I don’t know about you, but as a kid, Halloween was my all-time favorite holiday.

Not only did you get to stay up late and run around your neighborhood collecting free candy, but you also got to dress up in fun costumes and pretend to be your favorite characters. Harry Potter, Sailor Moon, Mario, Buzz Lightyear… (Yes, these were all super geeky past Halloween costumes of mine.) But that’s just what Halloween was for! A chance to nerd out and be unapologetically enthusiastic about your awesome costume.

Sure, sometimes you had embarrassing costumes that your parents forced on you (I will never forgive you for making me a skunk that one year, Mom), but for the most part, Halloween was awesome!

Now fast-forward 10, 20, 30 years later to Halloween as adults, and we’re lucky if we even remember to buy Halloween candy in time for the trick-or-treaters that show up at our houses.

If you are one of those boring adults that stopped counting down the days until Halloween years ago, the spooky spirit is not totally out of your grasp. You still have plenty of time to throw together an awesome costume, hit up a fun Halloween party, and then pig out on your Halloween candy while watching Hocus Pocus all weekend (even if you have to buy that candy yourself). Or, more realistically, you have already been invited to a Halloween party and totally forgot to put together a costume to wear… Regardless, if you need a last minute DIY Halloween costume for this weekend, check out these super simple, fun ideas below:

Home Improvement’s Wilson

Everyone’s favorite wisdom-filled neighbor! You don’t have to worry about anyone at your party thinking you don’t look like your character, as no one has ever seen his face. Plus, if you are tired of being social at your party and need a break from polite talk, all you have to do is put up your fence between you and whoever is talking to you. Boom!

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What you’ll need:

• A plaid shirt

• A fisherman’s hat

• Red ribbon to tie around the hat

• Cardboard or popsicle sticks to create a fence

• A lot of great advice to give needy party-goers

A Scarecrow

Another costume that includes a simple plaid shirt… a scarecrow is a great costume for anyone that has some extra makeup hanging around, some basic autumn wardrobe staples, and not a whole lot of time to put together a costume. Simply follow this awesome Scarecrow Makeup Tutorial and you’ll have an adorable costume put together in no time. Just better hope that there are no crows at your party! (Unless it’s that cutie, Jon Snow. Am I right?)

 

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What you’ll need:

• Pink, white and gold face makeup

• Black eyeliner

• Jeans

• Plaid shirt

• A hat

• Sunflowers

• Straw stuffing

A Filtered Instagram Photo

Everyone’s favorite thing to do these days is snap selfies, apply their favorite filter and then throw them up on Instagram. (Psst… follow Hello Innovation on Instagram to check out our own office selfies!) Therefore, you are sure to be a hit any Halloween party if you dress up as this popular social media site. Just be sure that no one steals your filter or (gasp!) everyone will know what you look like in regular lighting.

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What you’ll need:

• Cardboard and markers to create your “Instagram” poster

• Tinted, translucent sheets (available at paper or craft stores)

• Your actual cell phone to take selfies inside of your selfie (selfie-ception?)

• Clever hashtags to tag your photo -- #thiscostumeislegit

Life Gives You Lemons

This literal costume is one of our favorites. Take the popular saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” throw away the advice, and make an awesome Halloween costume instead. However, make sure you stock up on a lot of lemons to give out (or just be a taker-backer) or you’ll end up just being “Life” as your costume. Wouldn’t that be depressing?

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What you’ll need:

• Plain white T

• Permanent Marker

• Lemons

• A positive outlook on life (optional)

A Rock Star

Live out your lifelong fantasy of being a rock star this Halloween with this simple, but bad-ass costume. Plus, you can totally customize it based on your individual rock star fantasy... drummer, lead vocalist, guitar player, devoted groupie. (Hey, whatever floats your boat!) Just make sure that you have your rocker attitude in place. Only demand the best, and make sure you surround yourself with your adoring fans at all times.

What you'll need:

• Black pants and shirt
• Rocker t-shirt
• Crazy hair-band wig
• Musical instrument of choice

 

Costume Not Found

If you truly want to be a rebel at a Halloween party where you were forced to wear a costume, you could go with the classic 404 error excuse – costume not found. (A great costume for all your programmers out there.) Sure, this is cheating a little bit, but it’s technically a costume, so technically no one can rag on you about not dressing up. Now, if only you could apply the “not found” excuse to company Christmas parties, distant relative’s birthday parties, baby showers, etc…

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What you’ll need:

• Plain white T

• Permanent Marker

Sims Character

I was a massive Sims fan growing up, so I love the idea of dressing up as a Sims character for Halloween. And the best part? Once you create your green plumbob (that little green diamond that sits above a Sims’ head), you can pretty much wear whatever you want. After all, half the fun of creating your Sim was completely customizing how they looked. Or, if you want to put a little more time into your costume, you could go with one of the many familiar Sims faces that visited your world, such as the burglar, a member of the “Goth Family” or, my favorite, create blurred out pixels and be a Sim caught in the shower!

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What you’ll need:

• A green Plumbob (follow this easy tutorial)

• The wardrobe of choice for your Sims character

• Thought bubbles that express what you’re thinking about.

Holy Cow!

Why be a regular cow or a regular angel when you could be the best of both worlds and dress up as a “holy cow!” Yeah, yeah, it’s a cheap pun. But admit it, it’s clever right? Plus, you get to get away with yelling “Holy cow!!!” throughout your party all night, and when people ask what’s wrong, you get to reply with, “Oh, it’s just me.” (Actually, maybe don’t use that lame dad joke…)

What you’ll need:

• A white shirt and pants

• Black cut-outs to make spots

• A halo

• Wings

Derek Zoolander

Instead of dressing up as a silly, goofy costume, why not dress up as someone who is really, really ridiculously good looking? One of the top male models of all time, Derek Zoolander (so hot right now), is a great choice for anyone who wants an awesome look at their Halloween party and wants to be selfie-ready at all moments. Just make sure you perfect your “blue steel” look before you leave the house.

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What you’ll need:

• Black shirt and pants

• Shiny blue makeup

• Black headband

• White paint (for the headband design)

• Hair gel

A Ceiling Fan

Last but not least, my favorite pun costume of the year (and what I will be dressing up as this Halloween)… a ceiling fan. You can make this funny costume as simple or as intricate as you want. While I went full-out with blackout strips, pom-poms, a flag and a custom made shirt, you can achieve this costume with a simple t-shirt and sharpie if you don’t have much time. Plus, you get to watch as people at your party struggle to figure out what exactly you are and whether or not there is an actual sports team called The Ceilings. (It’s up to you if you want to save them and give away what you actually are.)

What you’ll need:

• A plain t-shirt

• A permanent marker

• Sports fan accessories

Are you dressing up for Halloween this weekend? If so, we want to see your awesome costumes! Be sure to use the hashtag “#HIHalloween” on Twitter and Instagram so we can check out all of your creative ideas come to life. Also be sure to check out our Hello Innovation Instagram account to see all of the funny costumes that our staff are wearing around the office today. Happy Halloween!