Halloween costume ideas that are simple, easy and cheap!

Updated On: November 08, 2023 by   Sara Lynch

Halloween is nearing and you don’t have a costume in, all that’s left in the fancy dress shops is morph suits and expensive onesies. What do you do? 

Don’t worry, because we’ve put together a list of Halloween costume ideas for kids and adults that are simple, easy and cheap. Many of these costumes can be made with simple household items or cheaply sourced materials available on Amazon Prime.

Whether you’re seeking creative Halloween costume ideas or simple and effortless alternatives, we’ve got some inspiration to get you started.

Kid Halloween costume ideas 

Kids Halloween costumes can become quite expensive, especially when it’s superheroes or fantasy figures from the Disney shop. Also, it may be likely that your child attends more than one Halloween party, meaning a different costume for each party. Here are some simple Halloween costume suggestions to keep everybody happy and enjoying the spooky season. 

Ghost costume idea using a sheet

A ghost costume is an easy and simple costume you can make at home. Simply find a white sheet that you’re happy to get rid of, and throw it over yourself to become a ghost. You can either draw eyes and a mouth on the sheet, using a black marker, or you can cut out holes to see and breathe through. 

The only thing about this costume is that people might not be able to tell who you are, although sometimes that isn’t a bad thing, particularly if you have lots of tricks up your sleeve for this Halloween. 

Dress up as a cat 

A cat costume is probably one of the easiest Hallloween costumes you can make at home. All you need is:

1. A pair of cat ears.

(purchase a pair on Amazon for just £2.35) 

2. Something to paint whiskers on your face with.

(you could use eyeliner, eyeshadow or face paint, we don’t recommend using markers though, unless you want to be a cat for a few days!)

The rest of the cat costume is entirely up to you. You could dress all in black to be a black cat, but usually people get the point with the whiskers and cat ears. All you really need to work on is your meowing abilities. 

Witch costume idea with a black bag

An oldie but goldie, the classic bin bag witch. Ok it might remind you of being a kid in the 80s, but it is still a timeless quick, easy and cheap Halloween costume. 

(Image: Claire McGuigan/Facebook)

The classic costume that the bin bag creates is usually a witch, although you could go as a bag of rubbish if you want to be trashy this Halloween. The flimsy material of the bin bag lets you punch through some holes for the arms and a head, but remember to stay away from any open flames or fires if you’re using this as a costume!

Vampire costume

Modern vampires don’t need fancy capes and pale skin, they just look like regular humans except they have pointy teeth and maybe some visible blood from their last meal. 

This Halloween why not dress up as a low key vampire, all you need is some sharp fangs to flash when people ask what you are dressed up as? Luckily, Amazon is selling a pair of fangs for just £3.99 on Prime. 

Another easy vampire costume you could utilise is a simple vampire bite. Use fake blood or even a red marker to draw two dots on your neck. This will show people that a vampire has bitten you and you are in the process of turning into one yourself. 

Like one of the Lost Boys said, “ “when a vampire bites it, it’s never a pretty sight.”

Be a Zombie 

You can’t really go wrong with a zombie costume, it’s supposed to look terrible, messy and uncoordinated, just how an actual zombie would look. The most important thing to use is ripped and torn clothes and lots of fake blood. Amazon is selling fake blood for just £1.99, but it should be easy enough to pick some up in your local supermarket. 

You can use any old clothes and tear them up, splash on some fake blood and whollah you’re a zombie! You could also rough up your hair with some hairspray or gel and work on your zombie walk, just be sure to not be too convincing. 

Halloween costume ideas using face paint 

There are a lot of different costumes you can create with just a simple halloween face paint palette. You don’t need to be a fancy makeup artist with incredible skills, even a novice at face painting can create some pretty cool Halloween designs. 

The easiest things to face paint are designs that don’t require much artistic expertise. Things like cobwebs, spiders or simple flower designs can easily be painted on. 

If you want to go for something more challenging, like a spiderman face paint design, then definitely watch some youtube videos to guide you. Even though it’s only three colours, it is more tricky than you initially think. 

Amazing Spider-Man face painting tutorial for beginners | Fast & Easy

Simple Halloween costume ideas for parents

Halloween can be quite a busy time for parents, between parties, treats, kids costumes and pumpkin carving, etc, there is just so much to prepare and organise. Keep the focus on enjoying quality time with your family and try one of our effortless and simple costumes ideas for parents. 

Halloween costume ideas using contact lenses 

Another simple tactic for a great Halloween costume is simply popping in a pair of coloured contact lenses, if you aren’t squeamish that is! Coloured contact lenses are usually only single use and they are relatively cheap at around £10 a pair. 

With a pair of coloured contact lenses, you can say that you are loads of things for Halloween. Some things you could call yourself include: 

• A demon.
• A vampire.
• Patient 0, infected with a rare disease.
• A spirit.
• The Mad Hatter – although you will also need a mad hat for this one. 

The eyes are the window to the soul and this Halloween why not frighten people with your scary and mad eyes. All you need is a pair of cool looking contact lenses, nothing else!

Three hole punch / dice shirt costume

Why not take inspiration from the king of laid back Halloween costumes – Jim Halpert. Simply cut 3 black circular pieces of paper and secure them onto a white shirt to make yourself a “three hole punch”. 

Alternatively, you can just call yourself a dice and I’m sure people will still want to roll with you all Halloween night. 

Facebook Face Halloween costume

Another simple, easy and cheap idea from Jim Halpert, is Facebook Face. Simply write ‘Book’ across your face and let people work out the rest of your Halloween costume. 

The method of writing ‘book’ across your face is a much simpler method than attaching an actual book to your head. Although it’s a bit of a sarcastic costume, it’s still great fun watching people work out what you’re supposed to be. 

Just buy a T-shirt for a Halloween costume

For one of the simplest Halloween costume ideas, why not just purchase a Halloween t-shirt. No, it’s not lazy and it is still a costume, albeit a simple one.

Amazon is currently stocking a wide range of Halloween costume t-shirts, starting from just £11. There are loads of options from simple Halloween quotes to cartoon pumpkins, you’ll be sure to find something that celebrates the spooky season. 

Halloween costume ideas for kids and adults 

Halloween doesn’t need to be a fancy and expensive celebration, with our Halloween costume ideas, you can still dress up and enjoy the spooky celebrations with little effort, time and cost. 

Whether it’s a quick costume for yourself or your child, the most important thing is that family memories are created and what better way to create family memories than making your own costumes together? 

Local to Northern Ireland? check out these upcoming Halloween events in NI.