Do you miss your elementary school Halloween parties? The cupcakes covered in candy corn pumpkins, “Monster Mash” blasting in the background, tying up your playground nemeses in toilet paper to become mummies? Best of all was the parade around school in your costume. You know you loved flaunting the painted green bottom of a milk carton glued to your head as Frankenstein, the tissue paper fairy wings, or the face paint and toilet bowl brush in-hand Chimney Sweep look…
Well you can still have that! Homemade costumes once born of the creativity of a mother or father can now be born of the emptiness of your bank account. With just a few days to go until Halloween, don’t expedite a sexy nurse costume from Amazon. Return to your youthful roots of costume scavenging—it’s half the fun of the holiday (the other half is Reeses and Snickers)! Check out these 7 costumes or come up with your own!
1. The “Cool” Pineapple
This is not just a Pineapple costume…it is the “hip” “cool” “pineapple is implied” costume. And it’s incredibly easy!
What you need:
- For the pineapple body, you’ll need something yellow. A yellow shift, sundress, or skirt-shirt combo would be great and can easily be found, if not in your wardrobe, then in a friend’s.
- For the pineapple topping, you’ll need an empty toilet paper tube, green construction paper, scissors, and tape. Wrap the construction paper around the toilet paper tube, and cut out triangles from the top, making it appear spiky. Do multiple layers of this in varying heights and then fold over the spikes. To wear, just stuff your hair up into the tube and bobby pin under the paper layers for added support, if needed.
- Pair with fun shoes or sunglasses!
2. The Classic Flapper
There’s a reason you always see a few flappers every year on Halloween. It’s not just an easy costume, but also one with a lot of room for creativity!
What you need:
- Think flowing clothes, beads, fringe, glitter, velvet, fur…basically anything fabulous goes. Check out Goodwill, Vintage stores, or your Grandma’s closet. You’re sure to come across some amazing finds, like this flapper’s 1920’s authentic fur and vintage beaded shirt.
3. The Not-So-Classic Chiquita Banana Lady
Want a more unusual costume? With a few trips to Goodwill and visits to your friends’ closets, you should have this one under wraps!
What you need:
- This Chiquita Banana Lady found her headpiece in a high school costume shop, but it should be relatively easy to make . Get a fun patterned bandana or strip of cloth from Wal-Mart or Goodwill, and tie it up so the knot is on top of your head. You can either glue or staple plastic fruit from Wal-Mart or Goodwill to it or draw fruit on paper and staple it. We’re going for creativity, not accuracy!
- Chiquita Banana Lady wears a ruffly blue dress with yellow stripes, but any fun and bright patterned dress you have should do the trick!
4. The Wednesday Addams
It’s Halloween after all, so why not be a little spooky? You’ll be the ghoul of the ball in this simple and cute costume.
What you need:
- The dress is the most important part. The pictured Wednesday Addam’s dress from ASOS is out of stock, but you can find versions at Forever 21 for $25 or a $26 version at Walmart. However, without much time before Halloween, try looking at Goodwill or in friends’ closets for a black dress. You can wear a collared white shirt underneath and fold up the sleeves, or just go without!
- Black stockings and black shoes are a must.
- Plait your hair in two braids with a middle part.
- Finally, it wouldn’t hurt to put on some pale powder or white foundation and dark lipstick!
5. The Couple Costume: Lobster and Chef
Want to tag-team? Grab a significant other or a friend and try out this simple costume.
What you need for the Lobster:
- Buy a Lobster hat from the Halloween Store in Mt Vernon, or ask that friend you have from Maine. If that’s too much for you, get a red beanie or baseball cap, and tape construction paper claws to it.
- Use any red shirt/skirt/pants/dress combo you have!
What you need for the Chef:
- A chef’s hat can be found at the Halloween Store in Mt Vernon, or (if you’re daring) do some begging with the AVI workers at Peirce!
- Any white button down shirt with pants should suffice.
6. The Couple Costume: Dobby and Winky
Did you really think this list would be complete without a Harry Potter reference? Please. Take the most lovable house elves of the series, a few rags, and you’ve got a costume!
What you need:
- For clothes, pretty much anything beige/brown/white/black goes. Wear rags or some ratty thing from Goodwill, or be cute like these ladies and pair leggings with boots and a white shirt (packs sold for $2 at Walmart, or use your highlighter party leftovers!) with your name written on it.
- For the ears, cut out big triangular elf ears from some construction paper. Either tape them to a headband or bobby pin into your hair.
- Don’t forget the socks!
7. The Couple Costume: Emoji
Are you an emoji addict? One sign might be that every time you go out, you wake up having sent/received about a hundred of the dancing girls emojis with texts like “OMG u best dance partNer Ever!!” or “#oldkenyon #dancebattle.” Show your emoji obsession in the best way this Halloween, and take a friend down with you.
What you need:
- A black leotard, easily bought from Walmart, the Halloween store in Mt Vernon, or literally any dance major friend you have.
- Black flats (and tights…it’s going to be cold!)
- Two black ribbons or bows for your hair.