Saint Michael the Archangel Halloween costume

[BeeSweet!]

Actually, it's an All Saints Day costume. Our play group at church is meeting on All Saints Day, and we're dressing the kiddos up as saints. So, I thought Saint Michael the Archangel would be absolutely perfect. I have a few granules of ideas about how to put the costume together, but I hoped I could get some advice here on how to do it cheaply and still have it look great.

Additional complication: my son is 18 months old...

Any suggestions on how to pull this off? I'm imagining him in a little plastic armor breastplate with that funny little skirt of armor, with big wings and a sword. Also I want him to have a little stuffed demon to carry around and step on every now and again!

Additional complication: I have a sourpuss husband...

He'll sulk and pout if he sees our toddler running around in a whole lot of his overtime pay for a costume which will certainly be worn only once. So, I've got to get some bargain archangel ideas here. Oh, and quick too... I have two days left.

[puzzleannie]

easiest costume for little ones is the poncho type, just cut from fabric, or use the appropriate size pillow case (get a cheap one from the dollar store) use markers to draw whatever is appropriate
shield and cross for St Michael or St Joan of Arc, plus a knit cap in grey as a helmet (with a halo from a yellow pipe cleaner or ribbon). you can even paint the sword a the side, or make a sword with cardboard and tinfoil. this is worn over sweats or even PJs of an appropriate color

[bluerose]

Don't forget the sandals! (Roman-style ones optional, but I'd avoid Thomas the Tank Engine or Elmo ones for obvious reasons....)

My son dressed up as St. Michael one year... I made wings out of posterboard and covered them with tissue paper "feathers" (I don't know WHAT came over me....) Sword and shield we found for a buck at Dollar General. A friend of ours who is a seamstress had a yard of leftover silver fabric from a bridesmaid's gown she had made, and she sewed up a little pleated "skirt" that looked like armor.

He's thirteen now and we were looking at the pictures not long ago and he gave me this horrified look: "You let me run around in a silver SKIRT???"

Stick with the tunic idea... 12 years from now you'll be glad you did!

[Chronister4673]

If you want a St. Michael costume on the cheap here's what to do:

Start out with a pair of grey sweats. The kid can wear them again and again, so I consider the expense for this part of the costume to be zero. Plus it'll keep your little guy warm as it gets colder.

The next thing that you can get is a roman soldier's armor. Walmart usually carries them and they're not usually more than $13 or $14 dollars. The one I bought has a chest piece, sword, helmet, and shin pieces, I think.

Go to the dollar store and get the posterboard and tissue paper for wings like the previous poster suggested.

As far as the roman skirt goes, if you have any spare material laying around, cut it into strips. The size will depend on the size of the child. Put a belt around his middle, over top of the sweats. Thread the strips of material under the belt so that they will hang halfway over and halfway under. Keep doing this until the strips are enough for the skirt. I figure even if you have to buy fabric and a belt, it shouldn't be more than $5 to $7.

[puzzleannie]

dollar store has wings for $3 if anyone is interested, also plastic armor cheap.

[kage_ar]

I love the grey sweats idea!

For even less cost, you can use a Sharpie marker or fabric paint to draw on the breastplate and other "armour" (he can use these as PJs til he outgrows them).

Helmet/sword/ shield can be made from foil over a cardboard .

Wings are wire frame (coat hangers?) with an old sheet for the fabric.

No need for overtime or spending scads of money

The deamon - a stuffed dragon or rubber snake from the dollar store.

[BeeSweet!]

Ya'll are so helpful! I love these suggestions. We're about to hit the shops and see what we can put together, I'm so glad I have more bargain ideas now. I had not thought of the dollar store, even though we were in there just last week.

If I had money to spend on frivolous stuff, I'd dress the dog up as the devil, and have our lil' Saint Michael hold the leash, that would be too funny. Maybe I'll get the dog a costume on sale after the holiday, and we'll do it next year.

[Spirithound]

aaaah, well, complication #1 has me stymied Last year I dressed as St. Michael, but i'm just a bit older than your son
Here's what I did: hockey equipment- chest protector, shin guards, and blocker, all covered with foil, wings made from a cereal box covered with "feathered" strips of paper, wrapping-paper tube as a sword, and a glow-stick as a halo. Cost: minimal. Time:3-4 hours (mostly in the wings)...

[BeeSweet!]

I found some absolutely gorgeous wings made of real feathers for $8, and huge a foam sword for $1.60. I have a gray long sleeved onesie which is unfortunately out @ Grandma's house right now, so I'll probably pick up another one for $6 tonight. We have gray sweat pants, and gray shorts and some good plain sandals (no characters on them). I also already have some poster board in yellow, blue and white, so I'll cut out a breastplate for him if I can figure out a pattern (I'm not too crafty...), and then I'll just tie it on him with some yarn. He should look totally cool, the wings are just awesome! I'm not sure he'll suffer through a halo though, I think I'll be pushing it with the wings! So, total expenditure will be under $20, and that's not bad. The wings will be kept for re-use, they're fairly sturdy. Maybe I'll dress him up as Gabriel @ Christmas!

I wasn't able to find any roman plastic soldier garb, everything out there is geared towards pirates right now with skulls and cross-bones all over everything. I was glad to find the foam sword w/o that junk on it.

Will post a picture if the critter will sit still for it. Thanks to everyone for your helpful suggestions!