by Linda Joyce

Created on: October 18, 2009   Last Updated: October 28, 2009

I have lived through a lot of Halloweens, trick-or-treating, and Halloween parties. Thinking back on some of them, I can't help but admire how creative a lot of the adult Halloween costumes were. You have to give credit where credit's due, and the makers of those costumes were certainly imaginative.

One of the very best costumes I ever saw at a party was a guy as the centerpiece of a table covered in a red and white checked tablecloth. He had flowers in his hair, there was a bottle of wine on the table, and it was set for two! (I wonder if he had problems with people putting their drinks down on his table all night.)

One time, we had a family party, and my brother-in-law came as a ghost. Not a very imaginative costume, you'd think; but it was humorous because he didn't just wear a white sheet. Oh, no; it was a white sheet with big green polka dots on it! He was the hit of the party!

My most imaginative costume was the Jolly Green Giant. This was a last minute costume I threw together for a Halloween party I was going to attend. I found some green tights and a green leotard (formerly used for a Santa's elf costume). I had green eye shadow to cover my face and neck, but I couldn't figure out what to use for the leaves. It suddenly occurred to me that we had a nice lime tree in the back yard, so I picked a bunch of the shiny leaves and attached them with safety pins to the leotard. It didn't look half bad until later in the night when they all started to wilt! And even though I tried to be careful when I sat down, some of the leaves fell off.

Other creative costumes I've seen at parties were a fallen angel (with gorgeous black and white feathered wings), a Phantom of the Opera, a Wizard of Oz group (Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow), and a French maid. And they were all homemade costumes that cost very little to make.

So if you are getting behind in your costume idea for this year, try to spend some time thinking up your own creative adult Halloween costume. If you put your thinking cap on and concentrate, I'm sure you will come up with something to wow everyone.

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