Halloween Costume Ideas: Frugal Fright

Sometimes coming up with a great costume idea can be a chore all by itself. Fear not my Halloween adventurer, as I have a handful of suggestions for your night of fright!

As a child, I spent many a Hollow's eve dressed as a mummy- all you need is a roll of toilet paper, about ten minutes, and Shazaam! Instant mummy for under a buck! I must have been a mummy at least 4 times as a kid. I suppose that in a pinch, you could hop into a public restroom and emerge as a mummy in super hero like fashion. Like when Clark Kent goes into a telephone booth and emerges as Superman, only with a bathroom and a mummy. If anyone witnesses this transformation, you can say that you're the mummy of Clark Kent.

Another good one is an astronaut. What you'll need: a motorcycle helmet, some extreme winter gear (moon boots, very thick zero degree winter pants) a backpack , a box, and some white spray paint. The hardest part is going to be putting the backpack inside the box, while still being able to use the straps. You can do away with the backpack if you'd like - just staple a length of tape or straps of some sort onto the box. You're going to use the spray paint to paint everything white (except for the visor on the helmet and the bottom of the boots). If any of your supplies are already white, then you don't have to paint them. All that's left is to wait for the paint to dry,and dress up. The nice thing about this is that by the end of October, it's usually pretty cold, so the heavy duty thermal gear will come in handy.

The second hand store is a great place to find Halloween costume fodder.  A few  costumes that can be made from second hand goods include witches, wizards, clowns, scarecrows, gypsies and genies. Nowadays, the second hand stores are aware that people like to get their halloween costumes from thrift stores, so they will often stock new merchandise for Halloween, such as makeup and masks. It truly makes it a great place for one stop Halloween shopping, and a virtual breeding ground for costume ideas as well.