All Hallows Eve is quickly approaching, and while I came up with a good costume idea fairly quickly this year, that is definitely not the norm. I'm usually one of those people who thinks I'll come up with something fabulous...never happens. By the 30th, I'm just throwing my hands in the air and scouring the internet for "quick cheap Halloween costumes" or "Halloween costumes that exist in your closet". I know most of you probably don't want to put a white sheet over your head and call it good, so here are some of my tried and true costumes from the past, plus other suggestions that would be great and inexpensive costumes:
*The iPod person - this may be my most infamous costume. I dressed completely head to toe in black sweats, black gloves, black skull cap, and sunglasses to represent the iPod people on the commercials. The must-have accessory - the white earbuds prominently displayed. Pro: everyone will think you're super creative! Plus, you most likely have everything in your house or easily borrowed, which means really low cost. Con: people think you're a burgular. Which is still a costume!*I've also been Little Red Riding Hood countless times. I bought a red cape for $10, and paired it with a blouse and a skirt. Accessories were my picnic basket (which I did keep drinks and snacks in) and I kept saying I had to get to my grandmother's house.
*I love the idea from The Newlywed Next Door for her Halloween costume - Angela from "The Office"! Makes it even better and more obvious if you can go with someone who can dress like Dwight! This looks like it'd be a fairly cheap costume. You probably have a cardigan and a pencil skirt in your closet already. Just add some fun accessories that are very "Angela" and voila! You'll be icy and glaring at people in no time!
*My friend Julia suggested American tourists - love it! You could probably find wonderful Hawaiian print shirts, fanny packs and binoculars at Goodwill and it wouldn't cost very much.
*I've seen a basket of laundry - wear some comfortable clothes, cut out a hole in the bottom of a cheap laundry basket big enough for the person wearing it and pile it with clothes. I'm hoping you'd be a laundry basket of clean clothes...
*Something super easy and creative would be a black-eyed pea. Cut out a large letter P (you can make it with construction paper), pin it to your clothes and use black makeup around one of your eyes. Get it? Black-eyed P? Har har har!
*Anything that's current can make an easy and great costume. Last year, Sarah Palin was all the rage, and pretty easy for some of us brunettes with glasses to pull off. This year, I've seen lots of Kate Gosselin wigs (wow) - all you'd need would be the wig and people would know who you were!
*And of course, if you have a big box, paint, and scissors, you could be just about anything. A TV, a refrigerator, a box of candy, robot, dice (you might need a buddy so you could be a pair)...the list goes on and on.
So what am I doing for Halloween? Well, I LOVE 1960's style and I'm obsessed with "Mad Men" so my husband and I are going as Don and Betty Draper! This costume is going to be a little more than I typically spend; however, I did get a dress and shoes that I will wear again, and would have probably purchased anyway. The only extra things I'll need are a blond wig, a petticoat to give my dress some volume, and of course LOTS of fake cigarettes!
What will you be dressing up as for Halloween? Do you have some great ideas you'd love to share about homemade costumes or cheap and easy costumes?
These are great ideas.
ReplyDeleteI love the Don & Betty idea!
Another cheap idea - a present. Just buy a roll of wrapping paper, roll it around you and then belt it and cover it with ribbon. Costs $5. (Be sure to wear shorts/tube top or wear a tube dress underneath). My friend did it one year and it was great. The only downside is that dudes asked to unwrap her all night.