A Pretty Tough Halloween

No costume? No problem – we’ve got you covered.

If you don’t have a costume yet you could go to your local mall and buy something but that won’t really show your friends how creative you can be.

Not to worry. No matter what  your age, we’ve got loads of suggestions – just add a little attitude and you’ll make quite a statement.

Superstar Athlete
Dress up in your fave sports uniform and go as a famous softball, basketball, or soccer player. Whether it’s picking up a WNBA jersey to be new MVP Diana Taurasi or hanging figure skates around your neck in the image of Michelle Kwan, it’s easy to be a superstar for a night! And don’t limit yourself to individual sports – get your team together and go as the USA softball team or your favorite pro team.

Sports Fan
If you don’t think you can pull off dressing as a real athlete, go as your favorite team’s biggest fan. In this case, a little face paint can go a long way.

Body Builder
Paint or quilt muscles onto the front of a flesh-colored sweatshirt. Stuff arms to make biceps look big. You can also paint or quilt leg muscles onto flesh-colored pants, and wear a pair of shorts over it. For a barbell, attach two black balloons to a cardboard paper towel roll or gift wrap roll painted black.

Ninja
Dress in black pants, black hooded shirt, and grab a red sash to wear around your head. Wear soft black shoes. Carry a fake ninja sword, ninja stars made out of foil, and num-chucks made out of construction paper and black cord. Some people act tough, but you can show you’re the real thing.

Race Car/MX Driver
Don a jumpsuit & racing helmet and zoom off into the night.

Superhero
How ’bout Wonder Woman or Sugergirl? For Batwoman, wear a black faux leather shirt and skirt, black boots, yellow belt and black gloves. Make a yellow bat insignia out of cloth and attach it to your chest. Wear a black cat mask, and a black cape.

TV & Movie Characters
Lara Croft: Wear a tank top and a pair of shorts or a pair of camouflage pants. Put your hair in a braid. Carry a fake gun.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wear a blue and yellow cheerleading uniform with blue tights. Paint your face pale white and carry wooden stakes.

Referee
It’s your turn to call the game. Find yourself a pair of black pants or shorts, a striped shirt, and a whistle. Don’t forget your red and yellow cards – you can call the fouls tonight.

Sports Trading Card
Find a poster of a famous athlete (the face should be approximately the size of your face). Glue it to a large piece of foamcore or cardboard and cut a hole for your face to stick through. Attach straps so it hangs over your shoulders. Add your name and team name. If you want you can add another piece of cardboard to your back with statistics.

Pirate Woman
Ahoy matie. Be a swashbuckler with a skirt. Who says you can’t pillage in pink?

Got Milk?
You know milk builds strong bones. Share the love. Wear a sign that says “Got Milk?” Paint a milk mustache over your lip with make-up or other non-toxic white substance.

Group Costumes
Is your sorority, team or group of friends throwing a Halloween bash? Wear matching costumes to help you keep up with each other.

Dancers
If you want to be a group of dancers, your first choice is to figure out what kind of dancer you want to be. You can be belly dancers, ballerinas, tap dancers, Jazz Dancers, Irish folk Dancers, or flash dancers. You can get matching costumes from your local dance or costume shop.

Cheerleaders
Your only must-have for this group costume is pom-poms. The rest of the costume can be as simple as white t-shirts and short denim jeans. If you want to get fancy, however, you can go as far as to purchase real cheerleader uniforms for $50.00 each. Matching sweats will work well too.

Sports Team
Do you and your friends have a favorite sports team? If so, many of you may have Jerseys for that team. Add the appropriate sports equipment, which most of you will probably also own and you have a complete team. If you and your friend route for opposing teams, another option is for each person to be their own favorite player. Your options are numerous from soccer, to basketball, to hockey.

Bowling Pins and Ball
A fun costume for a group is bowling pins and a ball. For the pins, you all need white pants and hooded sweatshirts. Put two red stripes around the neck area. The shortest person would probably be the ball (or whoever draws the short stick). For the ball costume, you can cut two large felt circles and attatch them at the top (over the shoulders) and the sides (under the arms) add three smaller circles for the holes.

Pink Ladies (from Grease)
Your fifties style costume should include pink satin jacket, v-neck top, black capris, polka dot scarf and belt.

Survivor Cast
Dress up in ragged clothes, make yourselves look dirty, look hungry and carry torches.

Race Car Driver and Pit Crew
One driver and a bunch of grease monkeys. Racing gear should include helmet, jumpsuit, and gloves. The pit crew can wear matching caps and jackets. Don’t forget the checkered flags.

Dominoes
Everyone wears all black. Pin circles of white paper to yourselves in a domino pattern. When you arrive at a house, one person leans in, and everyone falls over.

DIY Decorations

Pumpkin Softball Player

1. Cut the pumpkin’s top off and hollow out the shell.
2. For eyes, carve holes in the shell and tack white paper behind them.
3. Use acrylic paints and colored markers to add eye black below the eyes.
4. Add yarn for hair. Then add a baseball cap for the finishing touch.

Any other ideas?