Thrifty mum makes brilliant Grinch-inspired Christmas costumes on a £7 budget
A mum-of-two proved that fabulous Christmas costumes don’t need to break the bank after making two brilliant outfits for her children inspired by The Grinch.
Cassie Middleton, 31, from South Derbyshire, shared a photo of the budget costumes on Facebook, writing: “Grinch dress up costumes are sooo expensive to buy, but the kids love the Grinch, so I made my own.” (sic)
The thrifty mum craftily created two completely convincing costumes made from items she already had at home for her two children Amelia, six, and five-year-old Joshua.
She told Yahoo News UK: “We went to a Marie Curie Christmas fundraising event at a friend’s house, and there was a competition for the best Christmas outfit.
“I haven’t made any other outfits but I'm quite creative, and last year I made a dolls’ house for my daughter which also went viral.
“The Grinch is a festive film we like to watch. I’ve lost count how many times they have watched it. We've already had it on four times this month.”
Her daughter’s Cindy Lou costume cost just £4.99 and was made from an old Santa dress up cape, with her hair sculpted in place with the help of half a plastic water bottle, hair spray and garden wire.
The mum-of-two explained: “I sectioned her hair from the ears across, split the bottom half into two and plaited it using garden wire to give it a flexible bend.
“I cut in half a 500ml water bottle, placed it on top of her head, back-combed all the hair around it and then brushed it upwards and used a bobble to tie around the bottle top.
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“I used my spiral curlers to add some curls and a red ribbon. I attached the plaits to the side of her hair using hair grips and then used a lot of hair spray to keep it in place.”
For her son Joshua’s costume, she used a feather boa costing £2, face paint for £3 and colour spray for £1.99 - and then everything else she already owned, including a green feather boa and green tights.
At the time of writing, Cassie’s Facebook post has been liked more than 36,000 times, with over 2000 people commenting on it.
And for those wanting to create their own costumes on the cheap, the mum-of-two shared some top tips.
She told Yahoo News UK: “Have a look on Pinterest for ideas, and upcycle old things rather than buying new. It helps save the planet a little bit. You can also have a look on local selling sites first - you can always find a bargain.”
Cassie’s brilliant creations were to raise money for the Marie Curie cancer charity.
