Suit yourself

NEW GLASGOW - Cardboard boxes, tinfoil and a little imagination are key to transforming Charlene Conrad's little boy into a steamroller for Halloween.
The Westville mother of two said although she hasn't always made her children's treat-or-treating costumes, she plans to get creative with supplies found around their house to save money this year.
"When times are tough you make your own," said Conrad.
That may be a popular trend this fall behind a noticeable drop in sales for off-the-rack costumes at the New Glasgow Zellers location.
"Costumes aren't selling at all like they have in other years," said store manager Laura Stronge, guessing the decrease has been caused by people choosing to assemble their own instead of buying new.
Pat Cook operates a Halloween costume rental business from her home in Linacy and also believes more people are making their own costumes.
"I've noticed a drop in the number of rentals for the past couple of years," said Cook. She has handmade several of the costumes in her collection which she started adding to more than 32 years ago.
She finds inspiration to create costumes in many places, imagines what it should look like, and then seeks out supplies at places like thrift stores or yard sales.
Conrad said one of the most important elements in making your own creations is planning ahead.
"You have to get an idea and work on it over a few days," she said. "You can't do it the night before."
Conrad's greatest inspiration for new costume ideas comes from her children, a boy, age two and daughter, age five.
She enjoys the challenge of successfully assembling the most creative of costumes, earning bragging rights.
"It's just fun knowing that in a couple of year's time you can look back and say, 'I made that'," said Conrad.
Debby Turner, a Westville mother of two, said she has always made costumes and it is a family tradition to keep a box of dress up items for that very reason.
"It gives you something to do together as a family and it really brings out your creative side," said Turner. "Getting the kids involved is really fun. It's really easy to run and grab one at the store but it's really fun to make your own."
She said three of the most important things to keep in mind when designing your own costume are safety, warmth and comfort.
She's made cell-phone costumes from cardboard, dressed her sons as pirates, witches and ghosts and looks forward to a new challenge every year.
Everyone has items around the house that could be used to make a costume but sometimes you have to dig deep into the back of the closet to find them.
She said grandparent's closets usually hold a few treasures too and if you can't find what you need there, dollar stores or secondhand stores may have the perfect accessories you are looking for.

Popular costumes
this season:

Look forward to seeing popular movie characters walking around on Halloween night. Celebrity visitors such as G.I. Joe, Hannah Montana, Transformers, Star Wars and stars of other top movies of the season may be appearing at your door.

It seems action heroes will never retire. Making a come back every trick-or treat season are Superman, Hulk, Batman and Spiderman.

Vampires, witches, ninjas, ghosts and fairy princesses are also popular costume picks this year.