Halloween Costumes Savings: Make or Cheat?

When it comes to Halloween costumes, many moms are faced with the same dilemma every year - should we make our children's costumes or buy them? Although it's always fun to gather different materials and accessories and get creative with the sewing machine, sometimes it's more cost effective to just buy the costume from the store. My advice? Shop early so you can get exactly what you want in the right size.

My son is going to be Spiderman this year (surprise, surprise). Because of the popularity of the costume, I bought his Spidey outfit back in September, as soon as Target started hanging them up because I knew it would be gone if I waited until the last minute to buy it. So even though I spend more more than I would have liked to on his costume, it saved me lots of time and aggrevation in the end. (Also, I don't know where I would have begun if I tried to make a Spiderman costume myself!

There are only 8 days left until Halloween, and if you're anything like me, you still don't have a costume yet. I've gone over several options in my head, but it's really hard to find one costume that fits several occasions. This year on October 30, I'm volunteering at the Halloween Carnival at my son's preschool, followed by a few hours at work, and then an adult party that night.

At my son's delight, I've already committed to being a superhero, The Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four. It's a pretty simple costume, but I'm not sure whether I should make it or just buy it. At this stage of the game, making a costume seems like the better option because the costume I want may be unavailable in stores and ordering online will result in enormous shipping costs. But then again, will I be able to pull it off? That electric blue color is going to be hard to find, especially in pants! Check out the storebought Invisible Woman costume vs. the homemade versions below:

What are you doing this year - making your costume or cheating and buying it from the store? Which method has saved you the most money?