By KIRA WATSON

If you want to have the coolest Halloween costume on the block, you’re in the right place. Halloween is right around the corner and costumes are getting expensive. Instead of spending $50 on a halloween costume, you can spend only $10 and create your own, original costume.

Bunch of Grapes – Being a bunch of grapes will be a showstopper while trick-or-treating or at a Halloween party. It is creative and humorous. First, you have to blow up a decent amount of balloons, leaving about an inch at the end when you tie them. Get a circular piece of green felt and cut the edges to look like leaves. Cut a hole in the middle to fit around your neck. Put on green pants and a long-sleeved green shirt. You will need another person to help you with the next step. Safety pin the end of the balloons to your shirt, putting more balloons at the top and less at the bottom to make it look like the shape of a bunch of grapes. Lastly, put on the green felt around your neck and put on a green hat. Now you are transformed into a bunch of grapes.

M&Ms – If you are going with a group of friends, consider being different colored M&Ms. If you don’t like those candies, you can make this costume idea into Skittles by changing the “M” to an “S.” Start by getting oversized t-shirts in the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and brown. Get white felt and cut it into an “m” in the font of the candy logo. Take fabric glue and glue the felt “m” onto the middle of the shirt – it’s as easy as that. Spice this costume up by adding socks, a headband, or a tutu in the color of your M&M. 

Salt and Pepper – A simple idea for a couple’s costume is being salt and pepper. If you are in a hurry to get a costume together, you can do this one in less than 10 minutes. This costume is made the same way the M&Ms costume is made. Get a dark gray shirt and a white shirt. Cut an “S” and a “P” out of black felt. Using fabric glue, attach your “S” to the white shirt and the “P” to the dark gray shirt. Put on light gray hats and you’re done.

Bubble Gum Machine – If you want to stand out with bright colors, be a bubble gum machine. To make this costume you will need a white t-shirt, red pants, a bunch of little pom pom balls, felt, and fabric glue. Start by attaching the pom poms to the white shirt with fabric glue. Cover most of the shirt. Make sure you glue the pom poms close together. These little pom pom balls will be the bubble gum. Next, you will make the “metal” plate for the front of the gumball machine. Take a square piece of gray felt and a marker. Write “25¢” in the middle of the felt. You can add other details on the “metal” plate to make it look more realistic if you wish. Glue the felt square that you just made onto the red pants near the top and you’re done.