Momma Told Me: Unicorn Dogs, Mummy Pups + Witches, Oh My! 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas

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Unicorn Dogs, Mummy Pups + Witches, Oh My! 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas

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5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
Over the years we've kept no secret that we are incredibly into celebrating, especially decorating for, the holidays. However, Jay and I don't have any human kids running afoot. Instead, we usually cater to neices and nephews, and the neighborhood kids, or big kids at heart.

When we first moved into our home we would go all out with the decorations, with the intent to be home on Halloween night to help scare up some fun for visitors. Now, as we grow older, we tend to search out events, and even parties, near us in the weeks leading up to a major holiday. After all, life's too short to celebrate just 1 day a year- so we try to extend our celebrations all month long. No holiday is an exception, especially with Halloween. And with that mentality, while saving for our dream home, we tend to celebrate Halloween on a budget.
Of course those of you who have followed us through the years also know that budget does NOT mean boring. In fact, when we stretch our buck at 99 Cents Only Stores we can even include our fur children in on the festivities. This year I have 2 pet costume contests, and one Halloween dog brunch in the park on my calendar and that means I need at least 3 easy but affordable pet costume ideas for Gidget and Nora.
Naturally I shop my local 99 year-round for amazing savings on everyday brands and products from paper plates and shampoo to fresh produce for the weekend BBQ. While you'll find household goods and grocery essentials at the 99 every day, you'll also find a few featured seasonal aisles with some amazing buys on just about everything you need to celebrate the next big holiday or season.

Right now our local 99 has Fall/Harvest finds and an entire aisle chocked full of everything from Halloween party tableware and home/yard decorations, to even costumes, masks, and more! It is hands down my favorite place to decorate for any season as I can buy 5+ decorations easily for the cost of what I'd pay for one at the local big box store. In fact, budgeting my holiday spending at the 99 not only gives me MORE room for inspiration and creativity, but allows me to participate in, and host, more Halloween celebrations, myself! Use the store locator here to find a location near you.
Beanie Baby Pet Costume DIY- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
One of my favorite things about shopping the 99 is the freedom to be creative on a budget. Many homemade costumes can quickly add up in time or money when you consider time spent running around to gather materials, or paying full price on materials you only need 1 or 2 of for your project.

A perfect example is Pet Costume Idea #1, Bean Bag Toy Hang Tags- Simple in theory, but the poster board or card stock I suggest using for them can run you $3+ at the average big buy or office supply store. I can buy a giant poster board sheet in a rainbow of colors from my local 99 for just 99 cents only! I can also fond the paint, markers, pet collar, glue stick, fishing wire, and even hot glue gun I need ALL at my local 99 for just 99 cents each!
Making Bean Bag Toy Hang Tags for each of our 3 pets was covered under the cost of that one smart buy, since the posterboards and supplies I needed all worked for multiple uses- I could've easily made 20 of these costumes with the supplies I had on hand! In fact, I've even saved the leftovers for us to continue this costume tradition should we add a furry friend to the family in the coming years.

Costume #1 is as easy as outlining the hang tag heart shape on a folded piece of red poster-board, then cutting it out and tracing it onto your white poster-board. Use a glue stick to adhere the white posterboard cutouts to the inside and back of your hang 'tag' then use your markers and a pen to illustrate your tag accordingly.
Beanie Baby Pet Costume DIY- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
Choosing how you attach your handmade Bean Bag Hang Tags to your pets will depend on the size of your pets, and consequently the size of your tags. We chose a bigger bold look for Nora as the look is comical and tongue-in-cheek for her. Gidget, weighing just under 2lbs had a handmade tag made to scale of a real hang tag, since she is just about as big as a bean bag toy herself!

Where I attached Nora and Truffles' tags to an actual collar, I wanted Gidget's to be more dainty and natural, as though it were peeking out of her fur. I hot glued the seam of the tag to some fishing wire and made a 'necklace' of sorts that easily slipped on and off over her head.
Beanie Baby Pet Costume DIY- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
This is the official look we will be wearing at our first Halloween pet costume contest this year- it took my about an hour and half to make all 3; and that's primarily because I spent way too much time with the lettering and barcodes on the larger 2. I especially love this costume idea because it's very lightweight and easy for any pet to wear, no matter their tolerance for clothes.
DIY Calavera Plant Pot - 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
My next inspiration came from a well aligned holiday that our local 99 also has a ton of decorations for, Dia De Los Muertos. Sugar skull imagery in the form of costumes, headbands, masks, and statuettes lines the shelves of near 1/3 of an aisle at my 99. Living in Southern California, culturally, Dia De Los Muertos is a very big deal in my hometown and there are even a few festivals, parties, and special events in the county for one to attend to learn more or observe the holiday.
Calavera Costume- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
The traditional imagery most associate with Dia De Los Muertos are sugar skull treats and traditionally wooden face masks with colorful skeleton-like features known as "Calavera." There were over 20 different Calavera style face masks to choose from at my 99, and an array of bright colored flowers, ornate shawls, and colorful Calavera covered jewelry. It was easy to piece together a one-of-a kind full costume for a human in that theme, and I immediately knew I wanted to create a "Dog and Human" themed costume set.
Calavera Costume- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
When Jay spotted a Cat face Calavera mask at the 99 he immediately volunteered to wear it while carrying Nora in a similarly themed outfit for an upcoming Dia De Los Muertos event. While there wasn't a specific costume for pets many of the items made for humans could be safely and easily adapted. We found several options for 'tie' ribbon chokers and bracelets we could loosely fasten over Nor'a neck to create a bib of color and macabre. We also found a child's skirt that perfectly matched the color theme.
Calavera Costume- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
When choosing to create a clothing based costume for your pet always consider some key safety pointers:
  • Keep in mind things that will be tied around the neck should have ample room to slide on and off, as they must be able to easily snap free or slide off if caught on an object. 
  • Never use any part of costumes as a harness or collar for the purpose of securing your pet- only approved pet collars and harnesses should be used as such.
  • When using a skirt intended for a human or child on your dog the skirt should be split down the middle and altered so that the underside of your dog is free from fabric when walking.
  • If your pet experiences anxiety of any kind while wearing any portion of their costume, take it off. A chuckle or photo is not worth your pet's stress.
  • Never cover your pet's snout with a mask/hat/helmet. Masks should only be worn for photos or brief moments of 'reveal' and never while your pet is wandering even a well secured home or space on their own.
Last Halloween was Gidget's first Halloween with us. She was a pretty quiet puppy who loved people but was still a bit new to her surroundings. As a result we didn't got out or celebrate the holiday much. Instead we took a few cute family photos with some of our decor and props from the 99. She still fits in that cauldron candy pail today!
Mummy Dog Halloween Costume Idea- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
When October began to roll around this year I remembered all of the awesome tattered clothes and gauzy drape materials I'd found at my 99 last year. I immediately knew I wanted to spend a dollar on a white 'Creepy Cloth' to transform Nora into a living Mummy Dog for one of our upcoming events. I started by wrapping the full width of the cloth around her torso, loosely, once, then cut each non wrapped end into 3 even segments (still attached to the primary mid-section piece.) I then loosely wrapped the 'strips' here and there, tucking any lose ends under itself for a very loose fasten. The end result was full movement range for Nora and one cute Mummy pup!
Our 99 also has costumes designed just for pets. The selection varies every year, and inventory is constantly changing throughout the season as the 99 gets more and new stock in. This year we found many pet costumes styles including, a witch, devil, cop, convict, and sheriff. I noticed there seemed to be 'pairs' (cop and robber, devil and witch) so you could effectively theme 2 pets if you wanted. These costumes are just .99 at my local 99 and essentially consist of a cape and head-piece, making them easy to size for dogs from chihuahua to Labrador. And, because they are so affordable, you can use 1 per event and toss them out without worry if they get dirty or torn in wear and play.
99 Cents Only Stores Have Pet Costume For $.99!- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
I was a bit skeptical about a '1 size fits most' pet costume, but I'll admit I was thoroughly impressed with the value for my buck. Our Devil dog costume did actually size down to fit 2lb Gidget- I trimmed a little of length off the sides of the cape for safety purposes, as well as some of the length on the tie strings. Even the little horn headpiece tied securely under her tiny head and seemed to cause her no fuss.
99 Cents Only Stores Have Pet Costume For $.99!- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
Nora's outfit, the witch, we designed the same, with a 2 tie cape, and a tie on hat. The hat was pretty detailed with a felt design, but between her hair and the flop of the hat seemed a bit big on her. In all, these costumes went on in minutes, could easily be adjusted for you pet's size, and the cape materials is even weather resistant for a sprinkle or two while trick-or-treating.
99 Cents Only Stores Have Pet Costume For $.99!- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
Of course, with a classic costume theme like this and, with having only spend a whopping $1 on each of the costumes, I had a few extra bucks to spend on some photo props and decorations for the front porch. For $1 I snagged a heavy duty skull candy bowl, a 4 pack of mini cauldrons to put dog treats in for our canine trick-or-treaters, and a creepy looking pumpkin Nora didn't seem too impressed with. I made the mini broom out of some crafting supplies I found in the office and craft supply aisle.
DIY Unicorn Pumpkin + Dog Costume- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
Of course it wouldn't be Halloween Two-Thousand and Something if we didn't have a twist on something unicorn in our costume lineup. So, while our entire yard is already decked out in webs, ghosts, and skeleton characters I simply HAD to make a unicorn no-cut pumpkin for our front stoop this year. When I spotted all the rainbow floral headbands near the Dia De Los Muertos costume gear at the 99 I knew I wanted to make a rainbow 'mane' out of fake flowers. I bought 2 headbands, removed all of the flowers, then carefully hot glued them back on in color groupings. I then painted my pumpkin white, drew some eyelashes on with permanent marker and hot glued the mane onto the pumpkin. Viola! And all supplies (even the hot glue gun) were found at my 99!
DIY Unicorn Pumpkin + Dog Costume- 5 Budget Friendly Pet Costume Ideas #DoThe99 #99Obessed #AD
I'll admit turning the girls into unciorns (unidogs?) was more an a photo necessity than a costume concept. I just couldn't pass up the most gorgeous rainbow tulle skirts for just $.99 with all the costume supplies at the 99. Not to far away were some strap on foam unicorn horns, so it kinda just fell together. The horns were meant for humans, so I cut them down to size then hot glues the elastic chin straps back on the abbreviated horns to make them fit our girls. I cut the skirts and pushed the tulle in towards a clump in the center to make sure there was no material under the girls while they walked, and hot glued the loose elastic ends back together. Poof, instant dog unicorn costume for just $2 at the 99. Heck, the whole family could dress up like this for $2 a head!
It's pretty obvious there's something for every style this Halloween when you shop the 99, so don't feel like you have to leave the pets out of all the costume fun because pet costumes are hard to find or expensive. Budgeting pet costumes at the 99 is not only practical (pets grow out of and destroy costumes so quick!) but fun. Why not let your pet have a different costume for every event this holiday, or take a stroll down the runway at that local pet costume competition? Be sure to stop by your local 99 often during this month to see what's new and get in on all the exciting fun! Which of our pet costume ideas do you love the most?

38 comments:

  1. I can't even stand all the cuteness in this post. Those little costumes are just TOO cute.

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  2. Ahh! There's almost TOO much cuteness here! All of these are great ideas, but I love the Beanie Babies one the most.

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  3. Oh my goodness! A-DOR-ABLE! All of the costume ideas are terrific. I wish I could jump through the screen and hug those two cuties! <3

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  4. I love your safety tips for dressing up your pets because their safety is the most important thing. You do have cute dogs and the costumes are so nice so enjoy the holiday.

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  5. All of these ideas are so cute! My favorite is the bean bag hang tags. I'm going to make one for my schnauzer, she will be so cute!

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  6. They are the most adorable pups ever! You have some of the best ideas I've seen for pet costumes. The Beanie Babies oen is genius.

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  7. Oh my gosh the beanie baby idea is so clever. Your dogs look adorable in all of the costumes!

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  8. Those are adorable and so simple. I would never have thought to do that but now I want to make one of those for all my cats.

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  9. OMG seriously, stop it. I cannot handle the cuteness of this post!!! MY dog would NEVER let me do this with him!

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  10. These are all so adorable! I don't have a dog, but I do have cats. They don't like being dressed up, but they'll let us do it anyways.

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  11. These are all such cute ideas for Halloween. I simply love the unicorns.

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  12. Toni | Boulder LocavoreOctober 3, 2018 at 1:23 AM

    OMG! These are all so cute!! I can' decide which one to do for my dog this Halloween!

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  13. Love all your ideas! The best is that they are all budget friendly!

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  14. I don’t have a pet yet but oh my goodness these are so cute!! Definitely sharing this with a few friends that I know would love this!

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