I have always wanted to make my kids' costumes but with the work involved and their indecisiveness, we always wind up grabbing something off the rack. Of course, all that matters in the end is that they're happy about it! Costumes always become dress-up material later, so that's a plus!

We buy whenever possible, but sometimes my kids will really get their hearts set on a doozy...like the year my son wanted to be an ant. Turns out, not a lot of kids want to dress up like ants, so we had to make that sucker!

I have never been a crafty person, and I salute parents who make their kids costumes. But luckily my kids pick costumes that are easily bought like superheroes, army men, astronauts, ninja, and when they were little, I picked the super cute animal costumes. I guess it helps that we only look online and in-store for costumes to buy. I don't know if they realize that homemade costumes are an option for some kids?!

I try to buy costumes after Halloween on sale for the next year. That worked well when my kids were youger, but as they got older they had strong opinions on what they want and don’t want to be. We mostly buy costumes but I may make something to supplement the costume.

Ah, Pinterest is both my best friend and my worst enemy in this area. I love making the kids costumes, but I also recognize that I can't always do that x4 for four kids. Last year we made two and bought two and that worked well for me!

It's easy for me because my son dresses up like a Storm Trooper along with his dad who goes as Darth Vader.... every. single. year. We just look for the next size up when necessary. I am waiting to see if my daughter wants in on the Star Wars action (she's only 2).