Each year, high school students have trouble deciding what to wear to school on Halloween. Either they aren’t going trick or treating, so they don’t want to put too much effort into their costume, or their costume is scary and violent for their late-night party; cool, but not school-appropriate. Then, there are the “in-betweeners,” people going trick or treating who don’t want a super difficult costume, but would like to wear a creative one. Listed below are costumes with minimal effort required, “punny” Halloween costumes, and fairly simple group costumes.

Minimal Effort Halloween Costumes:

• Athlete: Throw on a jersey from past/current athletic endeavors, or borrow one from a friend.
• Self-Portrait: Grab a picture frame from a craft store or online and pose while holding it up.
• Nerd: Tape the middle of some glasses (cheap sunglasses with the lenses popped out can work), sport a button-down shirt, and carry around some textbooks.
• Pajama Day: Simply come to school in cute pajamas and bring a stuffed animal, and maybe a blanket if desired.
• Ghost: Find a sheet and cut some eye holes in it (make sure it’s an old sheet, or that no one needs it).
• Things Jim did in The Office
  • Write “book” on your face to be Facebook
  • Name tag sticker (any name but yours)

Punny Individual Costumes:

• Green with Envy: Wear green clothing and a name tag that says “Envy.”
• Formal Apology: Dress up fancy with a sign or sash that says “I’m sorry.”
• Smarty Pants: Glue some Smarties candies to an old pair of pants.
• Breadwinner: Medal and loaf of bread (so easy, it could have been in the first section too!)
• Fake News: Make a t-shirt that says “Fake,” or write it on your face, then sport a skirt/cape made out of newspaper.
• Ceiling Fan: Put letters on a shirt spelling out, “Go Ceiling!!!” (Sported last year by the math department)
• Cat Burglar: Black and white striped shirt with cat ears and mask
• Hawaiian Punch: Dress up as a tourist (tropical shirt, wide-brimmed hat, fanny pack) and wear some boxing gloves

Group Costumes:

• M&M’s: Everyone wears a shirt and shorts/skirt of each different M&M color, with a paper cutout “m” on the shirt.
• Barbies and Kens: Choose a theme and doll it up, especially great for juniors who participated in their pre-skit this year.
• Disney Princesses: Find a dress in the color of your favorite Disney princess and buy a tiara similar to hers
• Grease Costumes: Black jeans, bomber jackets, and shades for a Greaser, light pink coats for a Pink Lady
• Mario Characters: All different types of characters, most of which wear fairly normal clothing
• Any Superhero Group: The Avengers, Justice League, Powerpuff Girls, etc.
• Men in Black: Great for those who were in the senior boys’ dance, simply wear a suit and black sunglasses, and bring a cool pen.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter how the end result of a Halloween costume looks, as long as there was effort and fun put into making it. Not interested in these options? Be any sort of TV/movie character, animal, or food you can think of! Make sure to have fun with your friends on Halloween night, even without trick or treating, because there’s no school on November 1st!