Need a Last Minute Costume and Have Little to No Budget? Check Out These Three Easy Costume Ideas!

Got invited to a last minute Halloween party, but you don’t have a costume or enough cash to buy one? Don’t fret. There are plenty of great Halloween costumes that you can create at home – most with items you already have around the house! Items like scissors, sheets, markers, makeup, safety pins, tea, old clothing and backyard dirt can make great costumes and don’t cost an arm or a leg! And isn’t free the best kind of costume anyway? Read on for our top three quick and easy costume ideas.

Mummy Costume – courtesy of Angela Rutherford – Direct link to image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/archivalproject/2993028852/in/photostream/

The Mummy

Yes, force the curse of the mummy with this easy to make costume. What do you need?

• 2 old bedsheets – white or off-white (you can also use toilet paper or paper towel)
• Long Johns or insulated underwear – whatever you call it!
• Safety pins or duct tape – yes, it really can be used to fix darn near anything!
• Tea – unsweetened
• Spray bottle
• Powder
• Mascara, dark brown or black eyeliner
• White costume makeup

Cut the sheets into long strips. Put the tea into a spray bottle and spray sporadically across the strips to falsely age them. Pop them in the dryer to dry. This will also help to fray the edges a bit, which gives even more eeriness to the costume. Prior to wrapping, paint your face or the face of the costume wearer. White paint should go first. Under the eyes, you can smear some mascara, just lightly blend it under the eyes to give them a hollow look. Darker towards the eye and fade it out so that it’s more gray over the cheekbones. Lightly powder the face to set the makeup. White powder or translucent powder will work best.

Put the long Johns on. Now you can begin to wrap the strips. I find it easier to work from the feet up. Wrap one foot first (you don’t want to wrap them together!) and slowly work up the leg. When one strip runs out, use a safety pin or duct tape to connect the next piece. When using duct tape, I suggest wrapping over that part so that it isn’t obvious. Continue wrapping closely until you get to the head. You should wrap the head a bit loosely so that the eyes, nose and mouth are exposed.

The Ghastly Ghost

Ghost Costume – courtesy of Mindrul One aka Kathryn Harper – direct link to image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindfulone/5088390226/

Although it seems pretty plain, a ghost costume is a quick and easy costume in a pinch! An old sheet and a pair of scissors is all you need to make a ghost costume; however, with a few additional items, a little bit of creativity and a kid that loves to be spooky, you can really make your ghost costume ghastly!

You’ll need:

• White sheet
• Scissors
• Elastic
• Safety Pins or needle and thread
• Black and Brown Markers

To prepare the sheet for costume wear, simply center it over the head. Use a marker to mark where the eyes, nose and mouth are on the person that will be wearing it. Cut these areas out so that your ghost can see, breathe and speak/eat/drink easily. Once these areas have been cut out, use the brown marker to outline the areas and then border the outside of that outline with a thicker area of black. Sew or safety pin the elastic to make a neck for your ghost. This will help keep the costume on during parties or while trekking through the neighborhood trick-or-treating. If the sheet is especially long and cumbersome for your child, cut it to fit and add holes for the arms if necessary. Oila! You have a ghost!

Zombies – Image courtesy of rodolpho.reis – direct link to image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rodolphoreis/5252681465/in/photostream/

The Walking Dead

Yes, it’s a show that has taken the world by storm…a zombie storm! Surprisingly, the zombie is a cinch to recreate if you have the cosmetic expertise necessary (which isn’t much) and some old clothes that you don’t mind ripping and rubbing with dirt and other unspeakable abominations that moms certainly don’t want to see in the laundry room.

You’ll need:

• Old clothing that no one will ever wear again
• scissors – although ripping the clothing lends more authenticity to the look
• Dirt
• Fake blood, tomato sauce, ketchup, red lipstick, red nail polish or red wine (or a combination of such)
• Grass
• White, green, brown and black costume makeup (you can also blend liquid foundation with mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow, etc. to get a desired “dead” look for the face)
• Temporary skin tattoos in cut, maggots, gash, etc. *Optional*
• A slow gait and an ability to act like a flesh hungry predator

To prepare the clothing for costume wear, simply rip at the arms, knees, skirt or shirt to give it a torn look. Remember, those that have become zombies were most frequently turned from being attacked themselves. You can use the scissors to help you get the rip started or if in a real rush, to facilitate the rips altogether. Around these rips, be sure to rub in the red (fake blood, tomato sauce, ketchup, red lipstick or nail polish, red wine or combination). You can also use dirt from the front or backyard to help further coat the clothing.

Now prepare your zombie’s face with the makeup and accessories. If you will be using the temporary tattoos, be sure to add those first, as you can then fashion the makeup around these tattoos. Ensure that the makeup is on any exposed skin so that the costume looks as authentic as possible. I generally start with a white base, then blend in greens, browns and blacks, along with fake blood around the mouth and any attack areas. You can make these areas look tackier (fresher, recently bitten) with the addition of flour blended with the fake blood, ketchup or tomato sauce – NOTE: I do not recommend using nail polish on the skin. Please refrain from this as it can be very difficult to remove. Be sure to darken the area around the eyes and add some black or green eyeliner to the teeth to make them look rotted.  Dirt on the hands and even the face is also acceptable, as zombies tend to get pretty dirty while roaming the earth in search of prey.

Don’t forget to hop around to check out the other posts in this series!

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