The first thing I always want to say at Halloween time is for kids to make their own costumes instead of buying or renting them. Costumes and accessories are so expensive.

Yes, then teens look at me like I’m a peasant with three heads. What could be more embarrassing than a hokey homemade costume?

“But ahh, there’s the catch. I’m not going to make  it. You are.”

That didn’t quite work. It needed some serious spin. So then I tried this approach and finally got somewhere:

If you have any aspiring fashion designers at home, let them really have at it. Give them old clothes to really alter, rent them a sewing machine. Try to get a few friends involved for a group costume.

If teens aren’t inherently interested in putting together costumes, tell them that if they make their own, they can use the money they save to go out with, or throw a party with. If they get a group of friends, and their parents agree, they can save a lot and really throw a party.

Now, it’s arguable that if you allow them to spend the money they saved not buying a costume, what’s the point? Well, if you can afford it, you teach them the lesson that using available materials and doing things yourself can save a fortune. That fortune can add to your quality of life, such as a party. It is also conservationist. We have many materials around us all the time that can be transformed into new things.

This can apply to taking old clothes, like a skirt or shirt that your teen fashionista is tired of, and adding buttons, or accents of different cloth to make it a new style. It can apply to painting a room instead of hiring a painter, landscaping, repairing bathroom tile, building a shelf out of spare wood, a tire swing out of an old tire. Or even using worn out bicycle parts to make a garden sculpture if you have a budding artist.

This is the era of green, and they are the green generation. To be able to see materials for their value as raw ingredients in something new is such a valuable resourcefulness. It also enhances creativity, problem solving skills, and boosts confidence.

In fact, you can use this Halloween to start a monthly do-it-yourself project for your teen, and pay them for it. Have them choose a project needed to be done in the house and let them try to do it themselves. It’s best if they think of the project, but that may take a while. Jumpstart them with the first few ideas. Once they start repairing or improving something on their own, they’ll think of other things.

Cleaning out and organizing places, like garages or attics, can work as a do-it-yourself project. You can also allow them to keep raw materials, if you have the space, that they think would be good for other projects. Maybe get them a toolset for Christmas.

In the meantime, for the Halloween project: Gather old clothes from closets and attics, for costume materials, to cut and adorn. Any old clothes you have left over they can either stockpile for future costumes, or donate to Goodwill.

Price what their costume would have cost in a costume shop. Give them the difference.

I’m very interested in do-it-yourself projects that teens accomplish. And if they build something interesting, send a photo too!

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