This project was so much fun! For this Halloween season, General Mills Cereal invited me to bring the classic Monsters Cereals to life with easy, wearable DIY costumes. I love transforming iconic foods and characters into costumes that are simple to recreate, so I made three looks: Franken Berry, Count Chocula and Boo Berry. The limited-edition Monsters Cereals are in stores now—perfect timing for Halloween.
These costumes are ideal for groups or families. You can even carry small goodie bags of the cereal in the boxes and hand them out for a reverse trick-or-treat experience. Below are step-by-step instructions for each costume so you can make them yourself.
Franken Berry Costume
Supplies Needed
- Pink shirt
- Pink pants (with belt loops)
- Pink sneakers
- Plastic chain garland
- Pink sunglasses
- Pink craft foam, stiff felt, or cardstock
- White craft foam, stiff felt, or cardstock
- 1–2 thin wooden dowels (about 24″ total)
- Two wooden sphere beads
- Two wooden disc beads
- Pink paint
- Structured headband
- Pink permanent marker
- Black permanent marker
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
Step-by-Step Tutorial
- Paint the wooden dowels and beads pink and allow them to dry.
- Cut the pink foam into these shapes: one 4″ circle, one 5″ circle, and one 7″ x 3.5″ rectangle. Cut a 3″ circle from the white craft foam.
- Roll the rectangle into a small cylinder and hot-glue it to secure. Cut a slit from the edge of the 5″ circle to the center, overlap to form a cone, and glue it to the cylinder.
- Use a black marker to draw clock hands at 3 o’clock on the white foam circle. Glue that to the 4″ pink circle to create a face detail.
- Cut the dowels into two 4″ pieces and two 3″ pieces. Attach a wooden disc to one end and a wooden sphere to the other of each 3″ piece. Glue the 4″ pieces perpendicular to the sphere ends to create decorative arms.
- Glue your foam shapes onto the dowel assemblies to complete the antennae and details.
- Attach the wooden discs to each side of the headband with hot glue to finish the headpiece.
- Cut two circles slightly larger than your sunglasses’ lenses, add pink dot details with a marker, and glue them to the rims to decorate your sunglasses.
- If the plastic chain garland has closed links, carefully cut small slits in the end links so they can hook onto belt loops.
- Dress in your pink outfit, hook the chain onto belt loops to form suspenders, and add the decorated glasses and headband. Carry a box of cereal and you’re Franken Berry!
Count Chocula Costume
Supplies Needed
- White button-down shirt
- Brown trousers
- Brown vest or suit jacket
- Brown loafers
- Brown cape
- Brown craft foam
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Fangs
- Hairspray or gel
- Cut a strip of brown craft foam to match the top edge of your cape and make it about 9″ tall.
- Trim a slight curve along one long edge to mimic Count Chocula’s dramatic collar.
- Glue the straight edge to the inside top of the cape so the curved edge stands up.
- Put on your outfit, add fangs, style your hair with gel or hairspray for the signature look, and tie on the cape.
- Fold the top of the foam slightly forward to exaggerate the collar. Carry a box of cereal and you’re Count Chocula!
Boo Berry Costume
Supplies Needed
- Blue dress or outfit
- Blue button-down shirt or a detachable collar
- Blue or purple shoes
- Purple bowtie
- Purple bowler hat
- Blue ribbon
- Round glasses
- Purple craft foam
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
Step-by-Step Tutorial
- Measure and cut a length of blue ribbon to wrap around the base of the bowler hat and glue it in place.
- Trace one lens of your round glasses onto purple craft foam, cut the shape out, then cut each shape in half. Glue each half along the top of each lens to create Boo Berry’s eyebrow-like accents.
- Put on your blue outfit, add the purple bowtie, hat and glasses. Carry a box of cereal and you’re Boo Berry!
Photos by Jeff Mindell
Which of these cereals is your favorite? They carry so much nostalgia—some have been around for decades. If you spot the new Monsters Cereals on shelves, grab a box and make a costume to match. Thanks to General Mills Cereal for inviting me to create these looks and for the fun Halloween challenge.
This post was created in partnership with General Mills Cereal. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep creative projects like this possible.