It is a testament to how exhausted I’ve been these past few years that our Halloween costumes have been LAME. Normally, Chris and I are nuts for Halloween; one of the reasons I fell in love with the man is because I suggested throwing a Halloween party where we had to dress up as something that started with the letter “P” and he spent a full week putting together his porn star costume (I’d share it here, but it was so good it’d probably burn up the Internets).

But then pregnancy and newborns hit and while I managed to put together this chicken costume for Alice’s first Halloween, other than that it was a pretty slapdash, last minute affair.

But, babies, I’m back. We have big plans for our costume this year (which I’ll be sharing next week). We decided to hop on the Family Costume train, although I have mixed feelings about it, mainly because I want to dress Bennett up like the old man in Up and this is the year to do it.

But, if I’m being realistic, he wouldn’t keep the glasses on and the walker would last two minutes tops, so then he’s just dressed like last year’s family photo.

Before we get to into this, can I just get on my soap box for a sec? You guys, if you don’t have time or are overwhelmed this year, take the pressure off. Don’t worry about doing a big ole family thing or dressing yourself up – in the words of a woman I’ve come to know quite well, let it go. I promise there will be another year you have more bandwidth. Or you won’t and that’s fine too. Whatever, right?

If you really want to do the family thing, but are short on time, Design Mom had a great idea where they all did a Classic Halloween with a witch, Mrs. Frankenstein, zombie, etc. Or loosen the parameters a bit and build everyone’s costume around one letter like our P party, or people that are dead, or people you wouldn’t want to meet on the street, or characters in films…

Now, onto our costume round-up. I tried to only pick costumes where the majority of the items could be found in your closet or for a few bucks at Goodwill, and that wouldn’t take a ton of time.

15 Halloween Costumes that are Pretty Easy to Make and Will Rock the Halloween Parade

Alice in Wonderland in a house costume by Misha Lulu: Okay, I totally lied. This costume would take you forever to make and you’d probably have to buy an Alice dress, but can you put a price on winning “Best Costume” at the Halloween parade? I think we all know the answer to that one.

Baby Mary Poppins costume from Modern Kiddos’ Halloween Parade, which outdoes itself every year: I believe the cuteness barometer (and my heart) just exploded.

 Anna Wintour costume from Oh Happy Day: She will have no idea who she is, but years later she will thank you for that haircut and the coolest little girl costume around.

 The Birds Halloween costume from Andrea’s Notebook: This is just too clever. Plus, it cost $6 and took her 10 minutes to make, which is pretty much livin’ the dream as far as Halloween costumes go.

USP guy costume from what can only be described as the best gallery of homemade costumes (moms are so creative): I feel like if I put Bennett in this costume he wouldn’t be able to tear himself away from the mirror, he’d be so in awe of the fact he’d morphed into the “Most Interesting Man in the World” (next to the recycling man, of course).

Clark Kent/Superman costume by Marigold Mom: So you know when your kid wants to wear his Superman shirt for the fifth time this week, but it’s all stained and smelly and you really don’t want to send him out into the world looking like you never do laundry, but you also really don’t have time to deal with a huge meltdown. TA-DA! Problem solved. Oh, and it’s a cute Halloween costume too.

DIY dinosaur costume from the outstanding Linna Xu: This costume fits none of the criteria – it would take a ton of time, patience, and creativity to make – but sometimes a gal just needs to dream…

Surfer attacked by sharks costume from The Fickle Pickle: OMG. Can I please take all of them home with me now?

Publisher’s Clearing House costume from Ask Anna Moseley: Not only is this hilarious, but it has the added bonus that after Halloween you’d have a gigantic check lying around the house. It’s the costume that keeps giving.

Silent Film Stars costume from Shrimp Salad Circus: I need more Halloween events to attend this year, you guys. Preferably last minute so I can throw this costume together and everyone can be floored at how creative I am in a pinch.

Deer Trophy costume from clouemoiaumur: Don’t tell anyone, but next year I want to use this idea and dress us all up as different animals because this is AWESOME. Plus, the make-up is awesome and so pretty; it’d be weird if I wore it around in regular life, right?

Bank Robber costume from Say Yes: This costume just stole my heart. See what I did there? See??? Okay, I’ll stop.

Instagram Costume from Miss Kris: I am a blogger so, of course, my heart skipped a beat when I saw this one. Plus, think of all the creative photos that could take place as the night wore on…

Pineapple Costume from Studio DIY: This is the perfect “I’m meeting my husband’s boss and don’t want to be too weird but also want to show I have Halloween spirit” costume. It’s adorable and super-quick to throw together as long as you have a yellow dress.

Man in Windstorm costume by my new favorite person: I’m a sucker for costumes that require acting. Can you imagine the dramatics involved in trying to hold a conversation with someone who is walking through a hurricane? Not annoying at all.

What am I missing? And Happy HALLLLOOOOOWEEEEEN.

Want more Halloween?
Our Peter Pan Family Costume
Our (Super-Easy) Annie Family Costume that You Can Buy