Halloween is right around the corner, and the clock is ticking to find a costume. While visiting your local Spirit Halloween or Party City store might be easy, the items at these retailers have their downsides.
“These (costumes) are often just really marked up, and the quality could be poor,” says Joey Healy, a celebrity eyebrow stylist and owner of Joey Healy Eyebrow Studio in New York City.
Instead, consider putting together a costume with what you have on hand or purchasing costume accessories at a thrift store or secondhand shop.
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But first, you need to find the perfect costume idea. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
Inexpensive costumes for kids
While people of all ages enjoy Halloween festivities, it holds a special appeal for the children who dress up and head out to collect candy and treats. Some children have very specific costume ideas, while others may need some help.
“Pinterest is great for ideas and inspiration,” says Ashley Dunn, a party planner in Lowell, Michigan. She suggests beginning with a search for costumes related to a child’s favorite hobby.
If that fails to turn up anything promising, try one of these easy and inexpensive ideas:
Sports: If your child plays a sport, you may have a costume right in your closet. Football, hockey, karate, cheerleading and baseball uniforms are just a few of the items that can double as Halloween attire. They could dress up as a favorite sports star by styling their hair a certain way or adding a name to the back of a jersey. Or, they could go as a generic player.
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Decades: Dressing as a person from a specific decade is also an easy costume that can be assembled from the closet or a trip to the thrift store. The ’50s are instantly recognizable with leather jackets or poodle skirts. Meanwhile, hippie attire could make for a for a groovy ’70s costume, or a windbreaker tracksuit could pass for either the ’80s or ’90s.
Homemade: For a free alternative, try to do it yourself by using items you have at home. “Use all those Amazon Prime boxes from Prime Day (to make a robot),” Healy says. “You could be broccoli or grapes with makeup and balloons.”
Cheap Halloween costumes for couples
For couples on a budget, Healy suggests leaning into pop culture. But be sure that your costume still makes sense if you’re separated from your friend or partner at a party.
“You don’t want your costume to rely too much on the other person,” Healy advises.
Celebrity couples: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce might be the hottest couple of the year, but they are far from your only option. You could be royalty as the Prince and Princess of Wales or go for a retro couple like Sonny and Cher.
Complementary items: Think of things that go together naturally. Something like peanut butter and jelly might require some creativity but dressing up as a cowboy and cowgirl or a gangster and a flapper might be easy to do with secondhand store finds.
Movie characters: Couples may want to take inspiration from TV shows and movies as well. Danny and Sandy from the movie “Grease” is a classic option, or you could be Scooby-Doo and Shaggy for something fun. If you want a costume that’s more Halloween themed, Freddy Krueger and his would-be victim Nancy from the movie “A Nightmare on Elm Street” might an option for horror film buffs.
Costume ideas for a group
Group costume ideas include options that are suitable for people of a variety of ages. Again, it’s always a good idea to ensure that your costume makes sense even when you aren’t traveling in a group.
Famous families: Famous families are an obvious idea for a group, particularly one of mixed ages. The Addams Family is a logical choice for Halloween, but the Flintstones, Jetsons or Incredibles are also options that work well if you need a costume for both adults and children.
Bands: “Music groups are always fun,” Healy says. Guys can be the Beatles while female friends might want to dress as the Spice Girls.
Foods: Color some poster board, cut it in circles and transform your group into peas in a pod, M&M candies or doughnuts.
Occupations: Many jobs are instantly recognizable for their clothes. Think police officers, construction workers and farmers, among others.
“When my son was little, we turned him into a cute bear by adding a brown bear costume head to his existing clothes,” says Echo Wang, CEO and co-founder of the website Cool Travel Vibes. Then, both parents dressed up as national park rangers. “We just wore khaki shirts with olive green pants and printed out the National Park Service logo to pin on our shirts.”
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Tips for low-cost Halloween costumes
If you still aren’t sure what to dress up as for Halloween, “Go to the expensive shops to get ideas,” Dunn says.
If you see a costume you like, head to local thrift stores to find items to replicate that costume. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find what you need at your first stop. “You’re going to have to go to a couple,” Dunn says.
Healy advises people not to forget about the “power of makeup.” He notes that eyebrows can be very expressive and recommends people block them out with a glue stick and then fill them in. The glue will wash out later.
For makeup, don’t go with expensive brands. Instead, turn to what the professionals use. Brands like Kryolan and Ben Nye offer a “high pigment payoff” and may be more affordable for what you get, according to Healy.
Wigs can also be a relatively inexpensive way to dress up for Halloween. Healy says not to be afraid to cut and style wigs to personalize their looks.
Halloween may almost be here, but don’t panic and buy an overpriced costume. By leaning on what you have in your closet and what you can borrow from friends or buy from secondhand stores, you can easily put together a fun look without a frightening price tag.
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Frugal Frights: Family Halloween Costumes on a Dime originally appeared on usnews.com
