Dress Up in a Homemade Halloween Costume
Halloween is all about magic. It is the excuse we wait for all year to let loose and allow our creative sides free play. You get to trade lives for one night and become anyone or anything you want to be. What a marvelous holiday!
However, in these times of hustle and bustle, it is so easy to choose off-the-rack, ready-made costumes. Where's the fun in that? Making a simple, fun, non-commercial costume doesn't mean staying up all night sewing intricate patterns. Halloween costumes can be inexpensive, simple, and most importantly, fun.
Try visiting some thrift stores for cheap inspiration -- the clothes already have a character of their own. Imagine the possibilities of an old coat with antique buttons, an oddly shaped hat, or a colorful pair of shoes. And who knows? After the holiday is over, you might want to keep some unusual finds in your wardrobe.
Here are a few easy costume ideas to get you started!
Bag of jelly beans: Get an empty dry cleaning bag, cut holes for your arms and legs, then step into the bag so it is loose around your middle. Fill with different colored balloons, then knot the bag to secure it around your neck.
Dirty laundry: Get an old plastic laundry basket and cut a hole through the middle, big enough to fit around your middle. Attach the basket to your body using suspenders and throw some clothes in.
Fireworks: This is great for kids. Make an outfit from brightly-colored clothes, adding streamers, glitter, and other swirly, sparkly decorations using fabric paint, safety pins, and a glue gun. Twirl, jump, do cartwheels -- and display the firecracker inside you!
Starry night: Wear all black clothing, buy a pack of glow in the dark stars, and stick them all over you.
Freudian slip: Wear an old slip over your clothes, get a big cigar, and make a nametag that reads "Sigmund."
Canvasser: If you have a clipboard, pen, and an outgoing personality, approach people by asking a few made-up survey questions.
Tourist: Wear khakis, a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, a straw hat, and sandals with socks.
Randomly take pictures of people (with or without film in your camera) and ask where the bus stops.
Wanted poster: Get a piece of poster board and cut a circular hole for your face. On the poster board write, "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE!" Add whatever script you want to personalize it, such as a description of the culprit, list of crimes, and the reward... Be creative!
Bunch of grapes: Wear a purple outfit, blow up purple balloons, and stick them all over your body. Wear a green hat or paint your face green to represent the stem.
A fried egg: Get a cheap white sheet and cut a hole big enough to fit your head through. Paint your face yellow.
Superhero: Great for kids. Use a piece of a colored sheet for a cape and cover it with rhinestones and other decorations. Presto! You are your own superhero. Come up with a funny name and description telling your friends who you are and what your purpose is.
Once you've decided on a costume, how about throwing a party to show it off?
Have a haunted house party! Greet guests at the door in a spooky costume, then blindfold them and lead them through the house. Prepare bowls with traditional creepy items for guests to feel while you describe them. You remember the menu: boiled spaghetti becomes a bowl of worms and Jell-O becomes someone's brains. Peas are goblin eyes and Vienna sausages are fingers, etc. You could even have a tape with eerie noises playing in the background. Kids will love it!
Or have a face-painting party for kids. Make a few treats, buy a set of face paints, and you've got an afternoon of fun for a younger crowd. See http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/facepaint.shtml for homemade face-painting recipes and ideas.
If you're feeling really creative, you could even have a theme party dedicated to your favorite horror movie or novel. For example, celebrate Carrie by Stephen King, by hosting your own ghoul prom! Wear thrift store dresses and suits (or your own prom dress, tux, or old bridesmaid dress, if you have one) and finish the look with fake blood and 70s hairdos.
If you are not in the frame of mind to throw a party, how about going to a local cemetery and reading Edgar Allan Poe or some other spooky stories? Or revive the art of telling ghost stories with friends or family. Just make sure you don't disrespect any graves -- you never know what you might awake!
Rhea Strnad