We are far from the days of cutting eyeholes into a sheet to make a ghost costume for Halloween, completing the ensemble with a pillowcase to hold the booty from a night of trick-or-treating. Elaborate Halloween costumes go on sale at the end of the summer, and many can break the bank.
According to research from Google shopping, trending adult costumes this year tip their hats to popular television and movie characters, with "The Great Gatsby," "Duck Dynasty" and "Breaking Bad" dominating in popularity.
And no doubt we will see numerous Miley Cyrus wannabes twerking their way through the neighborhood.
Ready-made costumes are easy to find, but spending time and effort instead of cold hard cash can often yield the same results, and earn you some street cred for creativity.
Websites like realsimple.com and Pinterest offer numerous ideas for both the creatively challenged and bona fide craftmasters. Often, costumes can be found in your own closet.
Anything camouflaged will work for Duck Dynasty characters, a red and white striped shirt transforms into "Where's Waldo," and your finest suit will earn you the respect that Gatsby once had.
Children's costumes can also be fastened from household goods. Turn an old paper towel rolls into rocket launchers to make a child fly, or strap a few lines of black Duct tape over a yellow sweatshirt to create an instant bumblebee.
Does your little one have fancy suit and a hula-hoop? Turn them into a lion tamer, casting your dog as the ferocious feline.
For a bit of solidarity, enlist the whole family to create a group costume.
Flintstones characters never go out of style and require very little material; a circus theme offers numerous options and casting each family member as an ingredient of a BLT sandwich will surely garner praise. I mean, who doesn't love a BLT?
So, save your money by investing in your own creativity, and, of course, more candy for the ghosts and ghouls that will haunt your neighborhood this year.
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