This article was originally published on 24/7Mirror
This season, instead of dressing up in those traditional costume in which you end up looking like 20 other people at the party, you can create a distinct style of your own by standing on the shoulders of the giants. Take a look at these fun and imaginative home-made costumes by people who not only love Halloween but also know to create a costume that will be remembered for years to come.
1. This Jellyfish Will Brighten Your Night
What makes this costume one of our favorites is the special features required for it to function; it lights up when the lights go out. It is an ordinary jellyfish costume in daylight but transforms into a pretty sight once the lights are out.
This kind of costume will be a rave on a Halloween evening or inside a nightclub or blacklight party. Its glow in the dark will definitely call attention to whoever is wearing it and what is more fun than being the center of attention at a party. With the proper LED lighting and battery pack, you can create your own costume.
2. Chefs Should Adopt This as Their Halloween Uniform
The mystery behind the creation of a Halloween costume is what makes it unique and celebrated. Like the guy here who, with his ingenious design, was able to display his love for Halloween and animated cartoons simultaneously.
This design is special because no one can tell for certain whether there is a plastic mouse in his hat, or it is just a shadow reflection of a cut-out. Chefs should embrace this costume like a newly discovered recipe, if not everywhere, at least in Paris.
3. A Perfect Steve Jobs Impression
This guy took his celebration of Halloween to a whole new level by dressing up as Steve Jobs. It was not just the costume, but his actions that made this spectacular, he spent the Halloween evening in an Apple Store.
It is not every day that someone mimics a person both in dress and action, and we are certain his amazing costume didn’t go unnoticed at the store. You can also give this wonderful Halloween immersion a try, and while it may not be the spookiest of costumes, it is definitely a great costume.
4. Stock Photos Are the Thing
Stock photos are noted for their diversity, and this guy pulled off an amazing look with one of them. It is not often that you see a smiling Asian guy all dressed up in a suit shaking hands with a white person, which may get you wondering, how did this guy create the costume. It is actually a simple process.
First, he blew up the stock photo and then proceeded to cut out the head which he attached to his body. While he had to smile all through the night, at least he can be sure he created a unique Halloween costume. This guy was the perfect candidate to pull off the stock photo look.
5. Oogie Boogie Can Be Cute Too
Remember Oogie Boogie, the frightening bad guy from A Nightmare Before Christmas. If you don’t, maybe it is time for you to watch the Tim Burton classic. This little kid in his homemade costume portrays the classic bad guy, while this is not the most innovative costume on our list.
The fact that a cute little kid was chosen to represent a villain like that cannot be ignored. All you need to make this costume is potato sacks and some thick black yarn.
6. A Baby in The White House
Look, here comes the Country’s Number One Baby. In this surreal picture, the Woman dresses up her baby as the President. You may need to think twice about whom you’re casting your vote for in this next election, here is an adorable candidate.
This president won’t be sneaking out to play golf with Mummy as his Secret Service. Imagine him at the negotiations table, who wouldn't want to sign a peace accord with this gorgeous little bundle of joy. This Halloween, instead of spending the evening with your child strapped to your stomach, why not try this costume and have fun.
7. Prime Fusion
The creator of this costume fused the two biggest Primes we know. Optimus Prime, the leader of The Transformers who protects the human race from their kind and Amazon Prime, the choice retail delivery service.
This costume is an insightful and creative way to celebrate not only Halloween but also one of the greatest cartoons of the generation and the greatest retail delivery service of all time. When you see the costume, are you worried aliens are about to destroy your city? Amazon can deliver Optimus Prime to your home in seconds.
8. A Little Retro War Action for The Holidays
In the spirit of the childhood days, do you recall setting up battlefields with little green soldier toys? These action figures were the main characters in the wars, where the strength of your imagination determines who wins. While the little soldiers in our old game can only be dragged around the surface, in this Halloween party, a recreation of the soldiers was done.
All that is required to create the little green soldier costumes are some green jumpsuits and green clothing, depending on how many soldiers you want to create. True, you can't be in the costume all night, but you'll definitely have a night to remember.
9. The Devil Is in The Details
It is a wonderful feeling when you and friend storm the party in similar costumes, but you have to be careful next time you are choosing a group costume, and by careful, we mean every member of your group must have a definite idea of what you are wearing or someone might end up like this girl on the far right who dressed up as a pepperoni pizza instead of dominoes.
We guess she loves the topping on her Domino's pizza more than the pizza itself. Perhaps there is someone who will throw grammar our way and note that a company email about "Dominoes" is different than "Dominos" but we’ll ignore that comment and just revel in her need to go stand out in a crowd.
10. Bag of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
If you are looking for a clever, easy & frugal last-minute costume, why don't you go for a bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans?
Use a clear trash bag, a $1 bag of balloons (Dollar store) and a printed logo.
11. Scariest Signs
This has to rank as one of the funniest Halloween costumes ever. The couples dressed up as a low battery signal and no-Wi-Fi sign tap into one of the greatest fear of this generation- the fear of being disconnected. So, yes, this is scary. Sure they might look like dead creatures of the night, but in reality, the only thing dead around them is technology.
While older generations might find it hard to relate to this costume, the younger ones who rely on their phone and PCs for everything understands what a nightmare it is. The simplicity is a costume, and the fact that it strikes at a very vital cord in the society is what stands it out and make it a choice.
12. The Dragon Queen on the Iron Throne
This Halloween costume is inspired by the character of Daenerys Targaryen from the popular series Games of Thrones. What makes this costume special is the story behind it. When Reddit user, SheHappens fell three stories from a hotel balcony in 2016, she survived but got paralyzed. She had to adjust to a new life altogether, one that requires using a wheelchair.
This change did not get her down, and she instead made the best of it. Like a true queen, she fashioned her wheelchair into the iron throne and with her Daenerys costume, everything looks just right.
13. Walt Disney is Back From The Dead
Halloween costumes are inspired by different things, from characters in movies to the supernatural. Here is a costume inspired by an urban legend. It is claimed that before his death, Walt Disney with the belief that technology would improve enough to eventually re-animate him and allowing his aging self to experience a longer and healthier life in the future arranged to have himself frozen in a cryonic chamber full of liquid nitrogen which will preserve his body after death.
While this story is not true, this guy brought the urban legend to life with an awesomely designed Halloween costume. He even adds a frozen Mickey Mouse to the costume for a creepy but cool effect.
14. Oh Dear Samsung
This girl dressed up as exploded and burning the Samsung galaxy note, and she adds a fire extinguisher to cap off the performance. It is a direct swipe at one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world.
Samsung phones are noted for exploding devices that are a danger to everyone and reference is made to this. While Samsung's new smartphones are well-respected by critics and adjudged safe, the past is never forgotten in a hurry.
15. Peter Pan's Shadow
Like all great movies, the Disney film, Peter Pan has inspired many costumes; this is one of the best. Unlike the regular costumes portraying characters, this one portrays Peter Pan's shadow.
If you are not familiar with the story, Peter Pan's shadow was captured in Darling's household where he goes to listen to stories, and he had to come back with Tinkerbell to retrieve the shadow.
16. Halloween is For Family Too
You want a family costume, why not try this? This costume made it to our list for obvious reasons. Firstly, it included the whole family. Halloween is not just a time to dress up in fancy costumes but also to come together; even the wagon is dressed up.
Secondly, the whole family spent less than $20 on costume, which means almost everything they are wearing is homemade and original, that alone is awesome. Only the oldest child is wearing a store-bought costume, everyone else, including the little baby, go homemade.
17. Here comes the Anglerfish
The anglerfish lives in the darkest depths of the sea. It is named for the way it hunts its prey, with a dangling light at the top of its head, which attracts them, and before they realize it is a bait, they have become food.
In this picture, the women recreate the fish in all its marvelous and fearsome glory, and in a bid to spice up the costume further add geeked out electronics to it.
18. We Have The Trophies Here
The idea of a trophy wife is one that not every woman is comfortable with, not this woman. In this sparkly golden costume, she redefines the phrase. Her three daughters not wanting to be left out joins in the fun, and the result is a trophy wife and trophy daughters.
This costume is a great family costume that will leave the boys smiling every time they think about it. While it may not be the best costume for moving around, it does make an on-the-spot impression.
19. This is One Hot Meal!!!
Here comes another costume playing on words. This blogger wanted to show her readers how to dress up in the unconventional and creative way for Halloween and came up with this.
We assume that on seeing the picture, a lot of people exclaimed Holy Guacamole! The costume is quite simple to create; all you need a simple green dress, a black fabric marker, angel wings, and a halo from the costume store, and you are set to watch people exclaim at the sight of you.
20. Caught in the Act
Costumes can be inspired by animals too, yes. And here is one. This girl dresses up in a simple yet fun costume as a Pizza rat. Are you wondering who Pizza Rat is? well, don’t. Pizza Rat is a real-life rodent who became an internet sensation when videos of it carrying a slice of pizza down the stairs of a New York City subway was uploaded.
Since September 2015 when the video was uploaded, Pizza Rat has become an internet star. This girl brings the internet star to life in an original costume, and that is indeed worthy of recognition.
21. Look Who Popped Up. It Is Clippit
This costume is a techies throwback that only those who used Microsoft Word between 1998 and 2004 will understand. This girl dressed up as Clippit; a paper clip pop-up meant to guide the users of the program.
Usually, Clippit pops up when you're using the program and offers to help you with what you are doing; not everyone loved it though. This girl costume is however adorable, while Clippit may have been a well-intended nuisance; this girl's costume is one reason Halloween is a great season.
22. Pearl’s Mother
A pregnant woman in a Halloween costume is always a pretty sight, and most women when pregnant go for costume with expectant mother’s beautiful bump. This one took it a step further NY dressing up as Mother of Pearl, and yes, she nailed it.
A closer look into her shell will show you what you might have missed; the "pearl" is actually her pregnant belly. What makes it so real are the shells, we can only wonder what ingenuity she put to it.
23. Harry Potter and Friends
The Harry Potter series is a classic inspiration for Halloween costume, filled with various characters such as magicians, trolls, ghosts, unicorn, etc. This character resonates strongly with Halloween, and it is no wonder that people dress up as characters from it every year.
But there are times when even common costumes stand out, and this is one of those times, this father in the spirit of Halloween decides to dress up as Hagrid and have his kids dress up as perfect trio is Harry, Hermione, and Ron. It is almost like a replay of a scene from the series all over again.
24. Bringing The Filters To Life
Snapchat is famous for one thing, its filters. From dog ears to heart eyes and puking rainbow, the app has established itself as the one with fun filters for everyone.
Donning any of these filters on Halloween is definitely a fun way to go, plus it is easy. All that is required is makeup, few props, and less than 30 minutes, and you are looking in reality, what most people only look in photos.
25. Who is Grumpy now?
Grumpy the Cat is an internet sensation famous for her permanent "grumpy" face. While this has nothing to do with emotions but rather an underbite and feline dwarfism, the face has turned her into a celebrity worth over $1 million dollars.
In this Halloween costume, this woman's imitation of Grumpy, which was done with only makeup and facial expression is the closest anyone has come to the real thing.
26. Harry Potter and Fluffy
Here is another great Harry Potter inspired costume. This little kid makes a really cute Harry, but that alone was not what got him on this list, by incorporating the family dog into the scene as Fluffy, the three-headed dog which Hagrid got for winning a gamble with a Greek man.
He created a perfect Harry Potter scene. Greek mythology has it that Cerberus is a three-headed dog guiding the underworld, which can only be lured to sleep by music.
27. Cat Lovers This Is For You
Cats are cute and adorable, yes. But they are not for everyone. There are, however, people who are crazy about cats, and by crazy, we mean crazy about it. Nothing is wrong in being crazy about a cute and furry animal anyway.
This costume depicts the kind of crazy we were talking about, with strategically-placed stuffed animals on her pink robe; it looks like the animals are having fun clinging to the robe. This little girl is also all smiles and depicts a dream come true for cat lovers. The costume is nothing short of picture-perfect.
28. Alladin with Family
Television has always been an inspiration. One of the movies that has inspired many Halloween costumes is Alladin. The classic story has been retold a thousand and one times. This family pulled off a magic by dressing as characters from the Movie.
While Daddy is dressed as Aladdin himself, Mum looks awesome in her Jasmine costume; their boy is dressed as Abu in his monkey suit, and together, they complete a love story. All they probably need now is a magic carpet and who knows where they will fly to.
29. What is Cuter than a Bunny? Carrot Baby.
This simple yet creative costume made the list for being practical. Yes, apart from the fact that it is downright adorable, a sweet looking baby in a carrot costume, it is also an easy and comfy costume for the baby.
Truth be told, the only thing a baby needs is anything that makes him comfortable, he doesn't care about Halloween or what costume he wears, and this is exactly what makes costume special.
30. Bat Woman
One of the fun things about Halloween is the effort people put into creating innovative and awe-inspiring costumes. Like this woman here who decides to dress up as a bat for Halloween. Instead of buying the ready-made bat costumes, she decided to work on her own and came out on top.
The dress and the ears are the easy part, she created the bat wings out of an old umbrella, and since the umbrellas already flap, way to go.
31. The Home Improvement Guy
In the spirit of costumes inspired by television, this guy creates a costume based on the character of neighbor Wilson from Home Improvement. What made his costume very special is the fact that he created everything himself, including the portable mobile wooden fence that he has to hide his face behind.
This costume is a fitting tribute to Earl Hindman, who played the character that inspired the costume and died in 2003, costumes that people build with their own two hands are amazing, and this guy doesn't disappoint. He threw on a flannel shirt and hid his face behind a fence to play the iconic role of neighbor Wilson from Home Improvement.
32. This is Thorny Issue
2017 was a great year for cactuses and succulent as they trended a lot on social media. So it comes as no surprise to find costumes inspired by these drought-resistant plants. This woman's costume is one of such, and we can all agree that it is creative and adorable.
She goes further with the lyric from MC Hammer hit song, which she added. Making a costume like this does not require much effort, all you need is a green dress, yarn, scissors, and a hot glue gun and you are ready to look untouchable.
33. How To Tender A Formal Apology
Here comes another simple yet ingenious costume. This guy played on the word Formal Apology by dressing up formally and writing sorry on the tie. We bet when you think of a formal apology, this picture didn't cross your mind.
This is a costume to embrace if you want to go scot-free no matter what you do on Halloween night. We wonder if he is apologizing in advance or has someone in mind he is trying to make up with for past mistakes, either way. This costume rocks.
34. A Cup of Hans Solo
Star Wars has inspired Halloween costume every year since its first movie in 1977, and judging by this costume; it is going to keep inspiring people. It is one of the movies which remains ever relevant in pop culture.
This woman wanted to show her love Hans Solo, and she did it in such a way that she avoided becoming another cliché. Her Hans Solo came in full cup; this is wonderful and creative.
35. Florence Meets The (Washing) Machine
Fans of Florence and the Machine will find this creative costume adorable. Before you get too lost wondering what's going on, Florence and the Machine is an English indie rock band that features lead singer Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, alongside a collaboration of other artists.
Their hit song, "Dog Days Are Over," which was used in the 2010 movie Eat, Pray, Love catapulted them into the limelight. While we don't know for certain if these two planned their costumes, we can imagine them meeting unexpectedly at a party and the comedic amazement that follows.
36. Hannibal Meets Clarice
It is always great to see someone add something new to popular costume, and this guy did just that with Hannibal Lecter, the iconic serial killer from Silence of the Lambs. Instead of dressing up the usual way in a straight jacket and face mask, our guy recreates Hannibal in the scene where he is wheeled out to meet Clarice.
He fashioned a fake torso on top of a gurney so it would look like he was actually being wheeled around. That is some ingenuity there.
37. Bob Ross Lives On
This is another Halloween costume inspired by popular culture. This couple dressed up as Bob Ross and one of his landscape photos. In case you don’t know who Bob Ross is, he was a painter famous for his show on PBS, where he painted amazing landscape paintings in front of the audience. His TV appearances were incredibly calming and won over millions of followers.
Although he died in 1995, his TV shows are still shown in re-runs and can be streamed online. While we are not certain if this guy painted his girlfriend's photo on his own or just copied one of Ross' own creation, either way, it's an incredibly unique Halloween costume.
38. Guess Who These Are
Through an artful play on words, These Halloween costumes represent a band from the '80s. You are probably wondering which band we are talking about; we will save you the trouble. It is the rock band, Blind Melon.
The guy on the right with his watermelon costume, walking stick, and sunglasses is all the cue you need. His date also represents a band, Alice In Chains, the alternative band which was part of the grunge movement alongside Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
39. How About a Nightmare for a Mask?
Imagine someone whose face was peeled off by a psychopath. That was the impression this guy was going for, and instead of relying on only makeup, he did it in a grand and innovative manner – 3D printing.
With a 3D printer, this man made a copy of his own face to carry around. This idea, which is quite creative is not a cheap one as it will require renting or buying a 3D printer, but if you have the money, why not spend it on making great memories.
40. The Time Starbuck Nearly Killed Its Baristas
In April 2017, coffee retailers, Starbucks announced it was releasing a new frappuccino called Unicorn Frappuccino. This new drink was unlike any ever served as it was made up of pink powder, sour blue drizzle, mango syrup topped with vanilla whipped cream, a sprinkle of sweet pink, and sour blue powder.
While the drink was a huge success for the company, Starbucks baristas knew the struggle they had to go through to produce one. This Halloween costume creatively depicts the struggle — a zombie-like barista donning her Unicorn-Frap-soaked apron while looking exhausted.
41. Eleven Came Out Looking Great In Nikes
Oh! Here comes another television inspired costume, and this time, it is Stranger Things. Our list would be incomplete without a costume from that popular TV series, which has become sort of a cult classic since its release in 2016.
Here, this fan dressed up as Eleven and did it daringly in pink, it is indeed an incredible sight to behold. Although we're not so sure Eleven wore size-14 Jordans!
42. All Hail The Headless Horseman
In the world of Halloween costumes, the headless horseman is a live legend. For the past 30 years, he has made an appearance in Anniston, Alabama. No one knows the true identity of the man behind in the costume, but according to a historian, Clayton Angell, there have been three different riders in the past 30 years.
Although he does not have a head, the Headless Horseman can talk to anyone who speaks to him. He also loves asking trick or treaters if they have seen his head anywhere.
43. You Just Got A French Kiss
You thought we were through with costumes that play on words, sorry, you're wrong. This group of friends created an incredibly creative costumes with all the pun intended. Dressed up as French in black and white striped shirts, berets, and with a glass of wine to each person.
They went further to make up as the legendary rock band, KISS. So yes. They are French, and they are KISS too, French KISS all the way.
44. Georgie and His Toy Boat
Fans of Horror will remember Stephen King’s iconic novel It published in 1986. With its adaptation into a movie in 2017, it gained global fame, and many people took to dressing like characters from the movie on Haloween.
But while most people decide to dress as Pennywise, the terrifying clown who hunted children in the movie. Some opted for other characters, as seen in this picture where this guy and his friend decide to dress up as Georgie and the Toy boat he loses down the sewer.
45. The Headless Bride
Are you ready for some abracadabra? Here is a costume that leaves you confused as to how it was created. This girl creates a headless bride costume for Halloween, what makes it unique is the way it plays a trick on the eyes.
But don't worry, you can recreate yours too. All you need according to Instructable is a wedding dress from the thrift store, an underskirt, a used t-shirt, a small backpack, white gloves, masking tape, scissors, glue, metal wire, and lots and lots of duct tape. If you are fascinated and want something like this for your next Halloween costume, you can do further research.
46. Walter White Times Two
We all agree that a creative twist is all it takes to refresh an old and common costume. Inspired by the character of Walter White, the high-school-teacher-turned-meth-manufacturer from the popular TV show Breaking Bad.
This fan designed a costume that allows him to dress up as not one but two Walter White at the same time.