When we think of Halloween, we usually think of costumes. Kids (and many adults) put a lot of thought into putting together the perfect one, complete with mask or face paint, wigs, and accessories. The trick or treat bag is often an afterthought.

But just as a great handbag is the perfect accent to any outfit, an awesome trick or treat bag can enhance any costume. Here are some tips for making an easy trick or treat bag that is sure to be a hit.

• Use some Halloween-themed fabric to sew a simple bag. You can whip one up in no time with a sewing machine, or they can easily be sewn by hand if you don’t have one.

• Find a plain, solid-colored tote bag to dress up. You can decorate it to your liking by sewing or gluing on embellishments, or with fabric paint.

• Use a plain brown paper shopping bag, or an inexpensive gift bag. Either one can be decorated simply with markers, or more elaborately with embellishments and glue.

• Use a bucket instead of a bag. You can catch kids’ beach buckets on sale at the end of the summer for cheap, and they’re easy to embellish.

• Match the bag to the costume. This applies not only to color, but also to the theme of the bag. If it’s to go with a dog costume, for example, you could make a dog face on it, or add some silver bone charms.

• Add some glow in the dark accents. Some options include fabric paint, foam decals and stickers. Not only do these add a nice spooky touch, they also increase safety when trick or treating at night.

Do you need some ideas to get you started? Here are a few simple ones:

• Jack-o-lantern bag - Buy an orange gift bag. Cut three triangles out of black construction paper for the eyes and nose, and cut out a smiling mouth. Glue them on for a quick and whimsical trick or treat tote.

• Princess bag - For girls who are getting all dolled up for Halloween, a bag fit for royalty is in order. You can make one in short order by putting stick-on gems (or using a Bedazzler) on a pink canvas tote bag. Use satin ribbon to make some pretty bows to stitch on.

• Spider web bag - Find some fabric with a spider web pattern to use to sew a tote bag. Paint over the web pattern with glow in the dark fabric paint, and embellish with plastic glow in the dark spiders.

• Monster bag - Decorate a plain grocery or gift bag to look like Frankenstein, Dracula, or another favorite villain. Use construction paper, markers, googly eyes, and whatever else strikes your fancy.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!