It’s that time of year again! The excitement of the new school year has started to fade, family-teacher conferences are underway, and somewhere along the way October happened—now Halloween is a week away.
While the candy-filled holiday strikes fear into the hearts of many teachers, plenty of us look forward to donning a creative costume and showing our students that we like to have fun, too! No matter which camp you fall into, we’ve rounded up our favorite cheap and easy DIY costumes that you still have time to pull together. As a bonus, we prioritized comfort. Sweatpants during the school day? Yes, please!
Here are five inexpensive costume ideas you and your fellow teachers can wear this year. We even included shopping links so putting together your costume is as easy as clicking “Add to Cart.”
1. Macaroni & Cheese
Who doesn’t love a warm bowl of Kraft Mac & Cheese, especially on a chilly fall day? This costume is easy to make and you probably have most of what you need lying around your house!
What you’ll need:
- Yellow/Orange Sweatshirt or T-Shirt
- Blue Sweatpants
- Empty Toilet Paper Rolls
- Yellow/Orange Kraft Paint
- Craft Headband (Optional)
Directions:
- Lay out your sweatshirt and place unpainted toilet rolls on the body section to determine how many you need. Then, paint the rolls yellow or orange to match the color of your top.
- After the rolls are completely dry (we recommend leaving them overnight to avoid any paint mishaps!) you can use hot glue or these adhesive velcro dots to attach the “noodles” to your sweatshirt.
- If you want to make an easy hair accessory, glue an extra painted roll or an empty cup of Mac & Cheese to a headband!
Voila! You’re ready to go in two easy steps.
2. Pumpkin Pi(e)
This one is for all the math teachers out there, or anyone who likes a good pun!
What you’ll need:
- Orange Sweatshirt
- Orange Beanie
- Fake Craft Leaves (You can also make a leaf yourself out of construction paper or felt!)
- Brown Paper Bag
- Black Construction Paper or Cricut vinyl
Directions:
- Cut the side strip off a brown paper bag and lightly wet it with a paper towel or rag.
- Roll the paper strip tightly and secure it with a rubber band or hair tie. While the paper is still damp, flatten one side of the roll. This will be the bottom of your pumpkin “stem”. You can also do this with dry paper by using hot glue as you roll the paper.
- Once your stem is ready, hot glue the base of the stem and a few craft leaves to the top of your orange beanie.
- Cut out a pi symbol from a sheet of paper, or use this $1 template to use Cricut vinyl.
- Hot glue or follow the Cricut material directions to attach the pi symbol to your sweatshirt.
3. Raining Cats and Dogs
Do you want to partake in the holiday fun without disrupting your teaching flow with a hasslesome costume? This one is for you! Plus, if you live in an area that gets a lot of fall showers this costume will keep you nice and dry during dropoff duty.
P.S. Before you buy any stuffed animals online, don’t forget to check your local thrift store!
What you’ll need:
- An Umbrella
- String or Twine
- 3 Stuffed Cat Plushies
- 3 Stuffed Dog Plushies
Directions:
- Hold up your umbrella and measure how far down you want your cats and dogs to hang. Then, measure out six pieces of string or twine that are close to double that length. This will give you plenty of room to tie.
- Tie one end of each string to the end of the umbrella. For most models, you can tie right to one of the metal pieces underneath, just make sure it won’t get tangled as you open and close. Do a few test open to be sure!
- Tie the other end of the string to your animal plushies, right underneath their front arms is the best spot so they stay upright. You might go around a few times to make sure they’re secure.
You can wear this costume with anything underneath, or you can really seal the deal with this cute “Raining Cats and Dogs” T-shirt!
4. Pig in a Blanket
This is less DIY and more assembling a few pieces but if your school building feels more like a walk-in freezer, this costume is for you! There’s nothing more cozy than cuddling up with a blanket all day and that’s exactly what you can do as a pig in a blanket.
What you’ll need:
Directions:
No DIY for this one, just don your pink attire, wrap yourself up in a blanket, and head to school!
5. Animal Onesie
Really down to the wire? No worries, Amazon has you covered with tons of adult onesies to choose from and most are eligible for 1 or 2-day shipping! From Axolotls to Dinosaurs and everything in between, you might already have one of these cute and cozy onesies hanging out in your closet. Just throw on a comfy shirt underneath and you’ve got an easy costume you can reuse all winter when you’re snuggled up with some cocoa grading papers.
With Halloween just around the corner, there’s still plenty of time to have fun with a creative costume without breaking the bank or sacrificing comfort. Take a break from the classroom hustle, enjoy some Halloween spirit, and remind your students that teachers know how to have fun too—without all the fuss!
