Halloween Costume Ideas

BY ANDY COMER

A year ago, I wrote a column about creating cheap Halloween costumes in light of the poor economy.

One year later, the economy still stinks, and I’m still unwilling to spend more than $10 on a costume I’m only going to wear for a couple of hours.

Fortunately for you, dear reader, I have a few costume ideas that will be a hit at your next Halloween party, but won’t break your piggy bank, either. Using stuff from around your home, you can easily whip up an award-winning or hilarious costume with a dash of creativity and little to no expense. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, look no further than your local newspaper (hint, hint); current events are an excellent source of inspiration for costumes, and if nothing else, you can turn your copy of the paper into a hat to complete a pirate costume.

Andy’s Halloween costume ideas for 2009:

>> Find a tall cardboard box, cut out holes for your arms, legs and head, then paint the box black. Stencil the word "Bentsen Tower" in white letters onto one side, and prepare to impress your friends with your civic knowledge when you show up to the party as — you guessed it — McAllen’s very own Bentsen Tower, one of the few tall buildings in the city.

>> Get a few free balloons from H-E-B, tie them to yourself, and voila — you can gain instant attention just like the family of 6-year-old Falcon Heene of Colorado, aka the "Balloon Boy," who captivated the world last week as authorities raced to save him from falling to an early death from his father’s amateur weather balloon. The ordeal has since turned out to be an alleged hoax, but there’s no reason you can’t milk it for a Halloween costume.

>> Wrap yourself in a ribbon and bow and attach a card with "To women, from God" written on it. Presto! You’re God’s gift to women. This was actually my costume from 2008, and it cost about $3 to put together. Of course, it would be just as easy to create a "God’s gift to men" costume.

>> Dye your hair gray, wear a name tag showing that you live in some local RV park and pull your socks up to your knees to become a Winter Texan. You get bonus points if you can pull off a northern accent.

>> Dallas Cowboys fans could don a sport coat along with a shirt and tie, then find a fedora at a thrift store to become Mission native and legendary Dallas coach Tom Landry. The fedora itself could probably tackle better than the current Cowboys defense.


Andy Comer is the slot editor and a columnist for The Monitor. Contact him at acomer@themonitor.com.

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