The Best Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas for the Extremely Lazy

Well, well, well…it’s crunch time. You searched “last minute,” “low effort,” and “the laziest possible” Halloween costume ideas, and now you’re here.

Look, I get it. You don’t have the time, energy, or willpower to execute a “good” Halloween costume. But who gets to decide what “good” even means, right? Isn’t simplicity a good thing? What about wordplay? Is it not good to save your hard-earned money with a Halloween costume that is so bad, it’s good?

When you only have a few minutes to pull something together, here are 20 Halloween “costumes” that are so lazy they just might be brilliant. Disclaimer: We can’t be held responsible for all the eye rolls these might earn you.

The best, laziest Halloween costumes

1. Chip on your shoulder: Place a potato chip on your shoulder. This one works best with salt and vinegar chips, because salt and vinegar is the superior flavour of all chips.
2. Undercover ______: The key to being undercover is blending in. You could be a health inspector, a detective, or a poet.
3. Identity thief: Wear a name tag with someone else’s name.
4. Spice girl: Carry around some cinnamon. Or paprika. Or, if you’re feeling really fancy, a spice blend.
5. Pig in a blanket: Identify yourself as a pig and wrap yourself in a blanket.
6. “When life gives you lemons:” Wear a sign that says “life” and hand out lemons.
7. Blessing in disguise: The rule of thumb with all of these ideas is that a good disguise can take any form. To put in a little effort, wear a sign that says “blessing” and then wear a fake mustache.
8. A procrastinator: Done!
9. A werewolf. Hey, there isn’t a full moon this Halloween.
10. Any of Jim’s costumes from The Office.
11. Damian from Mean Girls: Tug that sweatshirt hood over your head and practice saying “She doesn’t even go here.”
12. A cool tourist: Wear your sneakers, take some pictures, and act like a local.
13. A thief: Oh, do you think a thief has to have a certain “look?” Open your eyes. If you really want to commit, snag some of your kid’s candy for show.
14. Post-therapy session: Wet your eyes and carry around a box of tissues. If you’re really committed, you could actually cry before your party.
15. An Olympic athlete…who has let themselves go.
16. An international pop star determined to remember what it’s like to be normal again, you know?
17. A superhero’s alter-ego who is actually dedicated to keeping their identity a secret for once.
18. A puppet who has been given a chance to be a real, normal human being and is not going to risk messing it up for anything.
19. Jolene, from the song, “Jolene:” If you don’t have red hair, you can say that you’re hiding from a vengeful Dolly Parton.
20. And from my editor, Joel Cunningham: “Tape crepe paper streamers to each arm and go as the squid from Squid Game (I haven’t seen it).” I’ll call this costume, “out of touch.”