Last Minute Halloween Costume Creation Guide

There's only one rule for coming up with a Halloween costume at the last minute: simple means sane. Overcomplicated costumes mean stress and risk of failure.

If you're thinking that easy costumes are boring and incapable of creative expression, think again. Crafting an impressive costume at the last minute isn't impossible; it merely requires reducing the design concept to its simplest form.

"Simple, Last Minute Halloween Costumes" describes a variety of materials useful in crafting a costume when ghouls are already emerging from their haunts.

* Duct tape may be the last minute costume maker's best friend as it can almost instantly turn you into anything from a Chia pet to a human vending machine, ATM, or even PacMan. An important tip for using duct-tape to make a costume: if you face the sticky side outward, you can attach many a lightweight material to it, including leaves, grass, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, and so much more.

* Cardboard and duct tape together are an unbeatable combination for a last minute Halloween costume. Here are just a few suggestions of costumes comprised primarily of cardboard and duct tape: roller coaster car (for duo); Viking accessories to be worn with your own fur coat; popcorn box and Rubik's cube.

* Foil is another expert resource for the last minute Halloween costume crafter. Anything silver and shiny can be made from foil, sometimes with cardboard underneath it. Crowns, swords, electronic devices, robots, the paranoia victim's tin foil hat, even a hat to top a sexy "tin man (woman)" costume - all can be made with foil.

* The recycling bin is a last minute crafter's most treasured resource. In it you might find milk jugs, Styrofoam plates, paper towel tubes, cardboard boxes of different sizes and shapes, soda cans, and plastic. There are too many potential uses of recycling bin contents to list them but here are a few: cut-off milk jugs or an old oatmeal box can be framing for a head topper. Masks can be made from plastic milk jugs, old cereal boxes (with egg carton noses) and other discards. Soda cans might be used for the human vending machine costume described above or to make your own Lady Gaga soda can wig.

If you remember to keep the concept simple and use readily available construction tools, you can craft an attention-grabbing Halloween costume at the last minute.