• Spare, used newspaper
• Gildan Short-Sleeve Youth Teeshirt in "White," $3.99, michaels.com.

Draw red stripes across the top "V" of the shirt using the Sharpie as pictured.

Cut duct tape in two strips across the length of the entire shirt. Use half of the tape to create lines across the front of the shirt, and leave the remaining tape to create stripes on the back. Allow the tape strips to cross in the front creating a "tie." Repeat on both sides.

Bring the remaining piece of tape across the shoulders and lay it down flat on the back of the shirt. Repeat on both sides. Then, cut a strip of tape to connect these two pieces across the back. For more detail, add an optional second, thinner strip of tape on the inside of the thicker line as pictured here.

Cut two strips of tape to wrap around the sleeves in varying sizes. Repeat on both arms.

Fold a paper hat from newspaper using this template and add a toy boat. Ahoy!