Well gang, it’s (nearly) that time of year again! The time of pumpkin carving, crunchy leaves, delicious candy, fattening (yet delicious) Starbucks drinks, fun-creative treats and trick-or-treating drinking in costume. Except. Oh wait. I am in the land Down Under where the ever-so-important holiday of Halloween is sadly overlooked, but do not fret, my pretties, I’ve decided to reminisce with a Halloween post, and perhaps live vicariously through someone out there.

I used to Hate (yes, with a capital H) Halloweeny because as Mean Girls popularized, it was the time of year where all the skinny-minnie girls got to show off their bodies, and I, of course, had no body to show off.
 
But over the years I realized how magical Halloween night is, and how with a good group of people, how fun Halloween costumes can be. And so, as promised in 2011 (a year late? Psssh, that’s how I roll) here’s the “How To” on making my all-time favourite Halloween costumes: Tetris Pieces / iPod commercial / trolls / Ninja Turtles
 
Note how they’re all super easy and for people on a budget - because that’s how I roll.

Tetris Pieces

Ingredients: 4+ friends, kids birthday party table cloth, black garbage bags, back electric tape, boxes, all black clothing.

This is really easy & really cheap, but very time consuming - so plan ahead! We picked up LOTS of regular boxes from Budget car hire, and the rest of the goods from a big dollar store. It’s fairly self explanatory, and just takes lots of planning, and time, but it’s totally worth it - we won best costume that year!!

Essentially you figure out the shapes you want and then figure out how to connect them. When connecting boxes, we cut off two of the flaps to the boxes and then joined the boxes like two scissors coming together (it’s kinda hard to explain). Just make sure they boxes are REALLY tight and secure, and the arm holes are in the right spots. Then cover the shapes with black garbage bags, and then the kid’s birthday table clothes (the reason for the garbage bags was to stop them from being see-through). Finally add the black electrical tape to the corners, and voila! (Link to more photos of this epic night)

Ninja Turtles:

We went to a thrift store and each bought a worker’s green onesie, along with karate green belts. Next we headed to the fabric store to purchase lots (lots!) of brown felt - this would be used for our shells, and muscly abs - and some stretchy fabric for our eye pieces. And lastly The Dollar Store to grab some weapons.

Everything was easily cut to shape (big triangle areas for our abs, and ovals for our shells) and we used a thick, black, permanent marker to draw the abs on our felt chests, and the outlines of the shells (see Bing for help). We stuffed pillows into our shells and secured them to our backs with safety pins. (Also, we did have a Michelangelo, but she was working late when the pics was taken :))

Ballerina Troll

This gem of a Halloween outfit is probably the easiest. American Apparel for some reason carries nude colour onesies, and you can pick up a colourful wigs at any Halloween store along with a tu-tu and material for a gem on your tummy. (The plan wasn’t to be “ballerina” trolls, but I was too self-conscious in the nude onesie - so the tu-tu was a good compromise). 

This night goes down as easily one of my drunkest (so classy, I know), funnest nights of all time.

iPod Commercials:

And last, but not least - iPod commercials. Although part of me now thinks this is a dated idea - sad! It’s also incredibly easy.

Things you’ll need: black outfits, broom stick (no brush attached, just the broom), 4 pieces of each colour bristol board and tape. Essentially we lined up two bristol boards on top of each other and taped the broom stick in the middle of it with 1/2 the broom stick sticking out - the end of the stick went down the backs of our shirts. Then you take the 3rd piece and cover the back. (Again, hard to explain so I hope that makes sense).

Okay. PHEW. So many words and ideas (here some more!). I hope this helps someone with their idea this year - please (please!!) let me know if you copy one as I’d love to see your pics and hear about it.

And, while we’re on the topic of Halloween Costumes - Do YOU have a great idea you’d like to share? Or a link to show us the awesomeness you created? I always love seeing Halloween ideas and getting new ideas!?