By DANA REYNOLDS – STAFF WRITER
Most Centre students would agree that spending a lot of money on an elaborate Halloween costume is not an option while living on a college budget. Therefore, most students look for quick, cheap alternatives. But instead of throwing some last-minute items together, there are several low-priced and creative ways to make a fun costume this Halloween.
Junior Leslie Hamilton was happy with the results of her alien costume last Halloween. According to Hamilton, it was an easy costume to put together. She found neon shorts and a neon shirt and simply added glitter to them. For antennae, she took a headband and added pipe cleaners with a cotton ball on top.
“I like to dress up, so Halloween is a lot of fun for me,” Hamilton said. “It is a fun way to get creative and make costumes. It doesn’t mean that you have to break the bank, either.”
Although sophomore Kristen Holliday does not normally like taking part in the costume festivities, last year she decided to join in on the Halloween fun. She and her friends dressed up as a trio of old ladies. Their costumes were inexpensive and easy to put together. They went to Goodwill for older clothing and then found gray wigs at Wal-Mart.
“It was a lot of fun,” Holliday said. “I don’t normally like dressing up, but it was fun and easy.”
For sophomore Taylor Harrison, Halloween has also been a time during which she can let her imaginative side shine for the night.
“Halloween is great,” Harrison said. “I love dressing up and being creative.”
Last year, Harrison kept things low-cost and simple. She found a cow print onesie from Wal-Mart and added a cowgirl hat to pass as a cow.
Sophomore Emma Schreiner has always loved dressing up for the holiday and she does so every year. Last Halloween, she dressed up as a hunter while three of her friends dressed up as deer. It was a quick costume to put together since it just involved Schreiner wearing a camouflage ensemble and her friends wearing brown.
“It was a lot of fun,” Schreiner said. “I definitely plan on dressing up again this year.”
For sophomore Sam Sabad, Halloween is her favorite holiday.
“Along with getting candy, I think that it is fun to dress up,” she said.
Sabad and her friend dressed as Batman and Robin last year. They found shirts from Wal-Mart that came with attached capes.
“It was a simple and fun way to get into the Halloween spirit,” Sabad said.
Sophomore Kirsten Larson has always been excited for the Halloween season. Her senior year of high school, she and a friend dressed as “Thing One” and “Thing Two” from the Dr. Seuss’s book The Cat in the Hat. They purchased sparkly blue hairspray and found red sweatshirts on which to put labels.
“We got several compliments [on our look],” Larson said. “Our hair was sticky by the end of the night, but it was still fabulous.”
These among others are costumes that are accessible and easy to put together for any Halloween outing. Making a fun and simple Halloween costume truly only requires finding a few items. After a challenging week of classes, designing a cute costume can be a way to let loose.
When the time comes to decide on which costume to pick and which character to personify this October, do not forget the lesson that sometimes cheaper is better.
Sophomores Jean VanNoppen, Emma Schreiner, Aubrey Russak-Pribble, and Hannah Badgley posed in their hunting-themed costumes last Halloween