Halloween Costume Ideas

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the idea of dressing up and being someone else (or something else) for a while! I also love candy. Really, really love candy.

As for costumes? Well, it can be expensive to buy them and hard to find something original. But with a little forethought, you can be anything you like! I’ve compiled a list of good Halloween costume ideas for different ages, tastes, and budgets.

1. Dia de los Muertos – The Day of the Dead is a popular makeup and costume idea. Because you’re focusing so much on the sugar-skull makeup, this idea can be fairly easy and cheap to realize – you just need the correct tools! Pointed eyeliner brushes, contouring brushes, and dark colors are all important here.
2. Book character – Of course, if I had to choose here, I’d be Professor Umbridge or something of the like from the Harry Potter books. But you can choose any book – bonus points for heroes/heroines from children’s books!
3. iPod advertisement – You remember the old iPod commercials with the silhouettes showing off their dance moves? Recreate it with all-black clothing, black face paint, and black contacts, plus a faux cardboard iPod with ear buds. Simple!
4. Jellyfish – This one is also easy. Just grab a clear bubble umbrella and attach it to your back. Then glue on streamers and string for the tentacles.
5. The Pope – Just be sure to steer clear of boys under the age of seven.
6. Scuba diver – If you’re a fan of diving already, just grab the equipment you have lying around and wear it to your Halloween party.
7. Character from a painting – Choose your favorite painting and become the character from it. I like the comic-book look of this girl, assumedly from a Roy Lichtenstein painting.
8. Flo the Progressive Girl – I actually did this one Halloween because it was so easy and cheap! Grab a white apron and iron on some blue letters that spell “Progressive.” Color or print out an “I (heart) insurance” button, and you’re done! Put on some jeans and tease your hair, or wear a wig.
9. Cosplay – Cosplay is when you dress up as your favorite video game or anime character. I love the idea of becoming Ling Xioyu from Tekken. She’s a sweet girl with awesome martial arts skills. Check out cosplay.com for more ideas. During the last homecoming week at high school, I dressed up as Goku from Dragonball Z. This counts as cosplay and was a lot of fun!
10. Butterbeer – Dressing up as a tall glass of Butterbeer, a wizard’s favorite drink, would be lots of fun!
11. Couples’ costumes – These can be hard to decide on, but I think that Cat-Dog would be fun! The girl could be the cat and the boy could be the dog. You can also consider Dexter and Dee Dee from Dexter’s Laboratory, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, or Pocahontas and John Smith.

I hope you enjoyed these costume ideas; happy haunting!