Cheap Costumes

Archive for September, 2009

Halloween means dressing up as something new, something that is outside of your daily routine. What is Halloween but an excuse to step out from inside of yourself, adopt a completely different persona of your choosing, and, for at least just one night, pretending to be something different? This is an exhilerating opportunity for anyone, and frankly, most people are not taking full advantage of their Halloween costumes. What is missing? Good costume accessories.

Why are costume accessories important? There are a couple of reasons. First of all, Costume Accessories for Halloween outfits are fun. Having a prop around ultimately means a toy. Actors are always excited to play with props – it is like an excuse to play; just like they did in their childhood days. Dressing up like a cowboy is fun; bringing along a lasso is great fun. A lasso can be used for rounding up stray “cattle”. The lasso, and other costume accessories are particularly good for party games and flirting with the opposite sex; always a fun component of any Halloween costume party.

This brings us to the other reason why costume accessories are so great; they promote interactivity. Playing with a prop is great and all, but think back to how much fun it is was to play games with others using your toys as a child. It obviously makes sense that your props should allow people to play along with their costumes, taking the costumes to another level. In this way, costume accessories for Halloween outfits make not just your costume better, they make the party more fun.

Finally, costume accessories for Halloween outfits set your costume apart. I have seen plenty of costume contests won or lost because of a prop. Despite being a minimum of effort, adding props and costume accessories add two things. First of all, they add the illusion of effort, which everyone is impressed with but loathe to do themselves. Luckily, most costume accessories are no additional work, and perhaps, a few dollars more. Secondly, the costume accessories simply make your costume more memorable.

Dressing up for Halloween is a childish thing; and why not? It is more or less the ultimate in make-believe. So why not take your make-believe to the next level this Halloween and kick up your costume a notch with costume accessories. It will impress people and create the illusion of effort, engage the party and simply make everything more fun. So have more fun this Halloween with costume accessories.

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Technorati Tags: costume accessories, costume accessories important, costume party, dressing up, Halloween Outfits, outfit

Halloween is so much more fun for trick or treaters when your house looks enticingly scary as the kids approach. These days, even one pumpkin can run you a few bucks, so if you’re like me, you’re looking for a few ideas for cheap Halloween props that are still scary enough to give the kids a thrill. Here are just a few ideas for creepy, but cheap Halloween outfits for your house the kids can make and/or decorate themselves. You save money and they have fun.

Poster board and cardboard boxes are on my short list of cheap Halloween decorating materials. A large cardboard box can be turned into a haunted house in an afternoon. Hung from a window, your haunted house will lend a creepy feeling and inspire a little apprehension for the candy seekers. Depending on the kids ages, you may need to help cut out some ‘windows’ with a utility knife. After that’s done, let the kids loose. All you need in the way of supplies is a tube of gray acrylic paint, yellow or orange cellophane, a pack of markers in day-glow colors, a package of ’spiderwebs’ and some glitter. Cut your cardboard box to a size that fits in a front window. After the kids have painted the house, allow about 15 minutes for drying (acrylic paint dries quickly). Turn the cardboard (or poster board) over and then they can tape the cellophane to the back of the windows. Now they can use their markers to draw in the creepy details. Kids generally know what scares kids, so let them have free rein. Apply spiderwebs! When the haunted house is finished, hang it on the inside of the designated window. The cellophane will be backlit by the lights inside. Voila! Incidentally, this Halloween prop can be used again next year!

Halloween light strings are another of the reusable and cheap Halloween props. While a creepy entryway is part of the Halloween fun, you want to balance off the decorations with a bit of cuteness for the very young trick or treaters. You can light the front of your house for just a few bucks and the kids can have fun doing this task as well.

You might want to get a quantity of those fake spiderwebs. Attach them to places kids might touch, like the doorbell and porch or stair rails. Little plastic creepy crawlers should be in abundance, tucked into the spiderwebs. No glue needed. You might even offer a creepie as a ‘party favor’. As the kids are leaving with their treats, give them an added scare. �You’re welcome to take a little spider or worm home if you’d like to take one from the spiderweb patch…�

Instead of spending a lot of money on a couple of big pumpkins, pick up some of those tiny pumpkins at the supermarket. Get a few small packages of glass ‘jewels’ and let the kids create Jack o’ Lantern eyes and mouths. Group them together on a table at the doorway, or spread them along the windowsills. These cheap Halloween props can also double as Halloween ‘party favors’.

Every drugstore’s Halloween section is flush with the printed-on-cardboard skeletons, witches and vampires. Let the kids put a little spark on these cheap Halloween props, gluing on fake jewels for eyes, some glittery red blood streaks and some accent creepiness with the day-glow markers. Hang these guys from a tree branch, porch rail, or anywhere they’ll catch a breeze and flutter wickedly.

Making these cheap Halloween props heightens the fun of this single, annual scare fest. Better yet, most are reusable. Next year, the kids can add to their collection.

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If you�ve seen pictures or YouTube videos of a recent Halloween parade in Hollywood or New York City then you know that some folks go all out dressing up. These aren�t cheap Halloween costumes by any stretch of the imagination. In fact not only do some folks spend upwards of several hundred dollars for their outfits but the more industrious types also spend several months creating and crafting their costumes. If you have the budget, you can certainly compete in that league but there is nothing wrong with perfectly executed cheap Halloween costumes.

The classic stand-by idea for cheap Halloween costumes is the white sheet with two holes cut out for eyes: instant ghost. Of course you can create many variations on the cheap Halloween costumes idea. Instead of a white sheet, you could cut holes in a bright floral print and goes a more �flamboyant� ghost. You can accessorize your ghost outfit with belts, hats and wigs. And if you stick with the white sheet, you can make a statement by writing out a slogan or plastering your sheet with bumper stickers and go as the ghost of your last car.

Another cheap Halloween costumes idea is to simply slip on a sports jersey and cap and go as a fan. You could add to the costume by finding all those ballpark souvenirs you once bought like the big foam finger or pennant. And there is nothing wrong with going as a super fan by painting your face with the colors of your favorite team. Of course you would never do that in real life but for cheap Halloween costumes anything goes!

A trip to your local thrift or Goodwill store can provide an abundance of cheap Halloween costumes. While it is true that a lot of the donations for these stores are by people giving away clothes that no longer fit them there are just as many people giving away clothes because they are downright hideous! This means you�ll able to get an inexpensive version of a disco outfit or some other tacky ensemble. You could also merely mix and match outrageous prints and go as a runway fashion model. Have you seen some of those outfits?

No matter which outfit you pull together, the fact that it�s one of the cheap Halloween costumes, should be a badge of honor. Imagine coming up with something fun and clever then to be able to say it only cost you 8 bucks! You�ll be the hit of the party or parade for sure!

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Technorati Tags: big foam finger, dressing up, ghost outfit with belts, outfit, outfit with belts, tacky ensemble, white sheet

Halloween is just around the corner, and I am really excited. Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday- the combination of scary and spooky, candy and treats, and, of course, the costumes. However, most people see buying Halloween costumes as more of a chore, while I think it is one of my favorite purchases of the year. I love looking at costumes. However, if you are not like me, I can still help. Here are some of the best ways and places to buy Halloween costumes.

The key to buying Halloween costumes is to have a plan. Too many people go into stores without any sense of what they want to be. They spend their whole time looking at everything and have a difficult time choosing from the hundreds, if not thousands, of different options. Instead, take ten or fifteen minutes to think about what costume you wish you could buy. You still have the flexibility to choose something else when you go to the store.

Speaking of going to the store, that is not the only place to buy Halloween costumes. In fact, there are three main locations where you can buy Halloween costumes. The first is the worst place to buy Holloween costumes: any non-costume store. This includes your big box retailers as well as your chain convenience stores. The only reason people buy Halloween costumes from these places is that they forgot to do it. You can be better than that.

The next best place to buy Halloween costumes are the Halloween stores or costume stores. These are great for browsing, if you enjoy that sort of thing. Plus, you get a chance to look at two or three different variations on your costume in person. This is crucial for all you witches and pirates out there.

Finally, my favorite place to buy Halloween costumes is online. There are some disadvantages here; you have to have a specific game plan, browsing cannot be done. However, you are able to quickly and easily compare prices and save yourself the trouble of going to the cluttered and crowded stores.

However you decide to buy Holloween costumes, whether in a store, online, or as an after-thought, take some time to think it through before hand if you really want a costume you will enjoy. Halloween only comes once a year, so the time is definitely worth it.

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Technorati Tags: costume stores, place to buy, places to buy, witches and pirates