Creative Saint Costumes Made Simple: A Catholic Mom’s Guide to All Saints’ Day

With all Saints Day right around the corner, the hot topic in our house is what saint everyone is going to dress up as for the All Saints Day Party. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling the excitement, but also the pressure of coming up with a passable saint costume with limited sewing skills.

Unlike other characters for Halloween, it isn’t as easy as simply buying a premade costume or finding ready made props that accurately apply to the saint’s garb your trying to recreate. The Beauty of All Saints Day parties are that creative homemade costumes are an essential part of the appeal, which makes it a beautifully inclusive event as costumes can be as simple or elaborate as people have the means, skill, or time to make.

For those who are new to celebrating All Saints’ Day in this way - or, like me, just need a little help getting those creative juices flowing - I wanted to share some general, open-ended materials to consider when assembling a homemade costume. After that, I’ll walk through a few examples of how we’ve used those items to put together specific saint costumes, followed by a cheat sheet of the most essential part of every saint outfit: the props!

And remember - these costumes aren’t meant to be perfect. They’re meant to honor the saints, inspire devotion in our children’s hearts, and, of course, to have fun! Be sure to include your kids in the process. If they’re old enough, let them take the lead and take ownership of their costume. My kiddos always help with the brainstorming, and it’s so much fun to hear their ideas for how they want to depict their saint. They frequently come up with more creative ideas than I do, and just need a little help troubleshooting to pull it all together!

😇The Basics: Materials to help create any Saint Costume!

Large Adult T-Shirts – By far one of the most versatile starting pieces for putting together any costume. If there’s a graphic on the T-shirt, simply turn it inside out.

Tablecloths, Linens, Old Curtains, Drop Cloths, or Any Large Piece of Fabric – These can easily serve as the base of a costume, especially for older children who may be too tall for the large T-shirt hack. They also make great cloaks, capes, veils, or vestments. Their usefulness increases if it’s an old one you don’t mind trimming. I often keep an eye out for inexpensive fabric at local thrift stores leading up to All Saints—they’re usually just a few dollars!

Elastic-Waisted Skirts – Whether it’s an old skirt you’re ready to retire or a thrifted find, cutting a slit from the bottom hem up to the waistband creates an instant cape or cloak. In the right color, it can work for a variety of saints—no hemming required!

Rope, Cord, or Twine – These simple materials work wonders to complete T-shirt or toga-style costumes. Many saint costumes, especially those representing religious orders, benefit from a cincture. It’s also an easy way to adjust the costume’s height by hiking up extra fabric above the belt.

Safety Pins, Hot Glue Gun, and Hair Ties – You don’t need fancy tools! These essentials can hold just about any costume together. Remember, these costumes are temporary—so gathering and tying or pinning pieces together works perfectly. The hot glue gun is a great no-sew option for stronger holds when attaching heavier props.

Classic Kids’ Costumes You Already Own – Princess dresses, animal costumes, play armor, or firefighter outfits can easily be repurposed for a variety of saints and their companions. Dollar Tree also tends to have affordable accessories like armor, wings, or swords this time of year.

Cardboard, Tape, and Craft Supplies – These come in handy for adding structure to a costume or for making creative props (like shields, crosses, or crowns).

Face Paint (if your feeling adventurous) – Great for beards, stigmatas, wounds, or any other small detail that helps identify the saint.

🥼Saint Costumes by Categories

Below are a few lists of saint costumes that are easily assembled with some of the materials listed above!

👨‍⚖️Saints Who Wore Habits

Choosing a saint in this category is fairly simple as long as you have fabric from any source in your home that is black, brown, or white as that about covers all the main religious orders! Props help differentiate one from the others.

Female Saints

• St. Therese - We’ve made this costume by using a brown adult T-shirt for the habit, a scrap cut from a tan painting drop cloth for the cape, a smaller white T-shirt to make a wimple by putting the face through the head hole without pulling it all the way through, and a black pillowcase pinned to the white wimple to make the veil. Roses make a great prop, either pinned to the costume or carried in a bouquet.

• St. Teresa of Avila - See above for creating a Carmelite habit, but include a book/quill /or maracas to differentiate from St. Therese.

• Mother Teresa - Use painters tape to create blue border lines on a white sheet and then drape and pin accordingly.

• St. Catherine of Siena - Dominican habit - white T-shirt/sheet with a black veil- crown of thorns, stigmata.

• St. Rose of Lima - Dominican habit, crown of roses over her veil.

• St. Scholastica - Dominican habit, dove, or storm cloud.

Male Saints

• St. Francis of Assisi - Brown T-shirt or robe with a rope belt, small stuffed animal (wolf or birds are typical for the legends), and optional stigmata drawn with washable paint.

• St. Dominic - White large t-shirt or tunic, a larger piece of black fabric that can be pulled around the shoulders as a cape and held with a safety pin in the front, a chord around the waist, and a prominent rosary is all you need for this costume.

• St. Benedict - Use a black t-shirt or similar cloth (or dress from moms closet!) to create a black habit. We’ve layered a hoodie underneath to create a hood in the past. Tie a Chord around the waist and style with a printed cutout of a St. Benedict Medal taped to the chest, or if your feeling creative, incorporate a crow, ‘The Rule of St. Benedict book’, or a chalice of ‘poisoned’ wine as props to clearly indicate which black robed saint you are.

• St. Patrick - White T-shirt tunic, Green cloak, Bishop’s Miter, and Shamrock (an easy cardboard craft).

⚜️-Saints Who Wore Armor

These are always kid favorites, and are extra easy if you happen to already have pretend armor in the costume bin. Dollar Tree usually has armor in the toy aisle this time of year, and Amazon has some good options (here and here) if you want to invest in one.

• St. Michael - A large white t-shirt makes a great under tunic for a breastplate to go over. Add some wings, cardboard or dollar store, or print a large police force symbol to attach (he is their patron) and you’ll be set.

• St. Martin de Torres - Roman soldier, you’ll need some armor and a red cape, or even just half of one. 😉

• St. Florian - The patron saint of firefighters, he can be shown as both a Roman soldier and a firefighter. My son combined the two with a white t-shirt as his base, a breastplate and sword on his belt, a firefighter hat, a small metal bucket (he miraculously put out a fire in Rome with a single bucket of water - bonus, this prop doubles as a candy collector), and a homemade firefighter emblem.

• St. Longinus - the soldier who pierced the side of Christ, all he needs is a roman soldier costume and a spear.

• St. George - A true knight, he is always depicted wearing armor. A younger sibling dressed as a dragon makes for the perfect prop.

• St. Joan of Arc - armor and fleur-de-lis, this is classic costume and for good reason. Play armor works great, or it could also be made using a grey t-shirt covering the hair for the chainmail, underneath a white or blue t-shirt marked with a red cross or fleur-de-lis.

👸Saints Who Wore Princess Dresses

If you already have princess dresses in your dress up collection, that's about all you really need!

• St. Adelaide - A Princess, then a Queen, then and Empress, St. Adelaide has every royal title under her belt. She is also the patron saint of princesses, go figure, so wearing a donning your finest princess dress is more than fitting.

• St. Elizabeth of Hungary - A member of the Hungarian royal family, St. Elizabeth was known for her piety and generosity to the poor. She is normally depicted wearing a royal dress and carrying a basket of bread.

• St. Isabella of Portugal - Queen of Portugal, she is sometimes depicted wearing an apron over her royal clothes, as she would frequently sneak food to the poor.

• St. Isabelle of France - also a princess! While she later became a nun, she is usually depicted as a princess.

• St. Jadwiga of Poland - Queen and patroness of Poland, royal dress with a polish tie in would complete the look.

• St. Margaret of Scotland - Queen of Scotland, she wore royal garb and is usually depicted with a book or a black cross. Celtic symbolism would also be fitting!

🎨Props – The Secret Ingredient that Elevates Every Costume

The key to any good saint costume is in the props. They are the number one way to clearly connect what may be a more generalized costume to a specific saint by choosing an identifying item. Props also allow for creativity, as they can highlight a saint’s story or patronage in a unique way.

Props do not have to be held, which is helpful for children who want to play games or enjoy snacks at an All Saints Day party. I usually opt for props that can be affixed comfortably to the costume, at least for the main part of the event.

Here’s a simplified list of saints and prop ideas:

St. Lucy – Candles for her crown, white robe with red sash, eyes.

St. Sebastian – White tunic, toy or home made arrows (pinned or taped for effect).

St. John the Baptist – Brown tunic or simple robe, cardboard platter around the neck, wild hair, locusts, plastic bugs.

St. Cecilia – Musical instrument (harp, violin, or flute), flowing dress.

St. Zita – Basket of bread, apron, simple peasant dress.

St. Isidore the Farmer – Straw hat, toy farming tools, small stuffed animals.

St. Nicholas of Myra – Bishop’s mitre, staff, small gold coins or gifts, red robe.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha – Lilies, braids, Native American dress

St. Philomena – Anchor (cardboard), lilies.

St. Helena – Small cross or relic, crown.

St. Margaret of Antioch – Dragon stuffed toy.

St. Brigid of Ireland – Cloak or shawl, small cross made of reeds.

St. Veronica – Small cloth with the face of Jesus on it, simple tunic or robe.

St. Clare of Assisi – Small monstrance or host, brown habit.

St. Rita of Cascia – Thorn crown, crucifix, black habit.

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska – black and white habit, small painting or print of Divine Mercy image.

St. Juan Diego – Tilma (shawl), small roses, image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) – Carmelite habit, book, rosary.

St. Blaise – Crossed candles, red cape.

St. Catherine Laboure – Miraculous medal, blue and white habit, dramatic wimple.

St. Agnes of Rome – Lamb stuffed toy, palm frond, simple white dress.

Printable Clip Art – Free printable symbols—like anchors, swords, or chalices—can be printed, glued or traced on cardboard and used as props for saints whose identifying items might be harder to find.

🙏 Bringing the Saints to Life — One Costume at a Time

And there you have it — you’re all set to create your own saintly masterpiece! Remember, All Saints’ Day isn’t about having picture-perfect costumes. Whether your child’s costume comes together from thrift store finds, old linens, or last-minute hot glue magic, what matters most is the heart behind it.

Each time we help our children learn about the saints — and bring their stories to life through play and creativity — we’re helping them see that sainthood isn’t something distant or unattainable. It’s a calling for each of us, right where we are.

May your celebration be full of joy, holy laughter, and a renewed love for the saints who cheer us on from heaven.

🙌 Keep the Celebration Going!

If you enjoyed this costume guide, check out this post on How to Celebrate All Saints’ Day as a Family — it’s filled with easy feast-day ideas, simple ways to pray together, and fun traditions that help your kids connect with the saints beyond the costumes.

And if you’d like to take the celebration a step further, check out our All Saints Collection Bundle — a beautiful set of printable activities, decorations, and games perfect for All Saints Day.

Let’s keep finding small, meaningful ways to bring our faith into family life - one costume, one craft, and one celebration at a time.