With Halloween just around the corner, now is the time to spend some quality time with your little one, coming up with ways to give life to the unicorns and fairies that dance within the walls of your child’s imagination.

Whether your child wants to be a robot, a princess, or a superhero this Halloween, the benefits of taking the time to create a costume together heavily outweigh the convenience of choosing a costume off the sale rack at the store down the street. Tackling a DIY Halloween costume together offers the perfect chance to bond with your little pumpkin and a unique opportunity for your child to let the creative juices flow.

Discover New Textures

Making your own Halloween costume allows your child to discover a wide variety of textures which is great for sensory learning. Halloween costumes that incorporate cotton balls, pipe cleaners, foam or tissue paper into the design make for a hands-on activity that will help spur child development and is tons of fun for the entire family.

Photo credit: Oh Happy Day

Find it here: Check out this adorable snail costume from Oh Happy Day featuring a shell made of brown crinkle paper. Your toddler will love scrunching and crunching their way through the project – and you’ll end up with the cutest bug on the block.

Cutting and Gluing

Getting your child involved in preparing and piecing together bits of fabric is a great way for them to build both coordination and creativity.

Encourage your child to test their dexterity by helping them glue fun accessories like popsicle sticks, glitter or buttons onto their Halloween masterpiece. Remember to create a kid-friendly workspace as playdates with glue tend to get sticky.

Find it here: Check out this step by step video from CBC parents on how to make very own no-sew Gumball Machine. Your kids will love gluing on the pompoms and helping mom or dad create a tasty twist on traditional Halloween attire.

Think Inside, Outside, All Over the Box!

When it comes to costume design, nothing – nothing – beats the cardboard box. This is where you and your little one can work hand in hand to make big dreams come true. From rocket ships and robots to boxes of crayons and raisins, there is no shortage of ingenious costumes waiting to be made out of four sides and a couple of cardboard flaps.

Find it here: Check out this list of 33 Super Easy Cardboard Box Halloween Costumes For Lazy People published by BuzzFeed. You’re bound to find something you and your toddler, are going to love.

Still in need of some great DIY Halloween costumes for your sweet pea? Searching Pinterest is a great place to start looking for unique DIY costume ideas. If you’re looking to widen the search, check out these 40 Homemade Halloween Costumes for Kids from Country Living, these 35+ Easy Halloween Costume Ideas from Parenting.com, and these 51 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes put together by Today’s Parent.