DIY Halloween Character Costume Ideas

AquaMan, Centaur, Devil Jin and Minecraft Steve. My son really enjoys dressing up and getting in character costumes for Halloween.
Best thing is, he's always getting that Best in Costume Award, the Scariest Halloween Costume Award or the Most Unique Costume Award!

 AquaMan (2010)
A fictional comic book superhero. He looked so cute wearing that complete set of AquaMan costume.

Centaur (2011)
A half-human, half-horse mythical creature. Revamped a borrowed horse costume. He wore a wig to complete the look.

Devil Jin (2012)
A Tekken character. A costume made from rubber, aluminum, leather and old materials - chain, motorcycle gloves, etc. (except for the wings).

Minecraft Steve diamond armor (2014)
From the famous video game. Getting up on stage with much pride that he's Steve with diamond armor. A homemade DIY costume made from cardboard boxes.

This 2015, he'll simply be a Martian alien from Sesame Street.

If you're looking for homemade Halloween costumes, just be creative and have fun making your own costumes. No need to spend a lot.

Again, check out my daughter's Celebrity Inspired Halloween Costume for more ideas.

Celebrity Inspired Halloween Costume Ideas

Hawk Girl, Barbie in a box doll, Lady Gaga and Maleficent. These are just few of my favorite celebrity-inspired Halloween costumes that my daughter wore in the past years. Well, Hawk Girl might not be a celebrity but a DC comic character... and Maleficent is a movie villain portrayed by Angelina Jolie.

I'll take another quick look and share these photos. Hopefully, this would give you ideas on what you or your daughter can wear this Halloween.

Hawk Girl (2010)

A borrowed costume. Created a mask to complete her look.

Barbie in a box doll (2011)

A DIY costume created the night before their school Halloween parade. That was the time when my daughter had been a sort-of-celebrity-for-a-day. I can still remember the applause and admiration that she received from people and those asking to take a photo with her. And of course, getting the Best in Costume awards in Halloween parties we've attended.

Check out my post HERE.

Lady Gaga (2012)

Another DIY and recycled costume. She simply wore black tube, black shorts, yellow leggings and blue wigs. Created a simple Lady Gaga poker face mask and skirt to complete the outfit. Again, she received an award for wearing the best Halloween costume.

Maleficent (2014)

She wore a plain black dress. My husband created Maleficent's horn using corrugated board and electric tape. We added a stiff collar in her cape. The scepter was made from a tree branch and placed a crow on top of tip. Again, everything was recycled and DIY.

This 2015, she'll be dressing up as the girl from the song "Chandelier" and "Elastic Heart" video.

Check out my son's Halloween costume in the next post.

UN School Celebration: Around the World with Aladdin

Its United Nations month - this means another busy two weeks for my kids (and their whole school). Everyone is preoccupied with practicing their dance performances, getting their costumes ready, decorating their assigned booths, finalizing their video presentations, and a lot more. Seems like another exciting school program!

This holistic learning experience is what my kids are experiencing... which I am glad they do.

[Look back]
Last 2014, was United Nations' founding anniversary. Their school celebrated it in a spectacular way. A UN celebration where dance performances were woven into a stage play of the Disney film, Aladdin.

Aladdin and Jasmine on the magic carpet singing "A Whole New World"

Let these photos bring you on a journey around the world. Enjoy!

my son and niece as Spanish dancers

do the Macarena and Asereje dance 

my daughter and her BFF in their Indian-inspired look

Indian - Jaiho dancers in action

seriously cute African dancers

pretty Japanese fan dancer

Japanese dancers

going modern in their K-pop dance number

Chinese dragon dance

USA country western dance number

presenting - Mexico!

lively Jamaican inspired dance 

beautiful parade of costumes by the preschoolers 

Buwan ng Wika 2014 activities, costumes and dances

The last week of August is also a celebration of Linggo ng Wika (National Language Month) in my kid's school. It's a week-long event filled with activities such as "Palarong Pinoy," "Kainang Bayan," "Pagbigkas ng Tula, Pagbasa at Sabayang Bigkas," and a lot more. The week culminated with the "Katutubong Sayaw" presentation featuring cultural and folk dances in the Philippines.

My daughter representing the Grade 5 class para sa "Masining na Pagbasa ng Tula".



My son joining the Grade 3 students for their "Awiting Filipino" number, performing the song "Pusong Bato."



The theme for this year's Buwan ng Wika is - Wikang Pambansa: Susi sa Tagumpay, Pagkakailanlan at Pagkakaisa. It's about unity depicted by the spirit of "bayanihan."

The best day is the presentation of different regional dances from our country wearing their Filipino costumes.

My daughter joining the Grade 5 class in their Subli dance performance.






My son joining the Grade 3 class in performing a dance from Capiz city.



There's my niece in the same dance performance.




My godson joining the Grade 1 class, looking cute in their costumes while performing an Igorot dance.




There's my sister with the Grade 8 class in their Maglalatik dance.




Here are the other dances from different Grade levels.

The Grade 2 students in their Karatong Subli dance.



Grade 4 students presenting a dance from the Ilocos region.



Grade 6 students in their Muslim dance.




Grade 7 students presenting a rice harvest dance.



Grade 8 students in their regional dance (just forgot where the dance is from)




Grade 10 students presenting their Pandanggo sa Ilaw dance.



The celebration ended with students singing the song "Isang Lahi, Isang Dugo, Isang Musika"




The Philippines has rich culture and history. This school event makes the students proud of the Filipino language and appreciate our country's culture.

As what the theme said, "Filipino as the language of national unity."

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My 2011 post on Linggo ng Wika Costumes and Activities is one of my most popular blog post since parents are looking for Filipino costumes that their children can wear. Thanks for those who visited. Hope you got something from checking out my post. :)

Anyway, by October, it would be the United Nations Celebration. Let's look forward to another eventful school activity!

Nutrition Month Costume and Activities

As much as possible, I make sure that my kids won't miss any important school activities. After all, it's part of learning. I want them to enjoy their school activities to the fullest.

cabbage and malunggay

For Nutrition Month, my Grade 1 son asked me to prepare a vegetable headdress. Saying, "I want a big cabbage headdress!"

With limited time, my husband made a crown-shaped cardboard base. I drew and cut leaves and pasted it at the back. We bought a cabbage and sitaw (string beans) which we placed on the cardboard base. I just covered it with cling wrap plastic to maintain the fresh look of the cabbage.

I braided sitaw (string beans) to secure the cabbages and complete the look as well.

Glad that my son loved his cabbage headdress!

my son's cabbage headdress and my niece's fruit hat

Also from their Nutrition Month Activities:

My daughter in their class Go, Grow and Glow food parade.

food parade

My sister and her teammates cooked Chicken with Broccoli for the competition.

Chicken with Broccoli cooking teammates

was not able to taste this

[late post for last week of July]