Cheap and Easy DIY Halloween Costumes for Parent and Child
Looking for an easy DIY Halloween costume the whole family can wear? These homemade spaghetti-and-meatball costumes are fun for all ages. Best of all? They cost around $10 for each parent-and-child pair if you already have the red T-shirts.
Materials:
- Styrofoam balls
- Serrated knife
- Red + brown acrylic paint
- Paintbrush
- Off-white yarn
- Scissors
- Hot glue + glue gun
- Red onesie or T-shirt for child’s costume
- Red T-shirt for adult’s costume
- Optional: plastic headband for adult’s costume
Before You Start
For each costume you’ll need a red top fit to the child and adult who will be wearing them. If you don’t already have a spare red top to use, you can find T-shirts online or at Walmart for $5 or less.
For bottoms, we recommend red or white pants, but that’s totally up to you.
Step 1
To make the meatballs, cut the Styrofoam balls in half using the serrated knife. Then carve out uneven, rough layers from the tops of the Styrofoam to achieve more realistic-looking meatballs.
Step 2
Mix together a small drop of red paint and a large dollop of brown paint. Using the paintbrush, paint the Styrofoam balls, then set aside to dry. Add a second coat if necessary. Allow the meatballs to dry completely before adding them to the costume.
Step 3
For the adult costume, cut 2-foot sections from the yarn, tying the loose ends together to create loops. Bundle all the loops together, then use hot glue to secure the yarn to the top shoulder hem of the T-shirt.
Step 4
Continue adding on sections of yarn until the shoulders have been filled. Use additional strings of yarn to loop across the front and back of the shirt to your liking. The amount of spaghetti you add to your shirt is up to you.
Step 5
Once the meatballs are completely dry, stick them to the yarn using the hot glue. Don’t glue too many to the shirt, as they may weigh it down.
Step 6
Repeat steps 3-5 for the kid’s T-shirt or onesie.
Step 7 (Optional)
Using the hot glue, add some spaghetti and meatballs to a plastic headband for a saucy accessory!