halloween costumes you can make at home

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halloween costumes you can make at home

Today, we present five costumes you can make at home. Granted, they might require a quick trip to the store; but you're still likely to save money.

In dreaming up the suggestions, we sought to go beyond the obvious pop-culture candidates (but we couldn't pass up Gosselin, of the all-too-real Jon & Kate Plus 8).

We used children as our models because, well, they're adorable. But we know that these costumes are more fitting for ad-ults. How many youngsters, after all, want to trick-or-treat as a slot machine?

1) 401(k)

After months of frightening charts featuring only downward arrows, we're finally starting to see some upward movement in our retirement accounts.

This costume has the situation covered no matter what the stock market does: Simply change the position of your arms to reflect how rich or poor you are at the moment.

How to make it:

Pair a short-sleeved white T-shirt with a long-sleeved red shirt.

Use red duct tape to form a squiggle that runs across the front of the white T-shirt and blends into the sleeves of the red shirt.

Make an arrow out of construction paper, poster board or wood to hold in one hand.
2) Emerald ash borer

If you want to masquerade as something that threatens peace of mind, a certain bug is more eye-catching than either traffic circles or the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Keep in mind, however, that the borer isn't exactly beloved in some newly barren neighborhoods.

Your party hosts might express their dislike by serving you a plate of firewood.

How to make it:

Find a plastic mixing bowl that fits your head.

Make large eyes out of black construction paper or felt, and stick them to the bowl.

Use strips of construction paper or felt for the antennae; bend them at their base to make them stand up. Attach them to the bowl with duct tape.

The rest of the costume consists of an old towel with a hole cut in it for your head, a pair of wings made of poster board and a few twigs to hold as an appetizer.
3) Slot Machine

You'll be sure to attract attention -- not to mention trigger an Issue 3 debate -- when you show up dressed as a one-armed bandit.

Whether you offer a payout is up to you.

A caution: For now, casino gambling remains illegal in Ohio. (Don't get yourself confiscated by the authorities.)

How to make it:

Find a large box.

Cut a hole in the top for your head and a smaller hole in the side for one arm.

Remove the bottom so that the box can be slipped over your head.

Cover the box with white paper.

Using construction paper, markers and crayons, decorate the box to suggest a slot machine. (Three squares with fruit in them get the idea across.)

Complete the look with a red stocking cap.
4) Flu shot

You'll certainly look sharp in this costume. And, given the long wait for the real H1N1 flu vaccine, you might just find people lining up for your services. Be sure to charge a co-pay!

Beware of excessive imbibing while in costume. Should you pass out, you might wake up in a biomedical waste bin.

How to make it:

For the syringe, find a plastic trash can large enough to slide over your head and shoulders.

Remove the bottom and cut two holes in the side for your arms.

Cover the can with white paper and make syringe gradations with black tape or a marker.

Add a bottom rim made of poster board or construction paper.

For the needle, stick a dowel into the narrow end of a funnel.

Attach string that can be tied under your chin as with a hat.
5) Kate Gosselin

If you can't avoid her -- and you can't -- you might as well imitate her.

It says something about her ubiquity that suggesting her presence takes only a few well-placed strands of hair and a clutch of dolls. (If a friend wants to go as future ex-husband Jon, simply split the babies and snarl at each other from across the room.)

To top off the look, be sure to carry some dirty laundry to air.

How to make it:

Buy a mop head made of cotton yarn.

Put it on someone's head, unless you have a mannequin handy.

Trim it to mimic the signature Gosselin hairdo -- an asymmetrical, long-hair-over-one-eye cut with a pouf of shorter hair at the back.

Add sunglasses, a large purse and eight dolls.

Dispatch artists Charlie Zimkus, Patrick Kastner and Lea Delaveris contributed to this effort.

Special thanks to our young models: 1. Amelia Weiker 2. Sophie Minister 3. Sylvia Rinderle 4. Daniel Kastner 5. Eleanor Weiker.