We’ve all been there – it’s the night before Halloween and you still don’t have a costume. You could go to the nearest costume store, but for a complete adult-sized costume, you’re easily looking at spending between $40 to $60. On a college budget, that simply isn’t possible for some.
You could be a cat or mouse for the third year in a row, but maybe you want to switch it up this year and do more than just wear a headband.
So what’s a broke college student to do, if store-bought costumes are not an option and you are tired of being a cat? Make your own costume with what you already have at home!
Personally, I’m a fan of costumes that can be made with little to no crafting skills. Many DIY costume tutorials require a lot of materials and time, but this list has narrowed it down to DIY costumes that are cute, easy, and cheap.
Here are 10 easy costumes to make just in time for Halloween:
1. Bag of Jelly Beans
What you need: For this costume, all you’ll need is a clear trash bag, a ribbon, a permanent marker and colorful balloons. The Jelly Belly sticker in the second one is optional, but if you can find one, more power to you.
What to do: Cut holes in the trash bag for your arms and legs to fit through. Using a permanent marker, write the nutritional facts for the jelly beans on what will be the back of your costume. Fill the trash bag with colorful balloons and tie the trash bag near your neck with a ribbon (any color.)
2. Loofah
What you need: Tulle from a fabric store and an outfit of your choice to wear underneath.
What to do: Pick out an outfit to wear underneath the tulle. This can be a tube dress, a tank top and shorts/leggings, etc. Bunch up the tulle and pin it or sew it onto your chosen outfit, and voila! You will have one of the most colorful and creative costume of the night.
3. A Sim
What you need: Plumbob (green diamond) template, glue, a headband, poster board, cardboard squares in colors ranging from peach to dark brown, string to hang poster board.
What to do: Google plumbob template to make the green diamond. You will have to print out the template and follow the directions given to fold and glue the plumbob. Once you have finished the plumbob, glue it onto a headband. If you want to be a regular, non-naked Sim, wear plain, Sim-like clothes to complete your outfit.
To be a naked Sim, glue cardboard squares to a white poster board. Once it has dried, make two holes at the top to put a string through. Make sure the string is long enough to comfortably hang on your neck. Wear a dress or a tank top and shorts underneath.
4. Beanie Baby
What you need: Cardboard, red paint, white construction paper, glue, safety pins, and an animal costume.
What to do: For this costume, you may have to bring your cat or mouse ears back out, but with a twist. If you have an animal print dress or shirt, that works too.
For the tag, cut the cardboard into the shape of a heart and paint it red. Cut the white construction paper into a “t” and a “y.” Once the heart has dried, glue the letters onto the heart. Pin the tag onto your chosen animal outfit and you are ready to go.
5. Red Solo Cup
What you need: A red dress, white construction paper, glue, and a solo cup.
What to do: Cut out the word SOLO using white construction paper. Glue the letters onto the side of the dress. Then, cut out medium-thickness strips of the construction paper. Glue the white strips onto the top of your dress. Lastly, you can use a solo cup as a prop.
6. Gumball Machine
What you need: A few bags of craft pom-poms, a red skirt, a neutral colored tube top or spaghetti-strap tank top, one piece of gray felt, one piece of white felt, a Sharpie, and glue.
What to do: Try on the top and skirt together and make a line where the two meet so you know where to stop gluing pom-poms. For the top of the costume, glue pom-poms to the front of the shirt. You can do the back and sides, too, but it’ll require a lot more pom-poms. For the bottom, glue a rectangular piece of gray felt onto the skirt. Glue a smaller square of white felt onto the gray felt about 2/3 of the way down. Use a black Sharpie marker to draw the wheel and write the cost of the gumballs.
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
What you need: Lasagna pan, shoelaces, green and brown spray paint, a green shirt, black shorts, black ribbon, and blue, red, purple, or orange ribbon.
What to do: Spray paint a lasagna pan using green and brown paint. Once it’s dry, thread shoelaces through the pan to make arm straps. Wear a green shirt with black shorts. Tie a black ribbon around your stomach and a colored ribbon around your head.
8. Candy Buttons
What you need: Small foam balls, paint in a few different colors, glue, and a white t-shirt.
What to do: Paint foam balls in three different colors. Make sure to paint six of each. Once they have dried, glue them onto a plain white t-shirt. Pair with leggings or jeans.
9. Starbucks Frappe
What you need: Nude colored dress, fluffy white scarf, printed Starbucks logo, safety pins, headband, green construction paper, clear dome lid (optional), and glue.
What to do: Shape the green cardboard into a straw. Glue it into place and then glue it onto a headband. If you have a clear dome lid, glue that over the straw and onto the headband, too. Print out a Starbucks logo and use safety pins to secure it onto your dress. Wrap a fluffy white scarf around your neck and you’re set.
Which costume are you going to try out this year?