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“Be a clown, be a clown, all the world loves a clown.” Just singing that song puts you in a happy mood, right? One of the most fun costumes to make at home for Halloween is the clown costume. It can be as wild and as imaginative as ever. Here are some suggestions.

Let your imagination run wild. Start with a white, red, or black sweat suit. Then go to town painting all different colors and shapes on it, from polka dots to triangles. You could also use a colorful pair of sweat pants or some other baggy clothing you might have lying around. Wearing a menagerie of different clothing always looks rather clownish. Find an oversized shirt with loud stripes, plaid pants, and red suspenders. Add a funky oversized jacket, and you’re good to go.

For the shoes, you can find large-sized shoes or a pair of goofy shoes that your child can fit into with his or her own shoes on. And since clowns have big buttons on their coveralls, use colorful mesh dish scrubbers which can be found in your kitchen or the grocery, to complete the outfit.

If your child wishes to wear a hat, you can use a plain party hat and spray paint it with different colors and add polka dots to it or glimmer as well.

With some make-up you can paint your child’s face in any way you wish. Draw triangles around the eyes, paint the nose red or find a red nose in a craft store, and use red lipstick to make a happy smile on the face of your child. If you can find an inexpensive clown wig, that would be great as well. A wig usually is easier because if you choose to color your hair instead, because it will take more than a day to get off the color on your hair.

Here’s a tip: Add one or two balloons inside the jacket, and when your child goes trick or treating and someone asks for a trick, you child can open up the jacket and the balloons will pop out!

Oh, don’t forget the big bowtie! You can make it out of different color satin fabrics. Add a ruffled fabric to wear around the neck and you have the makings of the best clown in your neighborhood.