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Random fun fact about Kyle– his all-time favorite movie is The Lion King. So, when the live-action remake came out this year, we were pretty much first in line to see it. That being said, if y’all have been reading my blog for a while now, you know I absolutely love creating fun and budget-friendly DIY Halloween costumes (check out previous years’ flamingo and pineapple DIY costumes), and I figured Lion King costumes for the whole family (pups included) would be perfect this year. I mean, one of our dogs is named Nala, so it was pretty much meant to be.

Thanks to wedding planning, we’re on a pretty tight budget right now, so I scoped out eBay to see what they had– and more importantly, how much everything would cost. Y’all, I was amazed at how affordable everything was! If you love DIY family costumes, keep reading for budget-friendly DIY Zazu and Raffiki costume tutorials, plus the world’s cutest dog lion costumes modeled by Nala and Nellie!

DIY Zazu Costume

I’m always with my dogs (following them around, trying to pet them while they sleep, etc), so I figured a DIY Zazu costume would fit me perfectly. Here’s everything I used:

• Blue strapless slip dress
• 3 royal blue feather boas
• 2 light blue feather boas
• 1 white feather boa
• Non-roll elastic
• White, royal blue, yellow, and orange foam board
• 1 big googly eye

To start, measure the elastic around your waist and tie it in a knot. It should be snug enough to not fall down but loose enough to allow you to breath.

Next, cut all your boas in half. Reserve one half of a royal blue boa for the neck. One by one, tie them onto our elastic band (no string or glue required– literally take both ends of each half boa and tie them onto the string). Arrange them in whatever pattern you like.

Once you’ve created your feather skirt, choose something round (I used the bottom of a coffee mug) to trace a circle. Using the same circle base, cut a blue circle, a white quarter circle, an orange teardrop (circle with a long acute triangle), and a yellow miniature teardrop. Then, glue the yellow miniature teardrop on top of the orange teardrop, then add the blue circle on top of the yellow teardrop, then add the white quarter circle on top of the blue circle, and finish your DIY Zazu costume off with a googly eye and some eyelashes (I used a Sharpie). Oh, and if any of your shapes look off, just trim them with scissors. You can always recut the shapes if you need to, too.

Use hot glue to secure the foam Zazu head onto the end of your remaining royal blue boa.

Finally, slip on the tube top dress and feather skirt and tuck the free end of the neck into your waistband. Drape the other end (the one with the head) over your shoulder. If you want to go even further, secure some stray blue feathers with bobbi pins in your hair or glue them onto an old headband. And voila– your DIY Zazu costume is complete!

DIY Raffiki Costume

I debated between making Kyle a Raffiki costume or a Pumba costume and ultimately chose Raffiki. I figured we could just skip all the crazy makeup (I’m not that mean, y’all) and use some items we had laying around at home. Here’s everything I used to make Kyle’s DIY Raffiki costume–

• Dark gray tee shirt and joggers (his were old, but you can find a similar pair on eBay here and here)
• Dark gray jersey headband
• White plush felt sheet
• White beard or wig (I used this one and pinned back the fake bangs with bobbi pins and used a clear elastic to create the beard)
• 2 red ornaments
• Large stick (from your backyard!)

Start by cutting a large oval out of the white plush felt to create Raffiki’s white belly. Use safety pins to attach to the dark gray tee.

Then, grab 2 red ornaments from holiday storage and attach them with wire. I actually used an old ornament hook, since they were right next to our ornaments, and it worked perfectly. Then, tie or slip the wire onto the stick to create Raffiki’s famous walking stick.

And that’s it, y’all! Easiest Raffiki costume ever!

Lion Costumes for Dogs

As big of a fan as I am of DIY Halloween costumes, our dogs would be able to rip apart any of my homemade creations in 5 minutes or less. Plus, these lion mane dog wig costumes may be two of my favorite eBay purchases of all time– and they’re under $10 each! They’re basically hoods, so you just pop the lion costume over their head and then tie the cords in front of your dog’s head to size them right and secure them in place. It took Nala and Nellie a few tries before they got used to them (I’m actually pretty sure they thought they were furry toys at first), but with enough treats and pets, they left them alone.

The Finished Lion King Family Costume

And, drum roll please…. here’s our official Lion King family costume! What do y’all think?

It’s nothing new, but Nala and Nellie obviously stole the show. Look at those ferocious little lions!

What are y’all going to be for Halloween this year? Any fun ideas? Also, please let me know if you have any questions about any of our Lion King costumes. I pretty much live for Halloween projects, and I’m more than happy to help!

Photography by Catherine Rhodes.