---
title: Simple DIY sensory-friendly Halloween costumes
description: 'Use these inexpensive DIY ideas to make costumes that are more comfortable for your child with sensory challenges. '
slug: diy-sensory-friendly-halloween-costumes
author: Amanda Morin
reviewer: Keri Wilmot
published: '2019-10-16T12:03:18.325Z'
thumbnail: https://cdn-images.understood.org/p0qf7j048i0q/B10753D6E0BC4042A09E50EDF68E2747/06539b4c36df5b60f220ba9fde061506/i841798282.jpg
source_url: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/diy-sensory-friendly-halloween-costumes
lang: en
---

# Simple DIY sensory-friendly Halloween costumes

Dressing up for Halloween can be tricky for kids with sensory challenges. Itchy seams, tight collars, and the smell of a mask or face paint can make wearing a store-bought costume unbearable.

Making simple sensory-friendly costumes using comfortable, everyday clothes is an easy and low-cost solution. The best part? You may already have what you need lying around the house.

## **Sweatshirt costumes**

Start with a soft sweatshirt in a style your child finds most comfortable — hoodie, crewneck, or zip-up. Once you choose the sweatshirt, add details to transform it into a:

- **Bat:** Glue or sew additional material under the arms. 
- **Dinosaur:** Hot-glue felt triangle “spikes” down the back of a hoodie.
- **Jack-o’-lantern:** Use black marker to draw a pumpkin face on an orange sweatshirt.

## **Pajama costumes**

For the ultimate in comfort, use soft pajamas as the base of the costume and go from there. 

- **Skeleton:** Begin with a pair of black, fitted, long-sleeve and long-pants pajamas. Then use white fabric paint or masking tape to create a skeleton. 
- **Thing 1 and Thing 2:** Use glued or sewn felt scraps to turn plain red pajamas into the Dr. Seuss characters. 
- **Gumball machine:** Use hot glue or sticky Velcro dots to attach pom-poms to a solid-colored pajama top.

## **Costumes using regular clothes**

You don’t have to do much to turn your child’s regular, comfortable clothing into a costume. Inexpensive accessories can turn your child into:

- **Waldo:** Pair jeans with a red-and-white horizontally striped shirt, some fake glasses, and a winter hat. You can even use painter’s tape to add stripes to a plain red or white shirt.
- **Referee:** Instead of the red-and-white stripe shirt above, buy or make a black-and-white one with vertical stripes. Add a whistle and pair of athletic pants. 
- **Fairy:** Add a pair of elastic band wings to a comfortable dress from your child’s closet.

## **Apron costumes**

A solid-colored apron makes a great canvas for many costumes. Decorate the apron (you can use marker, colored tape, paint, or glued-on pieces of fabric) and put it on over your child’s regular clothes or pajamas. With a few strokes your child could be:

- A ketchup or mustard bottle
- A bag of chips or candy
- A tube of toothpaste
- A crayon or a box of crayons
- A cell phone
- Many popular characters

Costumes aren’t the only Halloween trouble spot for kids with sensory challenges. [Get tips for making Halloween easier](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/halloween-sensory-challenges-tips) and more fun. And if your child struggles with clothing in general, discover these [sensory-friendly solutions](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/6-clothing-solutions-for-kids-with-sensory-processing-issues).

---

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