Easy Halloween Costume Ideas

With Halloween right around the corner, you might be planning to attend a costume party, but haven’t had time to think about what to wear. Good news! It doesn’t take a lot of time and effort to have fun dressing up for Halloween.

My friend, Donna Leeds, is a big fan of costume parties. She shares these easy tips for creating a simple, inexpensive Halloween costume for yourself or your kids with items you might already have around the house.

A plain white t-shirt makes a good start to a few costumes. Write “Got Milk” with a black marker across a white tee, paint a white moustache on your face with some zinc oxide sunscreen and carry an empty milk carton—and you’ll look like you’re straight out of a “Got Milk?” ad.

Balloons can also be used to create easy costumes—use tape or safety pins to secure purple balloons onto a white t-shirt, get a green hat and you can be a bunch of grapes. Or, be a bag of jelly beans using a clear trash bag, cut out two holes in the bottom for your legs. Blow up a bunch of multi-colored balloons half way, stuff the balloons into the plastic bag, loosely secure the bag around your neck and poof!, you’re a bag of Jelly Bellies.

Leeds suggests not putting anything around kids’ necks, because it might not be safe. And, use face paint instead of masks for the trick or treaters, because some masks can impair vision.

Try making a comfortable costume out of a pair of hooded sweats. Pin socks onto the hood of a sweat jacket, and put socks on your hands—and you could be a puppy. Leeds says this makes an especially cute kid costume. Use pink sweats with white socks for ears and paws for a little girl.

Couples can find an easy costume—by cross-dressing—with him in her evening gown, and her in his suit. Kids also look cute dressed as their parents. Or, go “as you are” around the house—slippers and robe, with curlers in your hair.