Halloween costumes for pets have grown in popularity over recent years, but they can be quite expensive. Here are several suggestions to help you create the perfect Halloween costume for your pet without overstretching your budget.
A Piece of Fabric
Many pet costumes can be made by using a simple piece of fabric. A shiny red section can be sewn into a cape and attached to a collar for your pet superhero. Change the color to white and add a halo for an angel, or use black instead for a spooky vampire. Add a prop graduation hat and fake glasses for a more scholarly pet Halloween costume. Check around your home to see what fabric pieces you already have, or what clothing you can repurpose for a simple pet costume.
Use Simple Props
A simple piece of elastic or strips of fabric with Velcro attached can allow you to add special touches to your pet’s Halloween costume quickly and easily. Transform your pet into a cowboy by adding a small cowboy hat and a bandana, or use a small crown and white tulle to fashion a princess costume. If you’d rather make a king or queen costume, create or buy a small crown and use a rich fabric in a royal red or purple to complete the costume.
Repurposed Sweatshirts
If you’ve got smaller sweatshirts around the house, consider using them for your pet’s Halloween costume. Even if you don’t already have one, look around thrift stores or in retail chains for inexpensive sweatshirts that will fit your pet. Cover a red one in large black dots made from electrical tape or heavy paper to transform your pet into a ladybug. Decorate the back of an orange sweatshirt to create a pumpkin costume. Create a funny bumblebee costume using black electrical tape and a yellow sweatshirt.
Halloween Costumes to Purchase
Halloween costumes for pets – especially dogs – have increased in popularity over the years. There are many costumes to choose from located in the pet aisles of a wide range of stores. These can cost anywhere from about ten dollars to upwards of forty dollars depending on the quality and complexity of the costume. If this Halloween costume is one you plan on using through the years with your pet, it might be worth spending a little more money on one that will last.
A cheaper alternative to the more expensive Halloween costumes for pets is to buy decorated pet t-shirts ready-made for the season. Many have glow-in-the-dark skeletons or pumpkin decorations that will eerily show on your pet’s back while trick-or-treating, adding to everyone’s fun.
Kelly Wilson is a budget-conscious pet owner who enjoys including her animals in the family’s Halloween fun. For information on how to keep your teeth healthy even over the holidays, visit Willie the mascot and Dr. Todd Beck, a dentist in Portland, OR.