It makes no difference if you’re a five year-old or a 55 year-old, dressing up for Halloween is always a hoot!
For one night every year, we get to pretend to be someone else.
So why would you want the same store-bought costume that dozens of other people will be wearing? That’s uncool. It’s almost like getting caught wearing the same dress as another girl to the homecoming dance.
You don’t want to do that to yourself or your kids. This year you should get creative with your costumes!
Whether you’re a parent dressing up the rugrats, or heading out to your own Halloween party, these ideas will not only help you stand out from the crowd, they’ll also save you some money.
The Frightening Facts
The National Retail Federation reports this year Americans will spend 9% more on Halloween than we did in 2010.
Of the $6.86 billion the NRF expects us to spend – as much as $2.5 billion will go towards costumes!
44% of those surveyed say they’ll be dressing up in some sort of spooky costume this season. That number does not include the nearly 15% of us who also plan to dress up our cats and dogs.
On average, consumers will drop more than $72 each on Halloween candy, decorations and the like. If you’re not careful, your get-up could become a big chunk of your Halloween spending.
Take one of this year’s best-selling Halloween costumes for example…
According to Halloween retailer Spirit Stores, dressing up as the notoriously whacked out actor Charlie Sheen is a very popular choice in 2011.
But the rubber mask of Sheen (aka Carlos Irwin Estevez) will cost you at least $20, and would be closer to $30 for the more realistic version pictured here. That’s not exactly what I’d call “winning!”
So lets take a look at some creative alternatives for Halloween costumes.
Create Your Own Superhero
Every Halloween caped crusaders from comic books can bee seen on the streets collecting candy. But your kids don’t have to be Batman, Superman or whatever hero happens to have his own blockbuster movie in theaters.
Encourage your kids to be creative by dreaming up their own alter ego!
Not only will they have fun coming up with a cool costume, they’ll also be able to invent a back-story for their character. They’ll imagine their own super powers and villains to battle for the greater good.
Last year was my son Maxwell’s first Halloween. He was still to young to come up with his own superhero, so we put together this “Mighty Max” costume for him.
Instead of the typical underwear on the outside of the pants look that Superman sports, it was a onesie with a big letter “M” we plastered on the front.
You don’t have to be a super seamstress to put together this kind of costume. We did it with safety pins, a hot-glue gun, and one quick, inexpensive trip to the craft store.
In addition to prompting creative thinking, coming up with an original superhero can also help boost a child’s self esteem.
This is a great idea for grown-ups too! Admit it…you’ve always wanted to save the world with your uncanny ability to make your kids’ candy disappear.
A good way to come up with a superhero character is to think about what freaks you out. In Christopher Nolan’s movie Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne chooses a bat as his disguise because of a scary childhood experience.
Zombies, Vampires and Pirates
Pop culture always leads the way at Halloween. But you don’t have to buy a plastic wrapped costume from the store if you want to follow the latest trend.
Over the last several years, certain movies and TV shows have made some specific characters quite popular. The Pirates of the Caribbean series led to the rise of swashbuckling pirate costumes. The Twilight movies made vampires all the rage.
This year it’s zombies that are taking off thanks to TV shows like The Walking Dead, plenty of recent horror flicks and tons video games such as Resident Evil and Call of Duty: World at War. The NRF says zombies are the fourth most popular costume for adults.
All three of these types of costumes can be easily created with those cheap makeup kits or a little fake blood – and a stop at your local Goodwill store.
In fact – you could probably find some decent pirate clothes, vampire duds and even zombie makeup in your home right now.
Zombies wear old tattered clothes from digging their way out of graves to search for a way to satisfy their hunger for brains.
A baggy white dress shirt with a scarf for a belt is a great start for a pirate costume. Just add a bandana and an eye-patch. (Get bonus points if you already own a parrot that sits on your shoulder)
As long as you aren’t going for the classic Dracula look, vampires are easy too. Today’s vampire dresses like a dreamy Robert Pattinson. All you need is some fangs, a ton of hair product and a brooding personality.
When You Grow Up…
If your little ones are having a tough time thinking of something they’d like to be for trick-or-treating, try asking them what they want to be when they grow up.
Chances are – you’ll already have some stuff in the playroom that would make great accessories for this year’s costume.
Little rock stars almost always have little guitars. Ambitious young doctors have toy stethoscopes. Would-be firefighters have red plastic helmets and raincoats. Aspiring beauty queens will have a whole wardrobe of fashions to choose from.
Even if you’re already an adult, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re all grown up. So this Halloween you could take the opportunity to switch up your career with a cool costume.
Remember, part of being creative is being resourceful, and being resourceful will save you money while setting you and your kids apart from the rest of the trick-or-treaters.
For those of you who just don’t’ feel like being creative – you can always go with the old standby – a sheet with two eye-holes cut in it.
What’s the most creative thing you’ve ever done for a Halloween costume?
Leave a comment and let us know!
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Image: Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Image Credit: jtram
Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
+Kasey Steinbrinck provides helpful personal finance tips on behalf of online check printer Check Advantage. Visit the site to order checks online including Seasonal Checks featuring Halloween, Christmas and other fun designs. Plus find great prices on QuickBooks Checks for business use.
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