This year you had the most brilliant costume idea. It was the Halloween costume to conquer all Halloween costumes. It would require time and effort to piece it together, but once you pulled it off it was going to be incredible. Good thing you started in August.
Or, well, you meant to start in August, but then August turned to September, and then school got busy, and before you knew it, it’s the week of Halloween. Your ingenious costume idea is going to have to wait until next year.
The replacement costume needs to be cheap, easy, and most importantly, fast. For all of you procrastinators out there who find this situation all too familiar, here are nine simple costumes that will let you make it to that Halloween party with your friends.
1. Zombie
Maybe not the most original, but zombies are a great go-to if you’re trying to be true to the spooky spirit of Halloween. It’s also an incredibly easy costume to make last minute. All you need is some dark makeup, and since no one is as good as those YouTube makeup tutorial videos, just focus on giving yourself hollow cheeks, dark circles under the eyes and a few choice bruises here and there. If you feel like going the extra mile, feel free to cut up a shirt to make it look torn or add us much fake gore as you want, but otherwise your regular clothes work just fine.
2. Skeleton
In the same vein as the zombie, this is all about makeup, or face paint if you’d prefer. So grab a paintbrush or some cheap black eyeliner, and have the privilege of wearing whatever you want out!
3. Priceless Junk
Wrap yourself in bubble wrap and voila! You are now a perfect replica of that thing in your basement that you don’t ever use but can’t bear to throw out. You have sentimental value now, so don’t be surprised if people want to hug you all night.
4. Bread Winner
You only need two props for this punny costume: a gold medal to wear (fake or real, depending on how talented of a person you are) and a loaf of bread to carry around.
5. Your Friend
Find a friend and dress like each other! For extra fun, try to stay in character for the entirety of the night, but beware of potential pitfalls: like not being friends the next day.
6. Calling in Sick for Halloween
Don’t bother doing your hair or changing out of your sweatpants; your costume is halfway done! Just wrap a blanket around your shoulders and add any variety of props: thermometer, box of tissues, mug of tea, etc.
7. Cat for Adoption
If you’re lucky, someone might actually take you home.
A cute twist on the classic black cat costume. Find a box, work your artistic magic, and finish it off with ears and whiskers.
8. Party Animal
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to dress up lately, then this is the costume for you! Put on your favorite semiformal outfit (party dress, button-down and tie, whatever suits you best) and then you can tailor the “animal” part of the costume to fit your preferred level of effort: draw-on whiskers, purchased animal mask, or a DIY animal mask (paper plates are great for this, by the way).
9. Parent
Go out in your pajamas and slippers and carry a bowl full of candy with you. You’ll know you’ve nailed this costume when suddenly you feel too old for this holiday. After all, Halloween has never really been the same since you grew up and discovered you can buy as many discounted bags of candy as you want (and eat as much of it as you want).
Bonus: Blind Ghost
For the Halloween partygoer that wants to literally roll out of bed and be ready to go. All you need is a sheet, any color or pattern will do, and then just throw it over your head and you’ve completed your blind ghost costume! I’d suggest cutting some eyeholes, but you’re going to want that sheet back in one piece when the party’s over.