Cheap, easy, no-sew Halloween costumes for teen boys

Frankenstein's monster is great but you can do better!

Teen boys may not always have the money or the time to put together a prize winning costume. What if it's an hour until the party starts and you still have no idea what costume to wear? Whether you're trying to impress a girl or just fit in with friends, one of these last minute costume ideas can help. No-sew construction and clothes from the closet make them cheap and easy.

Large chef

It's easy to duplicate the large chef décor as a Halloween costume. You know, the ones on the plates your Mom has hanging on the kitchen wall? For the clothes, you need a baggy white shirt, baggy black dress pants and black shoes.

Use a red ribbon as a tie. Pick up a cheap costume chefs hat at a Halloween party store or borrow one from the chef in your family. Add a fake mustache. Stuff the shirt and pants with old sheets to plump the chef up. Wear Dad's suspenders if needed. Grab a wooden spoon from the kitchen and this chef is ready to party.

Escaped mental patient

This Halloween costume for teen boys is so easy and cheap, you'll wonder why you never thought of it before. All you need is a white over-sized long sleeved sweatshirt, white sweatpants or scrubs, some pins and towels for this no-sew creation.

Stuff the sleeves of the sweatshirt with two old towels rolled into tubes. These will be your arms. Now cross the arms over and pin them to the shirt from underneath, like a straight jacket. Cut holes just in back of the fake arms so your actual arms can come out when you need them. Wear normal shoes but cover them with blue booties (like plumbers wear in customer's homes). Now practice looking insane.

Dead disco king

Teen boys will love this cheap and easy no-sew costume for Halloween. Think John Travolta in Saturday Night Live, after a few days in the grave. Wear a white suit and a neon silky shirt, open at the neck. Add some gold chains for a flashy touch. Don't forget the shiny shoes.

Now it's time for the dead portion of this no-sew Halloween costume. Face paint is cheap and easy to use. Cover your face and hands in white face paint. Close your eyes and have someone blow baby powder at your face. It sets the paint. Now add gory touches like fake scabs, fake blood splatters or black circles around your eyes.

Dead Mexican troubadour

For the teen boy that's looking for something a little different, this cheap and easy no-sew Halloween costume will be the hit of the party. In a pinch, a sombrero, a poncho or southwestern blanket, an old guitar and a mustache will turn any gringo into a convincing Senor'. Still, that's a pretty normal costume.

Why not pep it up by digging this singer up from his lonely grave? Use the same face paint technique you did for the dead disco king. Add a bit of mud here and there. A fake noose around his neck tells us how this troubadour met his maker.

Gangster from back in the day

Here's one every teen boy will have fun with. Who didn't play cops and robbers or Bonnie and Clyde as a kid? You can do it as a teenager too. Look no further than your Dad's closet for a pinstriped suit. See if he has a red shirt and white tie as well. Slick your hair back or wear a Dick Tracy style hat.

If your girlfriend will cooperate, have her dress as a lady gangster or a flapper to add to the ambiance. Super-sized water guns make awesome machine guns. Plus, no one will mistake them for the real thing. Just for fun, fill them with water and use them to gun down your friends. This cheap and easy no-sew costume for teen boys is guaranteed to liven up any Halloween party.

Old time activities for sick kids

Whether it's due to a long term illness or a case of the flu, kids confined to bed rest can become cranky, restless and just plain miserable. Who can blame them? Kids are wired for play. They love to be busy at all times, even when they're not feeling well. These old fashioned activities for sick kids will easily entertain them without wearing them out or making them feel worse. Video games get boring after a while. Why not introduce them to something different?

Activity books

Activity books are great fun for sick kids. The little ones can color and do dot to dots. Older kids can do crossword puzzles, sudoku and brain teasers. These are quiet activities for bedridden children. They don't sit still often. Likely they will look at these things as something new and different. Of course, there will be the occasional cranky kid who thinks things like this are stupid. Don't make a fuss when that happens. Just move on to the next idea.

Blanket land

Blanket land is a fun place for bedridden kids. It's a make believe world of their own creation where they can play with dolls, toy soldiers or whatever else is on hand. When I was a kid, I used to play with marbles in the lumps and bumps of blanket land. I made them hills to slide down. I just had an absolute ball. Little boys can turn blanket land into enemy terrain for their toy soldiers. Little girls can have a pretend island for Barbie dolls. Just show them how to make hills and valleys in blanket land, hand them some toys and disappear. Imagination works best unobserved.

Cards and games

Activities for sick kids should always include some card or board games. Kids can play in blanket land with game pieces too. Stop by the sick room to play a game with your child in between household chores. You have to check in on them from time to time anyway. Why not make it a happy visit? This is a good time to teach kids how to play solitaire. Bedridden kids can take a breather from being entertained to entertain themselves. Sometimes modern day kids (and even parents) forget that old fashioned imaginary play is essential for emotional growth.

5 Free or cheap Halloween party games for kids

Why spend all kinds of money on Halloween party games for kids? Play old fashioned party games instead. We do it a lot at Grandma's House. The games we play are mostly free and a lot more fun than you think. Do it yourself games can be changed to a Halloween theme for your kids Halloween party. Once you get going on this, you might come up with all kinds of new twists on party games for Halloween. Here's 5 fun ideas to get you started.

1. Halloween mad-lib's

Got an old mad-lib's book hanging around the house? This is the game where they leave out words in the story. Party guests fill them in as you call out, verb, noun, etc. without showing them the story. Give it a twist by using Halloween words to fill in the blanks. For instance when a noun is required, someone might say witch or skeleton. When they ask for a verb, they might use creeping or stalking. This free Halloween party game is a laugh riot when read back to party guests.

2. Build a scary story by candlelight

All the Halloween party guests sit in a circle for this spooky game. Turn out the lights. Start a scary Halloween story by reciting the first sentence, with an electric candle in hand. Pass the candle to the first person on your left. The candle is passed around the circle. As each guest gets the candle, they add a word or sentence to the story. Sometimes these stories end with kids running from the room in fright. Some will cause a laugh riot. Either way, it's a great Halloween game.

*Variation: Give each player a (frightening or funny) dollar tree mask to wear, so when their face lights up from the candle, it adds a surprise factor.

3. Who am I?

Each player picks a scary Halloween character name and a small party favor type prize from a hat. Party guests roam the room trying to win the prizes by guessing the “identities” of the other guests by asking them 5 questions. Do you only come out at night? What color is your face? You get the idea. You give the prize to the person who guess your identity in 5 questions or less. If nobody in the room can guess your identity after 5 questions, you keep the prize.

Note: Play as long as you like with everyone exchanging prizes over and over if you like.

4. Halloween scramble

Write down a Halloween word or phrase. The beginning of a fictional Halloween story works well. Such as, "Dracula climbed the creaking stairs". Give each guest a piece of paper and a pencil. Use a three minute egg timer. See who can find the most other words using only the letters in that word or phrase in three minutes time.

5. Spider fling

You'll need a bag of Halloween spider web, plastic spoons and fake party favor spiders for this one. Guests line up at a predetermined distance from the stretched out web. Each guest gets a spoon and ten spiders. First one to get all their spiders into the web by flicking them from the spoon, wins. It's a good idea to give players different colored spiders to avoid arguments and spider hiding.

Nix the sheet ghost this Halloween. Try this instead!

Halloween is here and you want to be a ghost. Not a Charlie Brown ghost but a truly scary ethereal ghost that will have people quaking in their boots. Forget about the sheet with holes for eyes. That's great for last minute but you can also do a great realistic ghost costume just as quickly. Let this Halloween crazy Grandma guide you through the process step by step.

What's underneath the realistic Halloween ghost costume depends on what type of ghost you are. I like to use a white leotard and tights under mine. You can also use a sheet with a head hole cut out. If you are a ghost bride, a wedding dress will work. Keeping the theme white makes any ghost seem more transparent. Otherwise, the ghost costume may turn out more like a zombie.

Get out the white Halloween costume face paint and some baby powder. The baby powder is a trick I learned from a friend whose father was a clown. Cover all areas of exposed skin and hair with white makeup. Close your eyes while your assistant places baby powder in one hand at blows it at all the areas with make up. The powder will “fill in the blanks” and set the make up as well.

Over the white leotard for the Halloween ghost costume, I put layers and layers of cheesecloth. I do this by using long lengths and tearing head holes. As you layer, turn each piece slightly so that the cheesecloth covers every area of the body. Now you will cut the cheesecloth short enough so you don't trip but long enough so it has a nice flow to it.

Now cut a few layers of cheesecloth shorter than the rest for effect. Be sure that the remaining layers cover the body well. If you screw up just add more layers until you get it right. OK, here's the fun part. Shred each length of cheesecloth about half way up by tearing it into strips of different widths. These torn strips will hang eerily off the Halloween ghost costume and float in the wind.

Back to that ghost make up. There are different opinions on this so do your Halloween costume finishing make up as you like it. I like to make black circles around the eyes and the nostrils similar to a skeletal look. Sometimes I use a bit of olive green with the black to make the face more corpse like. Once in a while I will leave everything just a ghostly white for a more ethereal effect. Whatever you do, friends will be amazed at your realistic ghost Halloween costume.

Have a happier Halloween on the cheap

Halloween is getting just as commercialized as Christmas these days. Kids need to have the perfect costume, the perfect party and of course, more candy than they can eat in a year. How about an old fashioned Halloween this year for your family? It's fun, different and cheap. Here are some inexpensive ways we celebrate Halloween at Grandma's House.

Decorating

Skip the animated figures and such. Learn to make a scarecrow, carve a pumpkin and string your own cobwebs. Toss a couple bales of hay in the yard to perch gourds and pumpkins on. Half the fun of an old fashioned holiday is the do it yourself part. Picture you and your kids having a ball while decorating on the cheap for Halloween.

Costumes

Who needs those expensive Halloween costumes? Take a trip to the Halloween store. Then come home and make your own based on the ones you liked. Use clothes you already have or visit the thrift store. Nix the masks and go for the make-up. It's cheap and simple to do. Chances are your cheap old fashioned homemade costumes will hold up a lot better too.

Treats

One of the best things about Halloween is cheap Halloween treats like caramel apples, roasted pumpkin seeds and popcorn balls. Have fun making these, whether you're a kid or a grown up. The recipe for caramel apples can be found on a bag of caramels. Learn to make awesome roasted pumpkin seeds. Popcorn balls can be made just like marshmallow treats. Substitute popcorn for the cereal and roll into balls using buttered hands. Roll them in nuts for more delicious Halloween fun.

Fun

What did kids do for Halloween before it was perfected by the media? They had Halloween costume parades. They built their own haunted houses. They went on hay rides. They even picked their own pumpkins to carve and decorate with. They made pumpkin pies from scratch too. All of this old time fun is cheap, entertaining and easy. So forget about the fancy fun this Halloween. Having an old fashioned Halloween is way better!

Mostly free fall activities for kids

Kids bummed out about the end of summer? Why not get them sizzling again with a few fun fall activities? This Grandma mixes it up. I borrow some ideas from my childhood as well as learning about some new kid fun and some things I haven't done with the kids yet. Either way, you'll find something on this list to please every child. The pool may be closed for the season. That doesn't mean your family has to stop having fun.

Take kids pumpkin and apple picking

It's the time of the season when orange globes dot farmers' fields and crispy apples deck the trees. Why not take your kids to a real farm to pick some fresh produce? Then, they can help you make yummy apple or pumpkin pie, carve their pumpkins for Halloween or whip up a batch of applesauce.

Take the family to see how cider is made.

Speaking of apples, have your kids ever visited a real cider mill? Cider is made by crushing whole apples. Most cider mills let you watch the process. A lot of them make fresh donuts to go with the cool crisp cider. Remember to keep your cider cold. It tastes better that way.

Go on a hayride.

I hope you also remember to take a hayride with the kids this fall. The best time to do this is while you're at that pumpkin farm. Most offer activities like petting zoos and hayrides. Encourage kids to wear long pants to avoid getting scratched up.

Geocaching is a fun filled fall activity.

Got smart phones? Why not use your GPS to go geocaching with the kids? There's an application that scouts out hidden caches right in your neighborhood. Some contain treasures. Don't forget to leave a surprise for the next adventurer!

Hiking with kids in the fall has benefits.

Hiking is wonderful in the fall. It's less strenuous without the hot sun. Kids can bring their camera for awesome pics and a bag for collecting the prettiest ones. When you get home, you can all make a collage with your photos and leaves to remember the day.

Have your kids ever played in the fall leaves?

Jumping in leaf piles, rolling around and crunching leaves underfoot were a given when I was a kid. If your kids haven't tried it, make sure they do. It's one of those fun fall activities no kid should miss. Plus, your leaves get raked for free.

Decorating for fall holidays keeps kids busy for hours.

What could be more fun than decorating for the scariest day of the year? No yard? Decorate the balcony. No balcony? Let kids decorate their rooms or the whole house. Don't celebrate Halloween? That's OK. The kids can decorate for Thanksgiving instead.

Planting fall bulbs gives kids pride in their home.

Kids love digging in dirt. Why not take advantage by letting them plan and plant a flower garden? Many bulbs do best when planted in autumn. Kids' contributions also make your house seem more like home.

Teach kids to play touch football

What's the best time to play touch football? It's while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner. Work up an appetite teaching kids to play. Better yet, if you can move, play after dinner. You and the kids will burn off some holiday weight gain.

Get the whole family baking fall themed cookies.

This one won't help you lose weight. Still, a cookie baking session with the kids can help them with math skills via measuring. Plus, what could be a better way to bond with your family?

Cheap, easy Halloween haunted house props - Creepy crawlers and more

When it comes to Halloween haunted house props, sometimes the smallest things get the biggest reactions. Small, creepy haunted house props can make your skin crawl big time. From hoards of itty-bitty bugs to tiny mice feasting on a corpse, those little things can strike terror in the biggest of men. So run for your life, the spiders are taking over. Here are some small Halloween haunted house props that are big on creepy, skin crawling fun.

Flesh eaters

Nothing is more horrifying than a bunch of creepy crawlers feasting on flesh. For a truly gut wrenching haunted house prop, get yourself a cheap bag or two of plastic flies. Having these flesh eaters gathered around your corpses and such makes any haunted house prop more disgusting. Add a few grains of cooked rice to the mix to represent fly offspring (maggots) that have hatched and are consuming the corpse.

Garbage guzzlers

Due to their insistent and prolific nature, there are few things that creep people out more than cockroaches. You can buy these fake bugs in Halloween stores. The huge winged variety are sold separately. The smaller version come in bags of multiples. Stick them to walls in a line, or have them pouring out of trash cans. These creepy crawlers are especially frightening at eye level. Place them where someone would normally put their hand to get an even bigger rise from haunted house guests.

General vermin

Mice, rats and bugs may be small but they get a big reaction from haunted house visitors. Pose them to look as if they're doing all sorts of things. These are a truly cheap addition to any haunted house prop collection. Make them skitter across a banister, sit upon a creature's shoulder or just peacefully munch on a severed arm. It's Halloween and the mice and rats couldn't be more grateful.

A decorative extra touch

Simple finishing touches are among the best haunted house props. A bunch of black roses on a tombstone, a candle place in a strategic position or a set of glowing eyeballs peering at you from behind a curtain are some examples. So don't forget the details. They can turn your haunted house into a neighborhood favorite.