Shopping for Halloween costumes on a student budget is never fun. If you’re anything like us, you’ve got hundreds of ideas and no way of executing them. Of course, food and rent should take precedence over a Halloween costume, but they are so much less fun!
After spending the last month putting together many different Pinterest boards filled with costume ideas, figuring out where to find different pieces of the costumes and ultimately determining what we’re going to be, we’ve come up with a list of six creative costumes that won’t break the bank!
1. Pixie Hallow Fairies
Watching Tinkerbell movies was a childhood highlight of almost every girl I know. They were silly, colourful and just so fun to watch. After looking into it as a possible idea for our duo costumes this year, we were pretty shocked at how budget-friendly it would be to pull this costume off. All you really need are five things:
- A mini dress in the colour of your preferred fairy (you probably have one in your closet already!)
- Fairy Wings (Dollarama or Walmart are the places to go)
- White or coloured shoes (you either have these already or can find them for fairly cheap at Walmart)
- Skin-colour leggings: optional (These are mostly for a little extra warmth and can be found at Walmart or Dollarama again!)
- Accessories (Walmart and/or Hot Topic have cute jewelry that would work perfectly for fairies)
2. Princess Peach and Daisy
Who doesn’t love a little princess duo moment? Finding and bringing my old Wii and Mario Kart Wii game to school probably wasn’t the best idea for our school life, but it worked out great for costume ideas! These were also surprisingly easy to DIY for fairly cheap. Here is all you’ll need:
- A pink or orange/yellow dress (Urban Planet or Walmart have so many)
- White sneakers (the good news is you probably already have these)
- White gloves (Dollarama has them for sure)
- A tiara (ideally, you’d want the ones the characters wear, but you can definitely get away with a plain tiara from Dollarama or Walmart)
3. Cody from ‘Surfs Up’
Who hasn’t seen the “Cody” costumes on TikTok? Before it started trending, there were probably many people who had never even heard of Surfs Up, but that doesn’t make it any less iconic. Between his big orange eyebrows and his silly attitude, he’d be the perfect simple costume for girlies on a budget. Here’s what you’ll need:
- A penguin onesie (this is admittedly the most expensive piece of any costume on this list but can be found on Amazon for around $30)
- Feathered eyebrows (Dollarama or Michael’s Craft Store has got you covered)
- A shell necklace and surfboard (no, not real ones! Grab some thick foam or cardboard and cut these yourself)
4. Barbie and Raquelle
One of the most iconic Barbie duos has to be Barbie and Raquelle. They have some of the best banter and are responsible for some iconic TikTok sounds. Not only would they be such a fun look, but there are so many opportunities for references that are guaranteed a laugh! We’re sure you’ll look “gorg”! Here’s how:
- Anything pink will work for Barbie, whether it’s a dress, skirt or shirt (you probably already own something perfect)
- For Raquelle, a black skirt and white shirt will do the trick (these can easily be found at Walmart and Urban Planet)
- A gold sparkly jacket (or any sparkly jacket. It’s not Raquelle without some pizzazz!)
- Basic accessories (we’re talking statement jewellery, folks! Icing/Claire’s always has loads of options)
5. Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood is always a cute Halloween costume. This costume is so simple to make comfortable. It’s probably one of the easier ones on this list, but definitely no less fun! Here’s how to make it:
- A red cape (a good place to start is Dollarama. If you don’t find anything there, then Walmart is the perfect next stop)
- A little basket (goodies are appreciated but not required! It isn’t Red Riding Hood without her basket of goodies! We’d recommend Value Village or Market Road Antiques)
- A stuffed wolf: optional (if you want to give this a little bit of spice, nothing says spicy like the Big Bad Wolf)
6. The Sun and The Moon
Here’s another easy costume that works as both a duo or a solo costume, each equally cute! It’s super simple and once again can easily be adjusted to be as comfortable as possible for you. Here’s all you’ll need to pull it off:
- Yellow/Gold or Grey/Silver mini dress (obviously, you can wear a skirt, pants, shirt or really any other piece of clothing in these colours! We suggest you look at Urban Planet or Walmart)
- Sun and moon tiaras (yes, we know this sounds incredibly specific, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to find these specific tiaras at places like Icing, Claires, Hot Topic and Walmart)
- Silver and/or gold accessories (we cannot seem to say this enough; if you want cute and inexpensive jewelry, Icing is the place to go!)
These are just the tip of the iceberg as far as budget-friendly costumes go. Of course, we do encourage you to use these as both ideas or the building blocks for your own ideas! As fun as it is to dress up for Halloween, it’s important that you’re not overspending. It’s also important to find something that you are comfortable wearing, especially if you’re headed out for the night (or the coming weekend). We’re wishing you all a safe and spooky Halloween!