Ghosts and witches have had their day. When it comes to Halloween costumes for teenagers, humor or true gore are the favorites, especially when kids can put the costumes together quickly and inexpensively. Teenagers often like to head out for parties or trick-or-treating in groups, so they might like dressing identically or as an ensemble for a big impact.
The Appliance Store
Based on a suggestion from Costume Idea Zone, a group of teenagers can become a traveling appliance store. For a refrigerator, they can use a rectangular box that fits over the head and down to the knees, spray-painted white. They will need to cut two doors in the fridge, leaving the fridge door slightly open; they can use double-sided tape to attach various food items to their clothes (leaves of lettuce or an empty juice box, for example). The freezer door needs eye holes and will surprise anyone who looks inside with a “frozen head.” A washer and dryer both start with boxes; the head sticks out in this costume and dryer sheets, empty bottles of soap, and dirty clothes are piled on top, leaving room for the eyes. Dishwashers, stoves and other appliances can complete the group costume.
Mummy
A group of gory mummies floating down the street makes a satisfactorily gruesome sight. One batch of face paint and a commercial-size box of first aid gauze will provide enough materials for a small horde of mummies. Family Fun suggests using white theatrical paint as a base for the mummy’s face, and dappling on some black paint with a sponge for a gray look. A black eyebrow pencil creates scars that can be emphasized with red lipstick. Then teens can wrap each other’s heads in gauze. They can wear old clothes and wrap a little gauze around their hands and feet.
Spam Monsters
Teenagers pay homage to the electronic age when they dress as Spam Monsters, an idea from Fox News. Individually, kids print out dozens of pieces of spam email. They trim the e-mails with scissors so just the message shows, crumpling some of them up for a worn appearance and tape them with double-sided tape all over their bodies. The final touch is a sign reading “INBOX” taped on their foreheads. Kids will have fun reading each other’s messages before they even start out for the evening. As an added touch, one member of the group could wear a large box decorated to look like a can of Spam, the luncheon meat.
Hippie Commune
The Age of Aquarius still comes alive each Halloween when teenagers dress up as hippies. Rooting around in their relatives’ closets and making a stop at a thrift store should provide all the costume elements kids need. For girls, long, full skirts, lots of beads, a pair of sandals, a flowered top, and a headband will do the trick. For guys, bell-bottomed pants and a vest worn over a full-sleeved shirt can all be decorated with fake flowers. Another easy option is to tie-dye some T-shirts and wear peace-symbol necklaces. Kids might want to create some signs to carry, such as “Make love not war” or “Flower power.”
