Easy and Inexpensive DIY Halloween Costumes

In case you haven’t looked at the calendar or noticed that your neighbors have had tombstones, cobwebs, and skeletons scattered around their homes, it’s October, and you know what that means…it’s time to start decorating for Christmas and Halloween is right around the corner. And, as discussed in our last blog, the best food gift ideas are those made with your own two, loving hands, the same applies to Halloween costumes. So here are a few non-scary ideas for you to consider:

1. Bag ‘o jelly beans – This costume is great for older kids and is sooooo simple. All you need is a clear trash bag, a black Sharpie, colored balloons, and a red ribbon. Simply cut holes in the trash bag for arms and legs, write the nutritional info on the bag, copied from a box of real jelly beans, blow up the colored balloons, place them in the bag after you or your child has climbed in, and then tie the top of the bag loosely around your neck with the red ribbon. Now, just stay away from sharp objects.

2. Freudian slip – It really doesn’t get easier than this costume, and it almost always gets people talking. All you need is a slip, a Sharpie, and some stickie notes or those stickie name tag things. (The clothes under the slip are optional…if you can pull it off, go for it). Next, just write Freudian terms, such as id, ego, superego, penis envy, psychoanalysis, Oedipal complex, regression, repression…you get the idea, on those stickie things and place them, strategically, on the slip. Then, have all your friends lie on a couch and ask them lots of questions about their mothers.

3. Harold Wolowitz/geek chic – The now famous character from the Big Bang Theory has helped to make dressing like a geek, well, chic. So, what you’ll need to achieve this look is to strap a pair of Vans or Chuck Taylors on your feet, slip into a pair of painfully tight and brightly colored skinny jeans, pull a matching (or not) dickie over your head, don a gaudy, long sleeved button down shirt, wrap a wide belt around your waist, and complete the ensemble with a geeky belt buckle (batman symbol, old Nintendo controller, or Pac Man being a few of his favs). Now, just be prepared to discuss your time on the International Space Station and your lack of a doctoral degree.

4. Flo from Progressive – Hate insurance and insurance agents? Who cares, you’ll still be the life of the party in this almost monochromatic costume. Requirements: white polo shirt and jeans, a pair of blue Chuck Taylors and head band, a white apron with the word “Progressive” across the front, a “Flo” name tag, and a “I insurance” pin. As for the hair style…sorry, you’re on your own with that one.

So, if you’re tired of trolling through magazines, websites or Halloween stores in search of the perfect costume, why not make your own? It can be amazingly simple and inexpensive (or cheap, if you prefer), as evidenced by these four unique, easy and cheap examples…no blood or zombie guts required.