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My son loves zombies so of course he wanted to be one for Halloween. I checked out the zombie costumes everywhere, but I couldn’t believe how expensive they were and they didn’t look cool at all. Plus my son had a very specific zombie look in mind. For his Halloween zombie costume idea, he wanted to be a zombie that had just been buried that crawled out of his grave in his suit. I’m going to share super simple ways to make an easy kids zombie costume. The ways to create this costume can be used on any type of clothing or any type of zombie and any aged zombie. 

One of the best parts of this easy kids zombie costume, was making it with my son. We had so much fun together getting messy and creating this. It was a wonderful experience and he loved helping make it. He was so proud of the finished product and telling everyone that he helped make it. 

Even better it can be done in two easy steps. Step one is making the costume dirty and cutting it and step two is adding the blood. I was so behind last year for Halloween that I literally made this costume the day before it was needed for a Halloween party so it’s super easy and can truly be done in an hour. Here he is at the library Halloween party with no makeup because you still had to wear a mask (this costume was from last year). 

If you love Halloween or DIY projects, don’t miss out on my Cat Tutu Costume, Wonder Woman Costume or my Jack Skellington Coffin Welcome Sign. 

How To Make an Easy Kids Zombie Costume 

The first step for me was heading to the kids consignment shop to look for pants, a white dress shirt and a suit coat. Skip this step if your child already has these items that you can use or already have the clothes they want to use. I found the perfect suit coat, a white dress shirt and a pair of blue khaki pants. I was so happy when I found all of it. Plus remember a zombie could be wearing anything. 

Step 1: Make the Costume Clothes Dirty & Destroyed 

The next step does get messy so I highly suggest doing this on a nice day outside. Even better, let the kids do the messy part. If you have to do it inside, cover the table with a plastic tablecloth or use a box lid to try and contain the mess. Follow this step for the pants, the white shirt, and the suit jacket to get a nice dirty and distressed look. 

I’m a total coffee addict so we always have coffee grinds. You will need grinds that are still wet and gooey to do this step. 

Lay out the pants and just starting putting coffee grinds all over them. My son and I just picked up handfuls of coffee grinds and added them all over the pants. Let the coffee grinds sit for a bit and soak in to get nice and dirty looking. The dirtier the better for a zombie costume! We did this all over, let it dry and then added a little bit more. Just keep adding coffee grinds all over until you get the look you want. 

Wipe the coffee grinds off and let the clothing items dry. When the pants are drying, take a pair of scissors and just cut a jagged edges along the bottom and holes in the knees. 

Cut the sleeves of the suit jacket so the cuffs of the white shirt and cut a pocket, rip a shoulder and just rough it up. I don’t think there is any wrong way to make this zombie costume, I mean they are dirty, bloody and grouse. 

Now your clothes are ready for your zombie Halloween costume. 

Step 2: Adding the Blood on the Zombie Costume 

This part was super fun! All you need is spiced berry paint and a paint brush. I chose the spiced berry paint because it’s a nice burgundy purple color like dried blood would be. Also make sure whatever paint color you choose has a matte finish. Do this step after your shirt and suit coat are dirty and distressed from the coffee grinds. So the second layer will be blood. 

Using a small paint brush, put strokes of paint all over the collar and middle section of the shirt. This was randomly done by us. Then using the small paint brush, add paint around the cuffs of the shirt.  

For this zombie costume, I only worried about the collar, middle and cuffs of the shirt since he will be wearing the suit jacket over it. 

As for the suit coat, add splotches of blood randomly on it too with the paint brush. 

Easy Zombie Makeup 

This zombie Halloween costume is all about easy even for the makeup too. The easy zombie makeup is white face cream and zombie bite tattoos. So easy to put on and the tattoos looked amazing. Plus there was no way my son was leaving the Halloween store without those tattoos. 

How cool does this homemade zombie costume look?  My son got compliments everywhere and he loved it (which is the most important thing to me). He was a fantastic zombie and I love making these Halloween memories.