Easy DIY Frankenstein Costume for Kids

old pants: anything with blown-out knees, ripped pockets, stains, or just too short, all work

an old shirt, ideally a turtleneck if you want to try to add the bolts. Best in any lighter color, not black or navy blue.

a black Sharpie

Optional: plastic toy bolts; yarn to add stitches

A slightly oversized blazer

For the face paint: green face paint and a black eyeliner

Step 1. Shred It
Just go ahead and cut holes in the pants here and there. If it's cold when you go trick-or-treating, you can always wear an extra layer underneath (green is ideal!).

Step 2. Stitchery
Draw simple stitches on your shirt and a few across the pants. If you want to add some yarn stitches you can do that too.

Step 3. Neck Bolts  

Basic: We used a turtleneck and a pair of plastic kid's bolts from a construction game. You essentially just cut small holes, slide the bolts in (backward), and put the nuts on to hold them in place. You could spray paint them silver if you want (we left ours black). The fabric of the turtleneck kept them from poking the neck or making it uncomfortable.

More advanced: You can also try making bolts using a headband to slide around the neck (this works well for older kids but little ones will probably lose track of this). We love this tutorial which is a little more involved but a bit comfier/less bulky.

Step 4. Face Paint

No need to go overboard with the green paint: you can make it a faint green that's relatively easy to wipe back off. Take black eyeliner and make stitch marks. Avoid putting marks over the eye or too near it as it makes it harder to wipe off later.

Don a blazer for the oh-so-Karloff look. Snowboots look great as clunky shoes, but sneakers will do the trick for your active tots.

Tip: This basic costume can be altered to become a zombie!