Quick costumes for very few pennies

Halloween is creeping closer, and the boos and ghouls in your household are probably dreaming of a perfect celebration complete with glimmering jack-o'-lanterns and tasty treats.

There's just one problem — clothing your little monsters in costumes before sending them out to spook the neighborhood.

But it doesn't take much to piece together a fabulous and creative kid-friendly ensemble. Here are a few simple suggestions for quick costumes for very few pennies.

Pirate: The boys of the house may want to sail the Seven Seas and cavort with Captain Jack Sparrow. Find an old, worn pair of pants and shirt. Use scissors to make vertical cuts 2 inches long and 1 inch apart all the way around the leg ends of the pants and around the sleeves and waist of the shirt.

Tie a bandana or take a 2-by-2-foot square of fabric and fold in half to form a triangle around your pirate's head. Add some facial scruff with black Halloween makeup or a washable mascara. Now that they are all decked out, they can pillage and plunder with a smile.

Flower: This idea from www.familygo.com is adorable. Don your little one in a green shirt — the stem — and brown skirt or pants — the pot or dirt. Draw a huge flower on poster board, leaving a center circle to cut out for your sweetie's head. You and your little blossom can paint and glitter the flower to make the petals shine. After painting, staple a piece of elastic banding — easy to find in any fabric store — to each side of the face opening to help hold the cardboard. Cut and paint a couple of leaves for the arms. Trick-or-treating will bloom beautifully.

Jellyfish: Another creative costume idea from Ingela Ratledge at www.realsimple.com is perfect for ocean lovers. Ratledge suggests getting an umbrella — preferably a clear, rounded one, but any umbrella will do. Along the edge of the umbrella attach colorful party streamers or metallic ribbons to create the jolly jellyfish. This unique idea is sure to go over swimmingly, and might be great if Halloween night is a rainy one.

Sheep: For the younger crowd, purchase a simple white Onesie and a bag of cotton balls. Lay the Onsie on a flat surface and attach the cotton balls with a glue gun. Using a scrap of black fabric, attach floppy ears to a headband and stick a black tail on the back side of the Onesie. A pair of black pants or tights underneath is a nice touch, too. With a painted pink nose, the little sheep will steal the show.

Whether you are aiming for a sweet or ghoulish Halloween, you can help your sprite slip into a costume that will make the evening a success.

Melissa DeMoux is a stay-at-home mother of six young children who lives in West Valley City.