12 last-minute DIY Halloween costumes you can pull off in 1 hour

Maybe you were invited to a Halloween party at the last minute. Perhaps Halloween snuck up on you, and by the time you went searching for the perfect costume, the stores were pretty much picked over.

Fear not, you still have time to create these last-minute costume ideas on a whim! As in, an hour or less once you have the supplies.

1. A Bag of Jelly Beans

What you need to do: Get a clear trash bag, cut holes for your arms and legs to fit through. Print the nutritional facts on the back of the costume, just like what you see on the backs of candy bags. Fill up the bag with colored balloons for the jellybeans, and tie up the trash bag near your neck with a ribbon. (Photo Credit: Brit.co)

2. A Stick Figure 

The hardest part of this costume will probably be creating your “stick figure head,” which can be made out of white foam board and black paint. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Dress in white and use black electric tape to create the “stick figure.” (Photo credit: CreativelyChristy)

Bonus: Step it up a notch and become a “glowing” human stick figure. (Photo credit: Flickr)

3. A movie theater floor 

I assume there’d be no better excuse to buy the extra big packages of candy and king size candy bars than to say you have to have them for your Halloween costume.

Use something such as double-sided foam sticky tape to adhere the “garbage” to your shirt and pants. And cutting out the bottom of a Solo cup should allow you to easily slide it over your arm. (Photo credit: RayGun/Buzzfeed)

4. Identity Theft 

Both super cheap and quick, all you need for this costume are some name tags and a marker. (Photo credit: Fungage.com)

5. The Glowing Gown 

In the original tutorial, the woman sewed her own dress. Since we’re talking about last-minute costumes here and for the sake of time, I’d use something you already own that you don’t mind turning glow-in-the-dark, or purchase inexpensive attire while picking up the glow-in-the-dark paint.

Here’s a summary on how to achieve this look from the tutorial:

1. “The real star of the show was TULIP glow-in-the-dark fabric paint. I used a little under two bottles of the stuff, and I got it at my local JoAnn’s. After I sewed the initial garment, I painted the cotton broadcloth with two coats of the stuff and let it dry.

2. Then, I overlaid the now-glowing cotton dress with a covering of tattered cheesecloth. Into this cheesecloth, I wove glow-in-the-dark thread. I ordered mine online, but I have seen it sold in stores since.

3. After painting it with glowing paint and weaving in the glowing thread, I added a few frills to the gown. I made some rosettes out of the leftover fabric scraps, made them glow also, and attached them to the bodice and neck strap.” (Photo credit: Instructables)

6. A Dust Bunny 

This costume can easily be put together using brown and white tulle glued to a gray shirt. Add some bunny ears, that you can either make or buy, and you’re ready. (Photo credit: Pinterest)

7. Straight out of the game Operation 

Seen from the photos above, you could really wear anything, as long as you have your game pieces adhered. Make the Operation game pieces from construction paper, gluing the white pieces onto the red, then use double-sided tape to adhere them all over your body. (Photo Credit: Pinterest & MidLevelU)

8. The Snapchat Ghost

People are just so creative. The very familiar Snapchat ghost would be really easy to throw together last-minute. All you’d need is a white sheet and red construction paper or craft foam for the tongue. (Photo Credit: Brit.co)

9. The Black-Eyed Peas 

How cute is this simple idea? Wear some shirts with the letter ‘P’ taped on them, paint on a black eye, and you’ll be good to go! (Photo Credit: 9Gag)

10. A ‘Cereal Killer’ 

I couldn’t help but to snap a photo of this creative costume I spotted at a party last year. It’s as easy as picking up some fake blood, some small cereal boxes that come in a multi-pack and plastic utensils. Using either hot glue or fabric glue, this looks easy enough to whip together.

11. A ‘Ceiling Fan’ 

It’s as easy as writing “Go Ceiling!” on a shirt for a costume that truly plays on words. If you’re less than confident when it comes to writing on a shirt, most craft stores sell iron-on letters. (Photo credit: dinersthriftsandbottlecaps.blogspot.com and Woman’s Day)

12. Make-up Magic 

So maybe you’re not into dressing up. Makeup can do A LOT. That’s all I used last year for my last minute costume and I received so many compliments. Good friends didn’t even recognize me! For the look pictured above, all I did was use three 99-cent small tubes of black, white and red paint. There was a bit of fear that the inexpensive paint woulnd’t come off or would be hard to remove, but thankfully it came off very easily at the end of the night.

So there you have it! Hope this helps you find some inspiration to pull together your best costume yet!

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