Chances are, at one point in your life you’ve spent way too much money on a Halloween costume. It might have been an impulse purchase at a marked up price purchased at the last minute, or a glitzy costume you couldn’t resist at an expensive seasonal store. Either way, it’s an easy trap to fall into.
This year, there’s no reason to empty your wallet for Halloween, whether it’s a costume for yourself or your kids. You can find plenty of inexpensive options online, especially if you use coupons or a cash back websites, but you can also make a costume yourself. Before you scoff at the idea because you’re too busy or feel you’re not crafty enough, check out these 20 easy ideas:
1. Rosie the Riveter: This simple yet classic costume requires only a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a red bandana tied in your hair. You might even already have those items in your closet.
2. Ninja Turtle: You can have fun with this costume and change up its accessories. Wear a green shirt and pants and spray paint a roasting pan for the shell. Cut fabric from a craft store for a mask, accessories and headband.
3. Bat: Cut up a cheap black umbrella for bat wings and attach it to a black long sleeve shirt. You can easily make bat ears from the scraps, too.
4. Minion: This new costume idea is incredibly easy. Wear a yellow shirt with overalls, and then create “eyes” from Mason jar lids glued together and secured with a black strap.
5. Lego: Glue Tupperware bowls upside down to cardboard boxes and spray paint them your favorite color. Red Solo cups work, too.
6. Cowboy or cowgirl: Use denim jeans and a plaid or flannel shirt from your closet and find a cheap hat and boots from your local thrift store.
7. Bank robber: Take a striped shirt (or decorate a plain shirt with black duct tape) and add a black hat, mask and gloves with the fingers cut out.
8. Waldo: This one is similar to the robber costume, but with a red and white striped shirt. Add blue jeans and a red and white striped pom-pom hat and you’re ready.
9. Grapes: This costume is beyond simple — just attach purple or green balloons all over.
10. 1920s flapper: Wear a plain black dress, or one with fringe, and add stockings along with a sparkly headband with a feather.
11. Jellyfish: Take a clear umbrella and attach thin ribbons or fabric all around the edge. Then, wear a white or metallic outfit.
12. Men in Black: This costume is great for the last minute. Just wear a dark suit, white shirt and dark tie with dark sunglasses. Bonus if you have a long thin flashlight to use as a memory eraser.
13. Facebook: Take a page out of television show “The Office” and draw the words “book” on your face. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
14. Scuba diver: Spray paint two soda bottles yellow and affix black Duck tape around the bottles. Attach them together and then secure rope to strap into a backpack. Grab your goggles and snorkel, or find some for cheap in an end-of-summer sale. You might even be able to use them again next summer!
15. “Life hands you lemons:” Paint a shirt with the word LIFE, carry around a bag of lemons and hand them out to everyone you see.
16. Care Bear: Wear a cheap, colorful sweat suit, and use felt to attach ears to the hood and create a design on the stomach. Your options include rainbows, hearts and smiley faces.
17. Shark: Here is another sweat suit costume, this time with a dorsal fin attached to the back. Create the fin from cut and sewn white felt, stuffed with scraps. Create teeth from white felt and secure them around the edge of your hood.
18. Superman: Become Clark Kent with a white button-down shirt and a Superman T-shirt underneath. Complete the look with cheap black glasses (you can pop the lenses out).
19. Charlie Brown: Stick a zig-zag pattern around a yellow shirt with black Duck tape and wear black pants or shorts. Bonus if you bring your dog along!
20. Medusa: Weave plastic snakes through curly hair and use wild makeup to complete this easy costume.
Whatever you decide to be, I hope you have a fun and frugal Halloween!
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20 Halloween Costumes for $20 or Less originally appeared on usnews.com
