Tips for creating your own Halloween costume
Halloween has always trumped any other holiday in my book. Any chance I have to dress up in a costume is always fun for me and since that’s what Halloween is all about, it makes sense that it is my favorite holiday.
Loving Halloween so much has even made me an annoyance to some of my close friends. I start thinking about my costume in March. And nothing is more fun to me than having the funniest, silliest, most creatively awesome costume every year.
The problem with store-bought costumes is that they are extremely expensive. Buying a costume or even renting one could cost you $50-$80 dollars. And renting a costume means you only have it for one night! I don’t know about anyone else but I have five Halloween parties to attend this year, so renting is not in the cards for me.
That’s why I opt to make my own Halloween costume each year. While this sometimes can take longer, it’s worth it to me to not only have a unique costume, that they don’t have in any store, but also to give my wallet a much needed rest (especially since gift-giving season is right around the corner!).
In the past I’ve been Ursula from the Little Mermaid, the rapper Lil’ Jon, the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, and (last year) Mugatu from Zoolander. And I am proud to say that none of them looked cheesy and most of them were the hit of any Halloween gathering I went to.
Here are some tips for creating your own Halloween costume:
-Try to think of movie characters, artist, celebrities, etc. you can be. Choosing a recognizable person is sometimes easier than being an animal or someone with a specific uniform (cop, fireman, etc.).
-Think about clothing items, props, etc. that you might already have or your friends might have.
-Utilize your local thrift stores…some even have Halloween sections now!
-Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and Joann’s have more reasonably priced art supplies/crafty things than you can imagine. Joann’s has fabric sales almost every weekend.
-Get your friends to help you! I have a friend who is amazing at sewing (and she also loves Halloween as much as I do) so she loves to help me with my costumes.
-Get online! I found the instructions on how to make my Halloween costume this year in a blog!
Hopefully these tips can help you accomplish your Halloween dreams and also help you keep within your allotted monthly entertainment budget that I know you all have.
And to answer what you’ve been pondering while reading this blog, “What’s your 2011 Halloween costume?” This year, I teamed up with my friend who loves Halloween too, we decided to be the 80’s girl rap group, Salt N’ Pepa. The costumes only cost about$25 a piece and have so far been the hit of every Halloween party we’ve attended.
Happy Halloween!
-Brogan, CU Money Sense team member
Share on Facebook