By Vicki Little
Trying to find the perfect costume for your child just days before Halloween is a migraine waiting to happen. If you haven’t already gotten your daughter that to-die-for Elsa costume or your son the must-have creeper, you may need to do some serious searching. For many kids, choosing what they want to be is only half the battle. Having the “most awesome looking” costume is the bigger half.
But for adults, this is the best time of year to let your hair down and tap your creative side! The goal might be to stand out with the most original costume rather than the most expensive one. Once you think up your idea, the hard part is over! You can Google or Pinterest search just about anything to get ideas on how to create the costume. Here are some categories to get you started. All can be made using fabric, items from a thrift store, or even just cardboard boxes and paint.
1) Historical/current/cartoon couples – Bonnie and Clyde, Sonnie and Cher, Marge and Homer, Fred and Wilma, Shrek and Fiona, Raggedy Ann and Andy, or maybe even Sheldon and Amy! This category simply takes some creative dressing.
2) Food pairings – Steak and eggs, cookies and milk, peas and carrots, salt and pepper, spaghetti and meatballs, bread and butter. See the DIY kid costumes for the spaghetti, and all the others can be made with some styrofoam and paint or fabric!
3) Favorite mixed drink – This is my favorite. One of you can be a bottle of Coca-Cola and the other a bottle of rum. Or gin and tonic. Or maybe even Corona and a lime…. or a margarita glass and kosher salt! You will need to get creative with this category. Styrofoam, cardboard, fabric, and paint are your friends.
4) Current fun – iPod and ear buds, opposite sides of USB cable, Facebook and Twitter icon, sushi and soy sauce. This will be the category to find the most unique costume! And it may be the easiest with just some sheets or fabric, cardboard, or styrofoam.
5) Past – Bring back those memories! If your kids ask who you are and your friends let loose a nostalgic cry, then you know you’ve scored a great costume. Original Atari remote, Alf (we did this once with brown fuzzy fabric), Punky Brewster, an original cell phone, a corded landline, a cassette tape. Cardboard will be a favorite for this category, as will the 80’s section of the thrift store.
6) Technology based – Facebook/Twitter/Instagram icon. Put on a bulletin board with that famous P and go as a Pinterest board. Be a unique mouse with a laser pointer on your head, or even just put on a white T-shirt with “ERROR 404” COSTUME NOT FOUND.
7) Be a pun – Dress as an egg (think white sheet and yellow felt) with some devil horns. Wear a large bra with some spices in it. Dress in yellow and black with words written all over you. Accessorize with some pig ears and a nose, and wrap a blanket around yourself. Or pull on some boxing gloves and walk around with a jug of punch. If you giggle at any of these (or understand them), they may be the costume for you!
Vicki Little is a work-at-home mom with two young kids. A Colorado native, she is the Publisher and Editor of Macaroni Kid Aurora and Downtown Denver. When she isn’t writing or trying to keep up with her kids she can be found volunteering, reading, or enjoying a bottle of wine with friends.
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