Putting together a great Halloween costume is more than something to check off your to-do list this fall, it can be a fun task that can actually become a full-fledged experience . . . an adventure just waiting to happen! The best Halloween costumes are not those pre-assembled, sold-as-a-set outfits but rather a creative mix of some things new from the costume shop, old things from your closet or a thrift shop and a bunch of crafty stuff that is handmade.  Something new, something old, something made just by you – that’s the recipe for putting together a Halloween costume.

Something new.  When you have a certain character in mind for your costume, the first stop should be to a costume shop, online or in-person, to see what options are being offered. Here you can check out the details of officially licensed outfits and other costumes that can give you a launching pad for your own creative take on the costume. For example, for a Darth Maul Star Wars costume, you might want to purchase a new black robe, but skip the latex face mask in lieu of artistic red face-painting

Something old. The local thrift shop or even the back of our own closet can be a great source to find items that can be repurposed as part of your Halloween costume. Not only is this a frugal idea, you can feel quite eco-friendly knowing that these old items have been brought back to life for hallowed haunting. Also, using old, distressed items adds lots of character to many genres of Halloween costumes; witches, wizards, gypsies, hobos, ragdolls and many other characters all have tattered and torn clothing. If you have some items that you’d like to make appear even more ancient, you can shred them with scissors, rub them with charcoal or make time-worn in any other way you see fit.

Something made by you. If you’re planning to win the costume contest, you’ll have to put together a costume that is at least partially made by your hands. The blue ribbons don’t go to the cookie-cutter costume-in-a-bag entrants. Add homemade, crafty items to your store-bought and recycled ingredients and create a Halloween showstopper that will collect compliments all night long. Stock an arsenal of do-it-yourself products such as face paints, pipe cleaners, pom-pom balls, feathers, sequins, glitter, fabric scraps, construction paper and what ever else inspires your creative genius.

What do you get when you mix hundreds of creative kids with as much duct tape as they can get their hands on? You get an amazing array of costumes created especially for the Out-Of-The-Box Costume Ball at the Destination Imagination Global Tournament. Destination Imagination is a non-profit organization that provides an educationally-based outlet for students to learn and experience creativity, teamwork and problem solving and Each year at the Global Tournament, this unique and utterly fun event sponsors an “Out Of The Box Ball” as a way for the kids to cut loose and show-off their handiness with scissors, tape, cardboard, recyclables and little else except maybe a few good costume accessories! It’s amazing what types of costume ideas that these smart kids come up with – most have more creativity in their little pinkies that we adult have in our whole bodies!

From over-the-top “The Joker” costume from Batman made entirely of different colored duct tapes to ball gowns made of yesterday’s newspaper, these costume ideas would make the contestants on “Project Runway” green with envy. Watch the kids in action or ask for tips, these highly creative costumers often are asked to create costumes from paper, mailing labels and other leftover stuff in mere minutes during one of the signature events at the competition, the Instant Challenge. Not afraid to go out on a limb, these teams can fan fold, hole punch, tape, twist and tear their way into a costume that will make you say “wow”! One interesting technique an elementary school kid shared was making flimsy materials like foil, newspaper, or fabric stiffer and more durable by lining the back with slightly overlapping strips of duct tape. Next, you can cut your creation into any shape desired, connect with more duct tape – no sewing required! For Central Challenges, which can often take several months to solve, kids can get more elaborate with their outfits, adding silly costume accessories such as feather boas, oversized sunglasses, face paints, costume shoes, crazy hats and more!