It’s the most exciting but dreaded time of the year again—Halloween.
For most college students, Halloween means that you’re either fully prepared with three different costumes or stuck with an overheated laptop and too many costume websites pulled up. If you are still clueless about what to dress up as, here are some of my tips to help make the process of crafting the perfect costume for Halloweekend less stressful.
Use Social Media for Inspiration
What’s better than scrolling through social media for costume ideas? If you are sick of repeatedly throwing on cat ears and calling it a day, social media can be a great place to get costume inspiration. I recommend scrolling through TikTok, which can give you a sense of what’s trending this year and what’s not. With so many users sharing their new costumes on the app, you will be enlightened with endless costume ideas that you may have not thought of before.
Set a Budget
It’s always compelling to drop a lot of money on the perfectly pre-made Halloween costume, but if you want to stay within a budget, there are so many different ways to do so. It just might take a little more effort.
My first piece of advice is to look for what you already have in your closet and invest in props that are essential to your costume instead. For instance, if you are planning to be the Joker, you could pull out green and purple clothing you already own and simply purchase green hair gel to complete the look.
If your costume is made up of many pieces, my tip is to purchase different parts of your costume separately online at inexpensive stores such as Amazon or Target, which offer great varieties of props to help you craft your costume.
Another fun way to craft the perfect Halloween costume on a budget is to go thrifting at places like Goodwill and Buffalo Exchange. This way you can invest in pieces you could continue wearing after Halloween.
Do Group Costumes
Planning out your Halloween costume with other people has its perks—it’s more organized, more creative, and it’s much easier to get ahold of costume pieces when you divide and conquer. Group costumes open you up to more ideas inspired by movies, TV shows, and characters that you couldn’t achieve alone.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute
Halloween is the one time a year that you can dress up as whatever you want. It sounds like a nuisance to plan ahead, but don’t expect to craft the perfect costume at the very last minute. Purchasing and making your costume weeks in advance can help you avoid any conflict with delivery or misfitting items. Just let your creativity flow, and you are guaranteed to have a blast this Halloween.
