With Halloween just around the corner, it's time for horror movies, scary creatures, ear-piercing screams and costume parties. Scarier than some of those horrible horror movies are the ensembles some are desperate to call "costumes." Sure, the sexy nurse, the milkmaid too poor to afford more than 3 scraps of fabric to wear, the guy in a diaper pawning himself off as "Baby New Year"...may all be costumes, but if you're serious about Halloween, you know those are the 5-minute facials of costumery when what you really need is the equivalent of an all day pass to the spa including body wrap, massage and mud bath. That is, at least if you really want to make an impression with your costume!

Give your costume some thought this year. Sure, you could buy a simple "all in one" costume in a box or bag from a store, but if you try some creativity, you just never know what awesome ideas you may have hidden in your own mind. Maybe you'll surprise yourself!

Buy it, sew it or even piece it together from a piece bought here, a piece bought there, something you made and/or even some items in your own closet or inventory. Maybe you could even use the costumes in a costume shop or Halloween store as brainstorming ideas for a more unique costume of your own. Hit up a thrift store such as Goodwill, and you just might find a hidden treasure there you could build upon (and what's more, those pieces bought here and there may even end up cheaper than that Halloween store all-in-one costume).

Try some of these suggestions and ideas, or even use them in brainstorming your own costume ideas:

Talladega Nights...how about Ricky Bobby, Carley Bobby (Ricky's wife), Reese Bobby (Ricky's "loser" dad) or maybe Ricky's pal Cal Naughton Jr? And more specifically, how about Ricky, when he thought he was on fire? Don't just dress the part, be the part. "Shake and bake!"

Of course, on that note, who wouldn't want to be Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)...stumbling, slurring drunken pirate, never without a bottle of rum all night?

Mary Kate or Ashley Olsen...BUT as one of them would look in 15 years, after having 1 child naturally followed by 3 C-sections, 87 failed relationships and a 300-pound weight gain from the cheeseburgers and malt cravings she had through each of her pregnancies.

Be sarcastic all night...be Stephen Colbert. Don't pronounce the "t" at the end of any word, especially on "Report," as in The Colbert Report.

Tammy Faye Baker...as she would appear beneath the 5-ton-makeup.

Try a group costume...

The Grateful Dead as "undead."

Try the cast of an old show like...The Partridge Family. Portray them young, old...or maybe how they'd be if they'd turned out to be singing bank robbers once their music career failed. (Maybe on a dare, you could even take that group costume to a karaoke night and sing one of their songs.)

The Wiggles as you imagine them at age 5, based on how their TV show personas are as adults.

Be a Senator. Hit on anyone young enough to look like a "Page," and see how many follow the news, or can ID which senator you're trying to portray.

Switch roles. If you have a significant other, dress up as him/her and act the part, while he/she dresses and acts "you." Your friends could find that highly amusing, even if you're uncomfortable in that pink lace bra, heels or boxer briefs and aren't exactly thrilled at how you're being role-played. =p It's just one night of devilry, after all! You can survive that, can't you?!

Your neighbor......as he/she appears in a bathrobe and slippers, puffing on a cigarette while yelling at his/her 2.5 kids, even though they appeared to be doing nothing wrong......or ???

FURTHER BRAINSTORMING...

Got a favorite movie, cartoon or TV show? How about a favorite actor, actress or character? Maybe you "look just like" a celebrity or do a dead-on (or even undead-on =p) impression of one? Find the outfit. Build the costume. And don't forget to accessorize as necessary.

 

Research your ideas online, especially if your costume idea is from a movie, cartoon, TV show or if you have a celebrity in mind you'd like to be. There's almost nothing you can't find on the internet if you search long enough!

 

 

Maybe your favorite TV show, star or celebrity is an older one, or maybe it's a rising star or one just recently seen. Whatever the case, dare to try something different.

 

And remember, if you're dead-set on a sexy costume, you can still be sexy AND creative.

 

No need to settle for that naughty nurse costume or barmaid wench. After all, most of those costumes would only really be seen in the movies or every day life...in a strip joint. So, unless you're partying at a strip joint, opt for something sexily tempting yet tasteful...sassy yet mysterious...sinful yet sensational...naughty yet angelic! Maybe you're Xena...Wonder Woman...Tarzan...or even a some sexy night elf or pixel you've seen or played in an online or computer game.

 

Whatever the case, have fun with it!

The more fun you have with your costume, the more enjoyable an evening you'll have at your costume party!

Happy Halloween to all of the costumed ghosts, goblins, ghouls, spirits and other creatures of the night!

P.S. Happy haunting...and don't forget the trick or treat candy...or the liquor!

All this dressing up deserves at least a little sugar, spice and something deliciously nice!

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