FacebookTwitter
Hatrack River Forum   
my profile login | search | faq | forum home

  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Books, Films, Food and Culture » Halloween for Free (Page 1)

  This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2   
Author Topic: Halloween for Free
Leonide
Member
Member # 4157

 - posted      Profile for Leonide   Email Leonide         Edit/Delete Post 
Everyone here always has great ideas for cheap Halloween costumes.

I need to take that one step further.

I literally have *no* money right now, and a costume party coming up on the 30th.

Does anyone have any ideas about outfits that can be made with things around the house? (i've ruled out ghost) Or if I fail in that endeavour...a costume that can be made for under $5?

Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Kwea
Member
Member # 2199

 - posted      Profile for Kwea   Email Kwea         Edit/Delete Post 
My wife and i are going to Salem, and she is dressing up in a big flannel nightgown and going as a baby, with her hair in pigtails adn a teddy bear.

That is really cheap, and not too racy...I don't know what you are willing to go as, but there are a ton of ideas women can do just with makeup and normal clothing used in unsual ways....

Kwea

Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Eaquae Legit
Member
Member # 3063

 - posted      Profile for Eaquae Legit   Email Eaquae Legit         Edit/Delete Post 
Buy a bag of pipe cleaners, and braid them into your hair, preferably many smaller braids. Instant Medusa.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
MaydayDesiax
Member
Member # 5012

 - posted      Profile for MaydayDesiax   Email MaydayDesiax         Edit/Delete Post 
Wrap yourself in toilet paper. Mummy!

Or put a tin-foil hat on your head and talk to the voices. This also works well on busy streets.

Posts: 873 | Registered: Apr 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Carrie
Member
Member # 394

 - posted      Profile for Carrie   Email Carrie         Edit/Delete Post 
I like the Medusa idea. I might just borrow that one... [Smile]
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ElJay
Member
Member # 6358

 - posted      Profile for ElJay           Edit/Delete Post 
Cut a large P out of construction paper and attach it to your shirt. Use black eye-shadow to give yourself a black eye.

You're a Black-eyed Pea!

Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Leonide
Member
Member # 4157

 - posted      Profile for Leonide   Email Leonide         Edit/Delete Post 
What can I do with a long black skirt, and a black bustierre (sp?) I bought to perform Time Warp from Rocky Horror?
Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lalo
Member
Member # 3772

 - posted      Profile for Lalo   Email Lalo         Edit/Delete Post 
Put on a suit jacket, and once at the party steal people's wallets and attack the colored?

I know I'm going as a Republican this year...

Posts: 3293 | Registered: Jul 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Boris
Member
Member # 6935

 - posted      Profile for Boris   Email Boris         Edit/Delete Post 
A few years ago I didn't even dress up. I just told people I was performing an experiment on whether or not a person actually had to be dressed up to get candy on Halloween. I got a good sized bag full of candy. What made it funnier was I was 19 [Smile]

[ October 27, 2004, 02:43 AM: Message edited by: Boris ]

Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Wonko The Sane
Member
Member # 2945

 - posted      Profile for Wonko The Sane   Email Wonko The Sane         Edit/Delete Post 
dressup as a Sim (make that shape that floats over their heads and some way to make it look like it is floating over yours)
Posts: 213 | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
signal
Member
Member # 6828

 - posted      Profile for signal   Email signal         Edit/Delete Post 
I was gonna say dress normally and tell everyone you dressed as a crazy person, because they look like everyone else.
Posts: 298 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Noemon
Member
Member # 1115

 - posted      Profile for Noemon   Email Noemon         Edit/Delete Post 
You wouldn't happen to have any sculpy just sitting around, would you? If you do, make yourself a pair of stumpy little horns that, if affixed to your head, would just barely be visible as they poked up through your hair. When you make them, shape them around a pencil or something so that there is a hollow tube running through them. After you've baked them in the oven you can spray paint them if you'd like, or leave them their natural "bone" color. Thread them onto a shoe string, position them on your head toward the front, with the string looping back behind your ears and tying at the base of your skull. Arrange your hair so that the string isn't visible at all, and the horns are barely visible, and you've got a very cheap, fairly cool, subtle halloween costume. I wore horns like this for halloween last year, and if asked said that I wasn't dressed up. Usually people would notice the horns a few minutes into the conversation. Their reactions ranged from laughter to concern.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Hobbes
Member
Member # 433

 - posted      Profile for Hobbes   Email Hobbes         Edit/Delete Post 
"Son, you've got horns growing out of your head... you might want to get that looked at."

Hobbes [Smile]

Posts: 10602 | Registered: Oct 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
celia60
Member
Member # 2039

 - posted      Profile for celia60   Email celia60         Edit/Delete Post 
"What can I do with a long black skirt, and a black bustierre (sp?) I bought to perform Time Warp from Rocky Horror? "

mail them to me [Big Grin]

I'm being lazy this year and doing the Catholic school girl thing. Apparently, I have all the peices already in my closet, they've just never been worn together.

I might go out and spring for some of those jelly bracelets just to see if anyone gets it.

Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
zgator
Member
Member # 3833

 - posted      Profile for zgator   Email zgator         Edit/Delete Post 
I had some friends that went as a priest and a school girl. She put a hand print on her butt.

I might end up going to a party on Saturday and have considered going as something out of Kingdom of Loathing. I figure I'll put a pot on my head and be a sauceror. Maybe I can get some scrap linoleum at Home Depot and make a staff.

Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ketchupqueen
Member
Member # 6877

 - posted      Profile for ketchupqueen   Email ketchupqueen         Edit/Delete Post 
Be the Paper Bag Princess! (That's what I'm dressing my daughter as.) All it takes is a plain paper bag (or a couple taped together if you're too big for just one), something unnoticable to wear under it, and some aluminum foil for a crown.

Actually, this costume is part of our larger "theme". We're going to the "trunk or treat" on Friday and decorating our trunk as the "Night of the Living Books". We're each dressing up as a favorite character from the cover of a book, and displaying the books as part of the trunk decoration. [Smile]

Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
quidscribis
Member
Member # 5124

 - posted      Profile for quidscribis   Email quidscribis         Edit/Delete Post 
Note: I've actually done the mummy thing with toilet paper. I made that joke that my costume could be used twice.

Ahem.

But it was a lot of fun. [ROFL]

Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Intelligence3
Member
Member # 6944

 - posted      Profile for Intelligence3   Email Intelligence3         Edit/Delete Post 
A friend of mine once wrapped himself in tinfoil and went as "that thing in the back of the fridge." He won "scariest costume." [Smile]
Posts: 720 | Registered: Oct 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Noemon
Member
Member # 1115

 - posted      Profile for Noemon   Email Noemon         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
I made that joke that my costume could be used twice.
Ew. That wiped the smile right off my face.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
xnera
Member
Member # 187

 - posted      Profile for xnera   Email xnera         Edit/Delete Post 
The favorite in high school was to pin socks to your clothes and go as static cling.
Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
zgator
Member
Member # 3833

 - posted      Profile for zgator   Email zgator         Edit/Delete Post 
I think you should go as a nudist. It's cheap, easy and at least half the party will love it.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Brinestone
Member
Member # 5755

 - posted      Profile for Brinestone   Email Brinestone         Edit/Delete Post 
I did the paper bag princess thing once. I wore a paper bag (with clothes under, of course), and I blackened my face, hands, and bag with mascara. I also ratted my hair with lots of hair spray. I don't think I did a crown, simply because I didn't have one and didn't have any time to make one.
Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Bob the Lawyer
Member
Member # 3278

 - posted      Profile for Bob the Lawyer   Email Bob the Lawyer         Edit/Delete Post 
How is it so many people know The Paper Bag Princess but didn't know Robert Munsch (from EL's what Canadian things do you know quiz. Even though Munsch is American. But I digress). Poor man gets no respect.

Last year a really let my hair down and went out as a scientist. It's probably more thrilling for people who aren't scientists. But if you know any they could probably loan you a lab coat, goggles, gloves, random chemicals that you can slip in the party punch. It's be great!

Hmm... I just realized I have a curling game this Halloween. I should get dressed up for that...

Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Sopwith
Member
Member # 4640

 - posted      Profile for Sopwith   Email Sopwith         Edit/Delete Post 
Go with what you've got there and tease your hair big. Carry a broom and go as the Wicked Witch of the Eighties.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Telperion the Silver
Member
Member # 6074

 - posted      Profile for Telperion the Silver   Email Telperion the Silver         Edit/Delete Post 
I vote for the bedspread. Good old ghost!
Posts: 4953 | Registered: Jan 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
TomDavidson
Member
Member # 124

 - posted      Profile for TomDavidson   Email TomDavidson         Edit/Delete Post 
"What can I do with a long black skirt, and a black bustierre (sp?) I bought to perform Time Warp from Rocky Horror?"

Our door is always open.

Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Leonide
Member
Member # 4157

 - posted      Profile for Leonide   Email Leonide         Edit/Delete Post 
Y'know, Halloween really alters people's thinking. For instance, one year I just HAD to be a minstrel. I had a recorder (the instrument) and I wanted a feathered hat and made my mom spend 70 BUCKS on a minstrel shirt.

It was the ugliest outfit in all of creation and I never wore it past that one night.

Poor mommy [Frown]

Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
quidscribis
Member
Member # 5124

 - posted      Profile for quidscribis   Email quidscribis         Edit/Delete Post 
Bob - curling? Wow, you MUST be Canadian.

I haven't curled since grade 10 phys ed.

Hmm. Another thought for a costume. Go as a curler. As in, toque, mits, other winter wear, and a broom for sweeping the ice.

If you needs tips on appropriate dress, watch "Men with Brooms"

Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
celia60
Member
Member # 2039

 - posted      Profile for celia60   Email celia60         Edit/Delete Post 
WARNING! DO NOT WATCH MEN WITH BROOMS.
Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Dan_raven
Member
Member # 3383

 - posted      Profile for Dan_raven   Email Dan_raven         Edit/Delete Post 
Nobody's done the suit/tie/Mormon bit yet. I'm mildly surprised.

I had a friend put on a silk scarf over his head, grab an old computer mouse up his sleeve, used and old CD as an Eye Patch and some software manual covers over his silk shirt and dark pants.

He was a software pirate.

Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ketchupqueen
Member
Member # 6877

 - posted      Profile for ketchupqueen   Email ketchupqueen         Edit/Delete Post 
I love that! You could also go as an MIB if you've got a black suit and sunglasses.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Goody Scrivener
Member
Member # 6742

 - posted      Profile for Goody Scrivener   Email Goody Scrivener         Edit/Delete Post 
or as one of the Blues Brothers with the same outfit as the MIB guys. =)

Hey Farmgirl!!! If you're ever here for Halloween...... <giggle>

Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ElJay
Member
Member # 6358

 - posted      Profile for ElJay           Edit/Delete Post 
Noemon: You mean like this?
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Verily the Younger
Member
Member # 6705

 - posted      Profile for Verily the Younger   Email Verily the Younger         Edit/Delete Post 
Cut a few slashes in your clothes and go as the winner of a knife fight.

quote:
Nobody's done the suit/tie/Mormon bit yet. I'm mildly surprised.
Heeeey, I like that. I just might steal that one. [Big Grin]
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Marlozhan
Member
Member # 2422

 - posted      Profile for Marlozhan   Email Marlozhan         Edit/Delete Post 
There's always the "dressing up like a grape by pinning green/purpkle balloons on a green/ purple outfit" costume. It works pretty well.

Oh! or you could be a TV by cutting holes in a box for your legs and arms and then putting a movie poster on it

[ October 27, 2004, 11:55 PM: Message edited by: Marlozhan ]

Posts: 684 | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Eaquae Legit
Member
Member # 3063

 - posted      Profile for Eaquae Legit   Email Eaquae Legit         Edit/Delete Post 
My Dad once finished off a box of cheerios for breakfast on Halloween. He threw the bag in the garbage and pulled a knife from the cutlery drawer. Stabbed the knife through the box and went as a "cereal killer."
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Noemon
Member
Member # 1115

 - posted      Profile for Noemon   Email Noemon         Edit/Delete Post 
Yep Eljay, just the thing. Mine are a bit smaller, for more subtle effect. I didn't actually make mine though; I got 'em at a Renn Festival a few years back. They'd be easy to make though.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Leonide
Member
Member # 4157

 - posted      Profile for Leonide   Email Leonide         Edit/Delete Post 
Okay, so I'm thinking the bustierre, my pants with holes up the sides (oh dear, please don't think i'm a hoochie -- i bought these all for theatrical roles!) and this sheer black cover/jacket thingee. And a witches hat! And i'll be...Witches Brew!

hoohaa!

Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ElJay
Member
Member # 6358

 - posted      Profile for ElJay           Edit/Delete Post 
Yes, they would be. Mine are from Renn Fest, too. I got the little bit longer ones because I normally pull my hair back in a barrette, so it poofs up around the horns a little and covers the string better.

That is what I will be doing at work the Friday before Halloween. Friday is casual day, after all. [Smile]

Edit: Sounds fun, Leonide!

[ October 28, 2004, 12:38 AM: Message edited by: ElJay ]

Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ketchupqueen
Member
Member # 6877

 - posted      Profile for ketchupqueen   Email ketchupqueen         Edit/Delete Post 
I just finished making my daughter's Paper Bag Princess costume. It turned out rather well. [Smile] I just hope it works; we're going to get pictures as soon as it's on becasue we're not sure how long it will last on a 6-month-old. I buffered/reinforced all cut places with tape, since I don't want her to get paper cuts. I cut open the whole back and left the cut for easy on/off (I'll safety pin it to her sleep and play). And for hygenic reasons, I didn't put any dirt, fake or otherwise, on it, I just crumpled it. I wrapped the aluminum foil around a headband and secured it with tape, also covering the bottom of the foil (which would have rested against her head) to prevent irritation. I can't wait to see it on her!

[ October 28, 2004, 03:30 PM: Message edited by: ketchupqueen ]

Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
newfoundlogic
Member
Member # 3907

 - posted      Profile for newfoundlogic   Email newfoundlogic         Edit/Delete Post 
Get a yellow shirt, write "US Postal Service" on it, get a bike helmet, and you're Lance Armstrong.
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
CaySedai
Member
Member # 6459

 - posted      Profile for CaySedai   Email CaySedai         Edit/Delete Post 
My younger daughter's costume:
gray sweat pants and sweat shirt
crown (plastic, 88 cents) from wal-mart
cat ears, tail and bow tie (for collar?) from the dollar store
a piece of white fabric sewn by hand on the front of the sweat shirt (will come off easily after Halloween)

she's a kitty princess.

On the morning news program, the weatherman is a rubiks cube - large square box with the bottom removed, painted different colors on each side. It looks like black electrical tape to mark out the squares. The top flaps are loose. He has arm holes and a square hole cut out for the head. Looks a bit uncomfortable, but easy to make.

Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Ben
Member
Member # 6117

 - posted      Profile for Ben   Email Ben         Edit/Delete Post 
this works well for men, but women can pull it off too. wear the upper torso of a business suit and boxer shorts or pajama bottoms or whatever you please down beneath. tell people you are an anchorwoman.
Posts: 1572 | Registered: Jan 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Dan_raven
Member
Member # 3383

 - posted      Profile for Dan_raven   Email Dan_raven         Edit/Delete Post 
My wife took out an old outfit and stuffed it with a pillow, then took off her shoes.

She was "The sexist's dream --Bare-foot and Pregnant"

Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Leonide
Member
Member # 4157

 - posted      Profile for Leonide   Email Leonide         Edit/Delete Post 
*hangs head in shame*

I opened my piggy-bank and discovered I had $34 dollars in change. So when Strider decided to go to the thrift shop in town to look for his Halloween costume, I couldn't resist buying my own.

We're going as "unsrespected professions"

He's a used car salesman...I'm a skeezy waitress.

We'll be sure and take pictures

Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Sara Sasse
Member
Member # 6804

 - posted      Profile for Sara Sasse   Email Sara Sasse         Edit/Delete Post 
ketchupqueen, that's so cute.
Posts: 2919 | Registered: Aug 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Audeo
Member
Member # 5130

 - posted      Profile for Audeo   Email Audeo         Edit/Delete Post 
You get long black socks, black sweat-pants, and two long-sleeved black shirts, Wear everything normally, except for one shirt. That you drape over your head so that the bottom is just above your eyes, and the sleeves are behind your shoulders. Cross the sleeves over the lower half of your face, wrap around, and tie behind your head. It should look similar to a ninja mask. My entire ultimate frisbee team dressed up like this for a halloween tournament last year.
Posts: 349 | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ketchupqueen
Member
Member # 6877

 - posted      Profile for ketchupqueen   Email ketchupqueen         Edit/Delete Post 
Thank you, Sara. [Smile] I'll post pictures of her in it tonight or tomorrow.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ketchupqueen
Member
Member # 6877

 - posted      Profile for ketchupqueen   Email ketchupqueen         Edit/Delete Post 
As promised, Emma-- er, "Elizabeth", The Paper Bag Princess. Our "theme" was The Night of the Living Books!
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Dagonee
Member
Member # 5818

 - posted      Profile for Dagonee           Edit/Delete Post 
That's one happy princess!
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
  This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2   

   Close Topic   Feature Topic   Move Topic   Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:


Contact Us | Hatrack River Home Page

Copyright © 2008 Hatrack River Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2