3. Costume Creation
The countdown continues as you reach Halloween. To me, it means the end of fall and the beginning of the Holiday season with the onset of Thanksgiving—and let’s face it Target. I like to try and make homemade costumes – however, I do not sew. Of course, for some costumes I do have to buy certain pieces to make them authentic but it is really about thinking of the things you have that look like popular and recognizable characters.
For example, a few years ago I went as a Minion. I had a pair of overall and a yellow hoodie that I could turn inside out so my head looked yellow. However, the eyes are the minions standout feature and I do have two, so I bought a pair of Minion goggles at Party City for $10. It made the costume.
Last year, I went as a Troll. I was attempting to be the star of the movie, Poppy. I am not sure I nailed it, but it was close enough to know what I was mimicking. I bought colored leggings and a strappy dress and the splurge to make the outfit was obviously the hair.
I had to buy a wig on Amazon and that was the biggest purchase to put together the outfit. The wig was only $17.99 and I am sure you can find others elsewhere that are better or cheaper. But mine fit well and stayed on with no issues, like cheaper wigs often do.
This was the result:
I have also done slightly less involved costumes, like this Kelly Kapowski version from the iconic show Saved by the Bell. I cut off the shoulders from an old grey sweatshirt and used my cricket to make the SVG of this pdf to cut out and put on the shirt.
Another easy one I threw together was Damien from Mean Girls when he is incognito at the girls’ retreat. I laughed so hard this year on dress up days where the theme was On Wednesdays We Wear Pink and a student did the same costume. All it is sunglasses tied-up hoodie and a sign that says, “She doesn’t even go here!”
And this one of me as Rachel from Friends. All I did was print out a label for the apron. I cheated and just looked up the Central Perk logo and cut it out on a sticker so I could remove it later and use the apron for another costume!
Of course, you don’t have to MAKE a costume, but I love to try and come up with an easy and thematic costume each year. I’m still waiting for a guy who will do Inspector Gadget while I play Penny. All you need is trench coat and hat for Gadget and and iPad and orange shirt and green shorts for Penny. Have a dog in tow? Perfect! He can have a little addition to his collar to look like Brain communicating with Penny.
If you are trying to come up with your own creative costume, I recommend looking at popular TV shows and movies. It doesn’t have to be new. One of the easiest and most creative costumes I have seen was someone dressed as The Dude from The Big Lebowski He basically just wore a bathrobe and shorts and tee shirt.
Ultimate ease. Ultimate comfort.
Of course you can always consult the millions of Pinterest boards or the posts that arise each year with the top ten costumes for the year as well… or even top sixty.
Not feeling the creative spark? Party City and Spirit Halloween stores are happy to provide everything you need to celebrate the tradition in style…or incognito.