Okay… it’s one week until Halloween and your kid asks you for a dinosaur costume. No time to shop, no money to shop, but you do have miscellaneous craft bits hanging around. We can do this!!

This is super easy and very forgiving and requires NO SEWING (three of my favorite things).

You can actually use things around the house:

• Felt bits or construction paper

• Glue gun, glue, or tape (even a stapler could help)

• Make it as decorated as you want (or don’t)

TAIL

Cut a strip of felt or construction paper however long you want it for the tail. You will pin this to the neck of the shirt/jacket, so it goes all down the spine into a tail. Or you can just pin it at the waist, so it’s just a tail. Up to you.

Cut triangles for the “plates”. Along one edge, make a cut into the middle. This will allow you to separate the two halves and glue opposite sides down (see pic). This help the felt/paper stand up like spines. It’s a great cheat!

The just pin it to the shirt or pants.

FEET

For the feet, we used empty tissue boxes. You can paint them, cover them in construction paper, cover them in fabric or felt - literally whatever you want (and have lying around).

We then used empty toilet paper rolls - cut them in half, then cut those into 4 pieces for the toes. Make them as pointy, gnarly, glittery as you want. They’re your dinosaur toes.

As an added feature, I cut out the bottom of the tissue boxes, so my son could wear his regular shoes when he goes out - just have your kid slide his feet into the box first, then put on the shoes after.

FACE

For the face, I used an empty oatmeal box. I cut the one side into teeth. I cut an opening in the other side that roughly fit my son’s nose and mouth. I then covered it in green felt (again, you can use whatever you have) and added a nice pink tongue and two nostrils.

Now, full confession here, we were not able to get it to attach well to his head - plus he was not in his full dinosaur mood at the time. But, when he wants to wear it for Halloween, I would use a thicker ribbon, piece of elastic or a smaller box maybe - or he can just carry it and hold it up to say, “Trick or Treat!”

Wa-lah! Easy sew-free DIY dinosaur costume!

This costume was inspired by the book, Dinosaurs in the Hardware Store. You can check it out on Amazon here.