Ideas & tips for homemade children's carnival costumes

With a homemade carnival costume, your child is a standout at any Carnival party guaranteed to be the eye-catcher. A self-made costume is a unique piece that can't be bought anywhere. You can customize it according to your little one's preferences create. Whether loud and bright or in muted tones – all your child's wishes can be perfectly incorporated.

Carnival is also a good opportunity to sort through your wardrobe: you often find old treasures that you can turn into great carnival costumes. Spruced up, old clothing items, which would otherwise have been discarded, a new life.

There are many possibilities for design. For example, you can tailor elaborate costumes with patterns and a sewing machine – you should plan enough lead time for this.

But there are also carnival costumes that can be put together wonderfully quickly and without much effort be assembled. For that, it's best to fall back on what your wardrobe already provides.

A combination of simple clothing items is the ideal base for the costume. The outfit is then spiced up with great highlights – for example sewn-on decorations, large hats, extravagant headdresses or cozy fur wraps.

The individual components of the costume can be sewn or made during carnival crafting be made. Here it is always advisable to follow the own preferences and skills to proceed. A great idea is also to involve the kids in crafting. You'll find many creative ideas for homemade carnival costumes further down the page.

These carnival costumes are popular with children

Princess, cowboy or pirate – there are a few classic costumes, that are always popular with children and are often seen at carnival parades. In addition, many unusual costumes and other disguises join in, which pop up as trends in a given year.

Whether a trendy costume or not – what's important is that your child likes it. Costume ideas often arise from the kids' preferences. Do the little ones have a favorite show, a favorite animal or a special role model? Perfect, then you already have the first suggestion for the perfect carnival costume. The outfit becomes especially nice with the matching face paint for kids.

You should also consider when the costume will be worn. Outdoors at a carnival parade, cozy warm animal costumes are suitable. A ladybug is cute for babies and toddlers. Indoors it should be comfortable and not too warm for children. From Pippi Longstocking to a dragon costume to a superhero, there are numerous possibilities.

Materials you need for making children's carnival costumes

Which materials you need to make a carnival costume depends largely on what you have planned. Do you want to craft a lot yourself or rather combine and decorate existing clothing items?

If you want to do a lot of sewing on a costume yourself, a sewing machine is recommended. Otherwise, needle and thread are enough for most carnival costumes. Also, a basic craft kit – for example scissors, glue and paper – is always useful.

• Sewing machine

• Needle & thread / sewing kit

• Scissors

• Fabrics in various colors

• older garments

• cardboard

• paper

• pens & paints

• felt

• cotton wool

• face paint for kids / carnival face paint

• hair ties

• bobby pins

• hot glue gun

Step-by-step instructions:

How you can make carnival costumes for your kids yourself

You have the agony of choice! Now it's about deciding on a great carnival costume. But you should never make this decision alone; always do it together with your child. It's best to ask right away whether they already have a particular costume idea for carnival or Mardi Gras in mind. If not, you can gather some costume ideas – including those from our site below – and present them to your little one. You can then get the necessary materials together. This increases the anticipation for the carnival season even more. All materials together? Then you can finally start crafting, sewing and designing!

O•O hacks for carnival: cleverly thought out & well done!

Most of the time you only need small tricks and many things become easier – especially when it comes to crafting costumes during carnival season Then tricky everyday moments turn into wonderfully unforgettable O•Oments. That's why we'll regularly provide you from now on with clever and witty ideas, which can be easily implemented. We lovingly call them our O•O hacks, because they make family life so much more colorful, easier and nicer. Let our hacks inspire you during carnival time, try them out and feel free to share your own nifty ideas with us and others!

Colorful bird costume made from cardboard

How about an original yet simple DIY costume made from cardboard? Almost everyone has old shipping boxes, paints and paper scraps at home. You can quickly make nice upcycling carnival costumes that cost almost nothing.

For inspiration, we've crafted a colorful bird from cardboard for you. But whether a bird of paradise, robot, car or rocket: often the shape of the box sparks costume ideas of its own. So craft, glue and paint as you like! You can't go wrong.

You need:

• shipping box cardboard

• scissors or cutter

• paper tape

• glue stick

• crepe paper

• acrylic paints and brushes

• cord

Before you start: When cutting with the cutter, it's best to help your child or do it yourself. This way the child gets to take part more in the sticking and decorating.

This is how you make the colorful bird costume:

• Cut off all the flaps along the crease on the top of the shipping box and cut a rectangle in the bottom for the child's legs.

• Draw the bird's head (including neck for attachment) on one of the cardboard scraps, cut it out and paint it as you like.

• Cut a vertical slit in the middle of the front of the cardboard and push the bird's neck through so that it projects about 5 cm on the inside.

• Cut a little into the middle of the neck and fold the ends in opposite directions. That gives the head more support. Then fix the neck flaps on the inside of the box with tape.

• From the other cardboard scraps, cut two large wings and attach them with tape to both sides of the top edge of the box. This keeps the wings nicely movable.

• Paint the bird's body and wings in your chosen colors and let the paint dry thoroughly.

• Cut colorful strips from crepe paper and glue them on as feathers to the bird's body and wings. Tip: It's quicker if you first apply adhesive tape to the cardboard and then attach the feathers.

• For the tail feathers, glue extra-long crepe paper strips onto a small piece of cardboard. Attach this to the bird's rear at the top edge of the box with paper tape.

• The head will also appreciate colorful feather decorations made from crepe paper. 3 to 5 small "feathers" should be enough.

• Pierce 2 holes each in the front and back of the cardboard and attach the cords securely. That way the child can easily wear the bird costume on their shoulders. Tip: The cord length depends on the child's size. Better to cut the cords a bit longer and then 'shorten' them with a knot.

DIY astronaut costume

Another clever O•O hack for carnival time is the following DIY costume for little astronauts. Almost everyone has empty plastic bottles, some aluminum foil and paper scraps at home. You can quickly make a cool space outfit, that costs almost nothing.

Make the costume yourself very easily!

You need:

For the jet engine

• two 1.5-liter bottles (plastic)

• silver spray paint

• cardboard

• scissors or cutter

• cord

• orange and yellow crepe paper

• double-sided tape

For the helmet

• bicycle helmet

• aluminum foil

• double-sided tape

Otherwise: blue, white or gray clothing

This is how you make the astronaut costume:

• Remove stickers from both bottles, rinse them thoroughly and let them dry. Spray them with silver paint and let that dry well too.

• Cut a rectangle from cardboard that is slightly smaller than the two bottles.

• Punch holes in all 4 corners of the cardboard so that you can attach 2 symmetrical shoulder straps from the cord. Tip: The cord length depends on the child's size. Better to cut the cords a bit longer and then 'shorten' them with a knot.

• Stick the dried bottles to the cardboard with double-sided tape. The bottle openings should face down.

• Cut 16 strips each from the orange and yellow crepe paper and shorten them to about 40 cm in length.

• Twist 8 yellow and 8 orange strips together at one end. Repeat this with the remaining 16 crepe strips.

• This gives you two flames, the twisted ends of which you stick into the bottle openings with double-sided tape.

• Cover the bicycle helmet on the outside with aluminum foil until no color shows through. Tip:To secure the foil at the helmet rim, we used double-sided tape.

A tracksuit in white, blue or gray fits the astronaut look best.

You have no desire to craft? Then check out our ready-to-wear carnival costumes in the shop !

Princess costume

Materials:

• bodysuit

• leggings or tights

• elastic crochet band

• colored tulle

• Scissors

• toilet paper roll

• needle

• acrylic paint

• thin elastic band

• self-adhesive rhinestones or other decorations

• optional: safety pins

Step-by-step instructions:

1. The basis for the carnival costume is a bodysuit. Pink or rose are popular colors for princesses.

2. You can easily make the tulle skirt yourself – even without sewing! For this you need an elastic crochet band that you adjust to the length of your little princess's waist. Now cut numerous long strips from the tulle. It's best to choose the tulle color to match the bodysuit. Multiple colors are also allowed. The strips don't all have to be exactly the same length, but should match your little one's body size. Now tie the tulle strips onto the elastic crochet band. Gradually a beautiful tulle skirt forms. In the end you can tie the skirt on the princess's hip over the bodysuit. Alternatively, use safety pins as a closure. You can wear leggings or tights under the skirt.

3. What would a real princess be without a crown? You can easily make that yourself too. Use a toilet paper roll and paint it with acrylic paint. Cut small triangles into the top with scissors to form points. Pierce the opposite sides at the bottom with a needle. Thread the elastic band through here and tie the ends. The little crown is ready!

4. In the end sprinkle a little glitter over everything. The bodysuit, tulle skirt and crown are decorated with sparkling rhinestones.

Unicorn

Materials:

• white bodysuit

• leggings or tights

• elastic crochet band

• colored tulle

• Scissors

• headband

• white felt

• gold thread

• fabric flowers or other decorations

• hot glue gun

• optional: safety pins

Step-by-step instructions:

1. For the unicorn carnival costume, a bodysuit is also the base. Here it's best to choose white for the unicorn's body.

2. Next make a tulle skirt from colorful tulle strips and an elastic crochet band. This works the same as step two for the princess. It's best to use colorful tulle in all rainbow colors. Underneath your child can wear leggings or tights.

3. Now the unicorn of course still needs its horn. For this use a headband and white felt, which you roll into a pointed horn. This requires some dexterity. Glue the horn together with the hot glue gun. You also need another narrow white felt strip, which you glue at the bottom of the horn and around the headband. For embellishing the horn use a gold thread. First glue it at the top of the tip and then wrap it around the entire length of the horn. If you like, you can also cut ears from the white felt and carefully attach them to the headband with the glue gun.

4. In the final step you can decorate the costume as you wish. Colorful fabric flowers are suitable here, which you can attach to the bodysuit, the tulle skirt or the headband.

Sheep costume

Materials:

• long white hooded shirt

• black leggings and sweater

• wool

• hot glue gun

• black felt

• needle & thread

• optional: safety pins

Step-by-step instructions:

• To make an authentic sheep costume yourself, first glue wool onto a white hooded shirt with the hot glue gun. Don't be stingy with this, because the sheep should be nice and fluffy.

• Next attach the ears to the hood. Cut two ears from the black felt and sew them to the hood with needle and thread. It's best to roll the felt ears a little, then they look even more realistic.

• In the final step combine your woolly sheep shirt with a black sweater and black leggings. Simply put on the white wool shirt, pull the hood up and the sheep is ready.

Lion

Materials:

• sweater and trousers in beige

• long-pile plush fabric

• optional: faux fur

• brown hat

• sand-colored fabric

• brown yarn

• ribbon

• wool

• Scissors

• needle & thread

• safety pins

Step-by-step instructions:

1. The basic outfit for the lion costume is simple clothing in beige. So get trousers and a sweater for your child in this light color. If you want it cosier, you can also make a cape from faux fur. In a simple version, sew two equally sized rectangles together along one short and the two long sides. On the short side, leave a cut-out in the middle for the head, and on the long sides at the top leave a cut-out for the arms.

2. For the lion's mane use shaggy long-pile plush. Sew this in strips onto a brown hat. Attach a longer piece at the back so the mane also covers the neck.

3. Make the tail of the carnival costume from a sand-colored piece of fabric. It should be about 15 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters long. Sew the long sides together with needle and thread so that it forms a tube. Stuff this with cotton wool and then sew the ends on the short sides together. Now attach threads of thick brown yarn to one side. The finished tail is fastened to the clothing with a safety pin.

Witch

Materials:

• besom broom

• decorative spiders

• dress

• leggings or tights

• elastic crochet band

• black tulle

• Scissors

• compass

• pencil

• black construction paper

• glue

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Use a simple dress as the basis for the witch costume, preferably in muted colors. Give the dress the necessary pep with a tulle belt. Use an elastic crochet band and tie strips of black tulle to it. Place the band with the tulle around the dress at the waist. A dark pair of tights or leggings works well underneath.

2. Every proper witch also needs a witch hat. If you don't want to buy one, you can easily make it yourself from black construction paper. Draw a large quarter circle from the bottom left corner of the paper with the compass. For a child, a radius of 20 or 25 centimeters is recommended depending on head circumference. Roll the quarter circle into a 'cone' and secure the edges with glue.

3. Then cut small notches of one to two centimeters depth all around the bottom side of the hat out of the construction paper. Fold these outwards. For the brim, place the finished cone on a large sheet of black construction paper and trace around it with a pencil. Then add an outer circle about 5 centimeters away. Cut out this circle with a hole in the middle and glue it onto the folded-out notches at the end of the cone. You can additionally decorate the finished hat with tulle.

4. In the final step, further enhance your carnival costume with matching accessories. Attach creepy decorative spiders to the dress or the hat. And of course a besom broom must not be missing.

Cat

Materials:

• sweater & leggings

• faux fur

• glue

• felt

• headband

• Scissors

• needle & thread

Step-by-step instructions:

1. From a nice faux fur fabric, make a simple cape. Sew two rectangles together along the long sides and one short side. On the short side, leave a cut-out in the middle for the head; on the two long sides, leave a cut-out at the top for the arms. The cozy cape can now be worn nicely over a sweater and leggings.

2. In the next step, make the cat ears. For this you need a headband and felt. Cut the shape of a cat ear twice from the felt. Note, however, that on the lower edge of each ear you should draw another ear to the other side. This way you can place the headband in the middle and fold the two halves over the headband.

3. Coat the inner sides of the cat ears with glue and press both halves together so that a stable cat ear is formed around the headband. Repeat the same with the other ear.

Construction worker

Materials:

• helmet

• plaid shirt

• jeans or small overalls

• accessories like a folding rule or safety goggles

• optional: hi-vis vest

Step-by-step instructions:

1. You can easily assemble the construction worker costume from various clothing items and accessories. The base is a plaid shirt, which you combine with casual jeans or, even better, small overalls.

2. To protect the construction worker against all dangers, he now needs a helmet. Maybe you can borrow a real construction helmet from someone you know or buy one for the costume.

3. Round off the disguise with authentic accessories. Feel free to use things you find at home. A folding rule in the pocket or safety glasses on the nose bring the costume to life. A great idea is also a bright hi-vis vest, which you might find in your car.

Vampire

Materials:

• black trousers

• white shirt or t-shirt

• black fabric for the cape

• safety pin or brooch

• red watercolour paint

• paintbrush

Step-by-step instructions:

1. The basis for the vampire costume is a white shirt or t-shirt with black trousers. A shirt with a standing collar is the most eerie. You can also simply flip up the shirt's collar.

2. To give the top a gruesome effect, add some blood drops. Use red watercolour paint, thinned with the brush, and drip it onto the shirt.

3. To round off the outfit, you now need a black cape. This is easy to make by placing a large black piece of fabric over your child's shoulders and fastening it at the front with an old brooch or a safety pin. You can cut points into the bottom of the fabric.

Magic wand, sword & the right face paint for kids:

How to enhance your homemade carnival costume

Once your homemade carnival costume is finished, only one thing is missing: the matching face paint for kids. A nicely painted face completes the disguise and makes the transformation perfect.

Sometimes the costume doesn't have to be that extravagant if the face is beautifully painted. We have compiled tips and instructions for face painting at carnival for you. Here you will also find video tutorials for painting cute masks that perfectly complement the children's costume.

The perfect carnival mask for animal costumes

Have you chosen an animal costume? Then you can complete it with a cute animal mask. Especially with animal costumes, it's often necessary to paint large parts of the face. This makeup can quickly smudge when worn by the little ones for several hours.

An animal mask avoids this problem. The mask can be put on and taken off as desired. Crafting with the children is also great fun for the whole family. We provide you with craft instructions and tips for the loveliest animal masks.

No time to make it yourself? Buy carnival costumes

You don't always have the time to make a carnival costume yourself. Maybe you don't feel like a big crafting session every year. Then it's worth buying a costume for Carnival or Fasching. Also, not every children's costume is easy to make yourself. Sometimes kids fall in love with a costume idea that's very difficult to implement on your own.

Fortunately there is a wide selection of children's costumes at HABAto buy. From astronaut to ballerina to giraffe, you'll find carnival costumes for every taste and age with us. It's best to take a look together with the kids right away to see which costume you like best.

Carnival costume complete — now what?

How to plan your perfect carnival party

If you've completed your carnival costume together with your little artists, it should of course also get the chance to be worn and shown. A carnival party for kids is just the right thing. All kids show up in costume and can let loose celebrating carnival together.

Such a carnival party of course needs to be well prepared and requires a careful planning. First you need to consider how many children will be invited. Invitations should be sent out as early as possible.

Of course, colorful decorations with balloons and streamers are a must at carnival. Maybe you could also have a themed party and decorate to match the theme? Delicious food, cheerful music and fun games will make your party a hit.

So you don't forget anything when planning, we've put together a checklist as well as numerous tips for you. Check it out and your party for the kids will surely be a success.

Image credits

Children in costumes © BONNINSTUDIO/Stocksy - stock.adobe.com

Girl in butterfly costume © Cavan Images - stock.adobe.com

Girl in fairy costume gives her dad a kiss © alho007 - stock.adobe.com

Girl in princess costume © Alena Ozerova - stock.adobe.com

Girl in unicorn costume © Halfpoint - stock.adobe.com

Baby and girl in sheep costumes © Grischa Georgiew - stock.adobe.com

Girl in witch costume © Dilya - stock.adobe.com

Girl in cat costume © Susana Valera - stock.adobe.comBoy in construction worker costume © Robert Kneschke - stock.adobe.com

Boy in vampire costume © yellowj - stock.adobe.com

Children in costumes throw confetti into the air © Oleksii Syrotkin/Stocksy - stock.adobe.com