Halloween on a budget

Want a cool costume for Halloween but don't have much money to spend on it? Take it from these creative college students. They really know how to have fun without money!

Just take a lava-lava and/or a skirt, or random pieces of clothing, stuff it down a pair of shorts and wear a loose dress over it. If you have my body, don't forget to stuff socks down your bra too.

This was my costume on Friday night. I was saving the REAL costume for Saturday. I didn't bring kids with me like I wanted to so I didn't get to do the "poor family planner" number. I'm kind of glad I didn't though. Imagine having to babysit when I'm with my friends. I wouldn't have gotten to go to the party held at the Canoe House either.

The Canoe House is a house off campus which happens to be within our ward boundaries. Lots of cute guys live there and people are constantly over there doing something. Emily and I are no exception (I go there for their dog, Shaka). They throw gigs there all the time, but today was the first real one we went to and Upstanding Youth was playing there as usual.

It was quite the party. Most people there were dressed up, nearly all my friends were there and the music was great (no surprise there) with a ton of us crammed in their backyard right by the beach. It was ROCKING AWESOME.

I danced my heart out (as much as I could on a full bladder anyway - I really FELT pregnant) with that big belly. It really added to the fun. People who didn't know me thought I was really pregnant. I was told afterwards that someone was thinking "She really shouldn't be here!" and I was told by one of the Canoe house boys that the band were saying among themselves "Dude, there's a pregnant lady in here!" Why is it that when you're pregnant, you're automatically upgraded to "LADY"?

It was fun though. Before that, we were at the Harlem Gospel Choir concert for the last part of it. They were REALLY good and it was cool, but it had its awkward moments. They found a way to mention Jesus in every song they sang and not being very charismatic in our worship, it was kind of funny to watch people's reaction. Still, a whole bunch of kids went up and danced... it was very, very cool.

I got a kick out of pretending to be really pregnant, struggling to sit down and climb steps and stuff. Jared's arm came in handy.

Just for the heck of it, for authenticity's sake, and for the sake of those who didn't get to see my rockin' costume, I was pregnant again the next day - in pants this time. I went to the mall with my sister like that. It felt really awkward when I went to the dressing room to try on clothes because I realized that people could shoplift that way and I felt guilty for faking a pregnancy and lying to everyone. In the first store I went into was a lady (ok, so I do it too) who was really pregnant... I had to look away.

It was still fun to have my sister pick up everything I dropped just so I wouldn't have to squat.

And for some reason, people liked to ask how I am doing. It's like the community has a duty to make sure pregnant women are ok.Those who knew that I wasn't really pregnant always wanted to know what was inside. It baffled me. What would I put in there and why would it matter? Others wanted to use it as a punching bag. Remind me to stay away from them when I really am pregnant.

Someone said that I should've been a pregnant nun. Oooh! I think I will do that when (if?) I am REALLY pregnant. That will be hilarious!

Oh. I got sidetracked. Back to costumes...

Mama Jolley dressed as a hippie on Friday night. I regret not remembering to take a picture of her and her cute sign that said "Hug a Tree!" Ironically, the sign was made out of wood and paper. At the Canoe House, they had a bonfire after the band was done playing. She marched around the fire in protest and then suddenly threw her sign into the flames! I WASN'T THERE FOR THAT! I think I was in the bathroom adjusting my belly then. Crap. That must've been quite the moment.

If pregnant or hippie don't work for you, try putting on an outfit from your culture... that's what alot of the international students who hadn't ever celebrated Halloween before did. Or you can trade traditional costumes...


Chris as a returned missionary at church and Anna as... well... not me. She's wearing the Vietnamese traditional costume for women called an "ao dai" literally meaning "long dress". I think they are absolutely lovely.


Don't have anything cultural? Take it from Justin and Heather. Pull ladies' nylons over your head and be a mugger. Or just go in something you don't usually get seen in... like pigtails and whatever it was that she was wearing. Making funny faces helps too.


We now know Justin can't be a mugger because he still looks exactly the same, even with the stocking on his head. And nobody, not even Heather, knows what she was for Halloween. Mystery suits the mood for Halloween perfectly...

Just make sure that you don't get caught!


But if you do, don't forget to smile for the camera!
The army dude is Steve in last year's costume. You could do that too.


You could also always go in the dress you bought for last year's Renfest, toussle up your hair, add some dramatic makeup -just like Rachael did = and be a bar wench. Don't forget to take pictures with your customers!


I have no idea who the girl on the right is, but her Asian college student costume sure was realistic!


If you didn't have time to plan, take it from Erika. 10 minutes before the party, and still without a costume or any ideas,she decided that she would put on a nice dress and be a girl stood up for the prom.


And thus we see that make up, facial expression and demeanor is everything.


Or, if you're cool like Shem and so happen to have permission to grow a beard and have some square lensed shades in round frames lying around, you could borrow Jared's pants, get a hair net from a cafeteria worker or something, wear a t-shirt inside out under a long-sleeved collared shirt and stick a toothpick in your mouth and be a vato! Just make sure that the people you're around know what a vato is or you might have to explain it to them. Hey - I don't know anything about Mexicans!


Apparently, those of that culture were very impressed. I'll have to take their word for it. I still think he looked better in long hair and an imaginary hideous nose...


Shem as Cyrano in the play. It ended on Saturday just before the big party.


Well, if you're not as cool as Shem, just as long as you have an equally cool friend like Carrera, white powder, black clothes and dark makeup (or access to the makeup backstage after the play), you could raid her room and go goth. Or I guess you could always go through your S&M toy chest or something - and NO you can't touch mine!


Mama Jolley's dark side. Everything but the shirt and glow in the dark spider (sent to her by her mom for Halloween) and her black skirt belonged to Carrera. She looked freaky, but she's way too Jolley to be goth or a punk rocker chick or even a hybrid. This is one of the very few pictures I have of her not smiling.

Kelsey didn't want to miss out on the fun either.

Don't forget to leave the red-eye in for effect. Oh my gosh, was she scary!!!

My favorite though, I have to say, was Disney. He shaved his head and wore a REAL mohawk! How much are you willing to do for a costume?



Unfortunately it was Sunday the next day and he shaved it off for church. It was fun while it lasted.


Of course, all that would not have been possible if not for the one and only Carrera! With the help of Emily and her good pal Elmer (yes, the glue) she managed to spunk up her hair. It was cool, but in the end, Carrera really just went as, well, Carrera. Even in her racer/dirt biker outfit the night before, she was still herself. She always wears that anyway. We'd all like to see her dress up as a cheerleader one year. Now THAT would be dressing up!


I heard from Joel who gave her the lei she's wearing for all the work she put into the set in the play that it was quite the challenge getting it past her hair and onto her shoulders. If you look carefully, you can see spikes by the crotch of her pants. Notice how out of character these two best friends are.

Here's one more group picture for the road:

These are my friends?


What if you don't have an awesome friend like Carrera or if she's fresh out of goth/punk? (ok, I didn't grow up in the US: I don't know the difference!) You can always follow Su's example and borrow your sister's back-up costume.


Su as an escaped mental patient (or as Shem puts it, me in the movie "Shadows)
You wouldn't BELIEVE how much work it took to get her hair to mess up! It just kept falling right into place. I found that gown on a giveaway table in the dorms a while back. The tag around her wrist is the tag they gave her when she made a donation for something turned inside out. Her teddy bear, David, (sadly, my idea, for the lack of something better to hold) threw people off. A ton of people thought she was in her PJs. (They got that look in the picture from her) She finally gave up and put her David aside and went around calling for Mom or looking for her knife. A knife would've been an awesome accessory, but a voodoo doll would have been pretty cool too.


Don't have a cool sister like me? Well, if you're skinny and bald and have sheets, you could wear a diaper and go as Gandhi like Judge did.

I really wish he had a pair of round rimmed glasses. I have to admit I didn't recognize what he was at first and had to ask him. Too many people walking around in all white as angels... most people got it though.


If that won't work either, you can always just go as yourself. Heck, Jared did!


Chicks dig it.

Here are my favorite costumes:




I haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite yet so I couldn't appreciate it fully, but I know alot of people who have. The guy who dressed up as Napoleon did an AWESOME job. He created quite the uproar upon entry. He had the walk down and everything. He never let his guard down once that evening. It was AWESOME!

Remember Rosie the Riveter?




Well, get a load of this!




I couldn't help myself (I did have to blot out Steve, but I'm sure he didn't mind). Did she not do a GREAT job?! Mariah had a red spotted hankerchief her right pocket, a wrench hanging from her left side, and goggles around her neck with a button on her right collar that had previous picture on it and she handed out little pictures of Rosie to the women. Oh. I LOVE that cosutme. It suits Mariah perfectly too!



I know you've all been dying to see what I did on Saturday. Well, I tried asking around to borrow a white dress from people, but the one girl I knew who had one my size wasn't really willing to lend her gown to me. I don't blame her. I ended up going shopping with Su on Saturday (pregnant) and spent hours there trying to find things for that night.

This is the final product:


Wouldn't you like to find this in your mailbox? (I'd probably fit too)

These things I already had:

White tank top
White skirt
White sheets that Su amazing turned into a gown
Safety pins
Pearl necklace
Diamond earrings (fake, of course)
Bar code cut out from a bag of balloons
Postage stamps - cut out from an old letter. Jared likes to point out how there are only 3. I'm light enough, I guesss.
Lots of tape to keep them on me.

This is how much I spent on my costume:

Bouquet: $2 - $1 per bunch at the dollar store
Veil: $6.50 - I didn't know where to get material for that so I bought one of those little ones they sold for little girls to dress up in at Claire's.
Fake Diamond Ring: $5.50 at claires - It wasn't necessary, I know, but the one I used to have tarnished and I left it at home. I always keep one around to pretend to be engaged. Fooled a couple of people before... Disney offered me a real one. =)
White top: $10 - Got it from Jean's warehouse I'd wear it again anyway. It's pretty.
Bus ride: $2 (round trip)

Total cost: $26.00

Finding a buyer?




Priceless.