4 Halloween Costume Ideas
Ron and I have always enjoyed getting dressed up for theme parties and Halloween. We are always on the “lookout” for costume ideas. So these are just some of our favorites.
Metal Statues
This is a great costume and we got the idea when we were in Europe because so many places (including Uffizi gallery in Florence) had entertainers posing as statuary.
It only works if you can get set up and in place before guests arrive. We ended up sitting, without moving, for about 2 1/2 hrs.
We happened to have a metal garden settee which we painted bronze to match our costumes.
The clothes were all from thrift stores. I painted all the clothing with a coat of brush on paint (any color) because I wanted it to get Stiff. Then many coats of spray paint. Everything was painted black first and then bronze. Although hard to get into, it was stiff like I had envisioned. https://amzn.to/37IQk6m, Click Link to Buy (If you make a purchase, As part of Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). For our faces, I found paintable, hard masks, which I chose instead of face paint because I wanted us to be unrecognizable. They were painted the same as the clothing . https://amzn.to/3iLLETo (CLick Link to buy masks).
It was well worth sitting for a couple of hours, without moving, to see the reactions we got. Some people thought we were real statues at first and then it became a game to see if they could get us to move or at least blink our eyes.
Great Fun!!
First prize!!
Covid- 19 The Year from Hell!!
After being “locked down” for most of the year, our community decided to have an outdoor Halloween party. 5 houses were designated as “treat” houses and our’s was one. Check out our “haunted mansion” here.
We worked on our mansion facade for several weeks. We tried to think of something original for our masks, even though we weren’t to be part of the judging.
The only thing that came to mind, was “Covid”.
We used a clear face shield that I taped off an eye space and sprayed the rest lime green. I punched holes along the side and bottom edges. We hung items (masks, mini hand sanitizer, toilet paper roll, gloves, a covid “mock-up” made from styro ball & push pins, from the sides.
Along the bottom edge we hung tabs with all the despicable things we had to put up with for all those LONG MONTHS.
Didn’t get a prize for this one but we did for our haunted mansion!
Aliens
This idea came from our trip through the western US a couple of years ago. We were in Roswell, New Mexico and they were advertising an upcoming art display of Aliens. I thought “why not?”
Our outfits started with lime green tights & long sleeved T shirts that I got on line. We painted some old shoes lime green, as well.
Then for the masks, I took a couple of trips to the dollar store to see what I could find.
They had “Jason- Friday 13″Th”, masks so I took 4 of those & painted them lime green. I made 2 hoods from lime green fabric to cover our necks & back of our heads. The masks went on the front & the back of the hoods. We embellished them with some “slinkys” and other stuff from “Dollar Tree”.
We made belts & I found “ray guns” at the same dollar store in lime green.
All in all, they looked pretty sweet and gave us another First Prize!
Artist and Masterpiece
This was a fun costume to do.
Ron dressed up like an artist: black wig, red beret, had a moustache (at one time), ascot tie, painter’s smock. He cut a palette from a scrap piece of white paneling. Added paint puddles & brushes.
My costume was equally simple: a canvas with a face hole cut out of it. The canvas could be one you paint yourself (I did) or you could buy one from a thrift store. I decided that a beach scene would be the simplest to use. We attached elastic bands around the back to go over my head & held in place with bobby pins.
My face paint
Trying to do this on myself was a little tricky but is doable.https://amzn.to/2VVMnIZ Click on link to buy face paint. ( Any purchase you make will give us a small commission, as part of the Amazon Associates program).
I used a face painting kit for the basic colors, attempting to align with the colors and lines of the canvas. As I said, a little tricky but it CAN be done. Also, a word of caution. My canvas was 18 x 24 which was a little ungainly (hard to fit through some doors (had to remember to turn sideways, so I didn’t knock the canvas off).
I would use a 16 x20 canvas if I did this again. Anyway, it was another fun costume.
And, another first prize!!
More Ideas!
Over the years, we have dressed up and created costumes for all sorts of themes. Unfortunately we don’t have pics of all those. But here are some that we’ve done. Note: Since we live in a community where we might be recognized easily, we usually opt for some type of full head covering (wigs & masks) and hand coverings. https://amzn.to/3lZR3Zf (click link to purchase masks) Any purchase you make will earn us a small commission from the Amazon Associates program.
- Chick-fila cows: Used Tyvek (painter’s outfits from Home Depot), painted black splotches all over and made tails from pieces of rope. We purchased Cow “full head” masks on line. https://amzn.to/3lZR3Zf Looked great & won us a first place. See above
- Zombie Prom Queen: Typically, the dress from a thrift shop (2.00), ripped & torn & splattered with blood. I did wear a wig & a hard mask that I painted. First Prize.
- 2 “Out” Houses: We painted & decorated refrigerator boxes & sat in them for a couple of hours. Pros- could drink a beverage while in there, Cons-getting them to the venue, not being part of the party until unmasking.
- Ron’s gone as a “hula” dancer a time or two (coconut bra, wig,, leis, face paint).
- Ron went as a “Dance Hall girl” for a western-themed party.
- I, as a Arabian Sheik and Ron as a harem girl.
So, think a little outside the box and have fun !