Easy Last-Minute Halloween Costumes

There have been a few times when I would have liked to have a handy list of Halloween costumes that can be pulled together quickly at the last minute. You know, when a kid who says he doesn’t want to dress up this year changes his mind on the day of the Halloween party at school, or the day of the Trunk or Treat, or the day of Halloween itself? Last-minute freak outs are really not my thing, and it often seems, in my house, that the eleventh hour is exactly when some children decide to do something they’d previously decided not to do, or change their minds about something previously decided upon, but they have no ideas about how to make it all happen. 

There’s been a time or two when a couple of my boys decided at the very last minute that they did want to dress up for Halloween after all. I panicked and expressed my frustration, then took to the internet to see if I could find costume ideas. My standards were very low — I just wanted ideas that could be pulled together in a few minutes with things we had around the house, even if they were dumb, even if they challenged the very definition of “costume.” These were my favorites:

Ghost

One of the most classic Halloween costumes, and one of the easiest!

Cereal Killer

The picture I saw online of a “Cereal Killer” costume was of a bunch of mini cereal boxes affixed to a shirt with plastic butter knives stuck in each one and red paint around each knife puncture and on the shirt, but even just one regular sized cereal box could do.

50s guy, or lumberjack

I’m grouping these two together because they both involve jeans — only the shirts change. 50s guy can wear just a white t-shirt with the sleeve rolled; a black leather jacket is a bonus. A lumberjack only needs a flannel shirt; suspenders would be a fun addition, but not necessary.

Nerd

Shirt tucked in, pants hiked up, and hair parted in the middle and slicked down seem to be the hallmarks of a “nerd,” at least in a “Halloween costume” kind of way. A pair of glasses would complete the look nicely, if you had them.

Swimmer

While a bathing suit and swim shirt wouldn’t be great for trick-or-treating in the cold, this could be a perfect costume for a Halloween party or to wear to school. A towel around the neck, flip flops, and goggles would all be good accessories if available.

Bag of leaves

All you need is a big garbage bag and leaves! Cut holes in the bottom of the garbage bag and step into it, pulling it up to the top of your legs (over your pants), and put some leaves in it — voila! You’re a bag of leaves!

Three-hole-punch guy

After googling “fast easy costumes for teens,” I also googled “Jim Halpert Halloween costumes” — Jim Halpert is a character on the show “The Office” whose Halloween costumes almost always involved the smallest amount of effort necessary. One of them was “Three-hole-punch Jim,” in which he cut out three large black circles (construction paper is perfect for this) and stuck them in a vertical row to one side of his shirt. Not only does this allow you to pass as technically having a costume, but the connection to the “The Office” adds an extra layer of comedy for anyone familiar with the show.

Jake from State Farm, or Dave

I have to give credit for this one to some of the teens that have trick-or-treated at my house in past years. The first time I saw a teen wearing a red polo shirt and khakis with a nametag that said, “Jake from State Farm,” I laughed out loud! Similarly, one of Jim Halpert’s “costumes” on “The Office” was a nametag that said, “Dave.” When people asked him what he was, he’d point to the nametag and say, “Dave.” So dumb, yet so funny!

Error 404: Costume not found 

I thought this last idea was pretty clever: It’s just a matter of putting the words, “Error 404: Costume not found” on your shirt! It could be as easy as writing it on a piece of paper and sticking it to the front of your shirt.

You can see what I meant when I wrote in the beginning that it didn’t matter if the ideas I found were dumb or even challenged the very definition of “costume”! This list has come in handy for me — I hope you find it as helpful as I do. Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween!

Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, and 6. Follow her at www.facebook.com/kmtowne23, or email her at kmtowne23@gmail.com.