4 clever couples costumes that you can easily DIY

Halloween is just two months away, which means it’s time for you and bae to start plotting out your epic, DIY couples costume. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to nail a clever Halloween look, though — it’s 100% possible to put together a costume from thrift store finds and simple items you can get on Amazon.

Need a little help finding “the one”? (Not the one, of course, you’ve already found them!) We’ve got a few simple couples costume ideas we think you’ll love.

Keep scrolling for DIY couples costumes that are sure to win any Halloween costume contest.

1Google Maps

Perfect for long-distance lovers or couples from far-flung towns, this Google Maps DIY couples costume will allow you to display the coordinates of your love — subtly, of course.

What you’ll need:

• Large red foam boards
• Darker red paint
• X-acto knife
• Elastic
• Large sticky letters (check a craft store or even a dollar store)
• Yellow duct tape
• Printable sticker paper
• Shirts you don’t mind altering

Step 1: Create the “roads” on your shirts using your yellow duct tape. Some simple cross-hatching should do the trick.

Step 2: Using your printable sticker paper and Microsoft Word, create the streets names you’ll stick onto your T-shirt’s road map. Choose street corners that are meaningful to your relationship — where you met, where you had your first date, the location of your first apartment etc. Then, stick them to your road map — it doesn’t have to be perfectly IRL accurate!

Step 3: On your red boards, trace out a rough outline of the Google Maps pin (it’s basically an upside-down tear drop); make sure it’s at least a couple of inches wider than your head on each side at its narrowest point. Next, cut it out using your X-acto knife — be careful, and be sure to cut on a mat, board, or a thick stack of news print.

Step 4: Paint a border around the edge of your pin using your dark red paint, then leave that to dry completely.

Step 5: Apply a sticky “A” to one pin and a “B” to the other.

Step 6: With your partner’s help, carefully trace out a circle that’s about the size of your face on the back of the board. Then, use the X-acto knife to cut it out.

Step 7: Using duct tape, attach a length of elastic to the back of the Google Maps pin to help hold the board to your head.

Step 8: Put the shirt and pin-head together, and you’re set!

2Netflix & Chill

This costume is so painfully easy, you can throw it together in half a day (perfect for procrastinators!).

What you’ll need:

• Two sweatshirts you don’t mind altering permanently
• Iron-on letters
• Comfy pants

Step 1: Decide who’s going to be Netflix, and who’s going to be Chill. Then, using an old sweatshirt or one you picked up secondhand, carefully arrange the iron-on letters for “NETFLIX” across the front. Follow instructions on the letters for how to attach completely. Repeat for “CHILL.”

Step 2: Put on your comfiest sweats or PJ pants and you are D-O-N-E.

We told you this one was easy!

3Ms. Frizzle & The Magic School Bus

https://www.instagram.com/p/u-aVU8Bhbe

Nostalgic and clever? It doesn’t really get any better than this.

What you’ll need for Ms. Frizzle:

• A long-sleeved blue or purple dress, preferably with a collar (or a collared shirt to wear underneath)
• Lots of iron-on planet patches
• A curly red wig, or your natural hair if it’s curly and red

Step 1: Following the instructions on the package, apply iron-on patches to your dress, spreading them evenly over the whole thing or creating a pattern.

Step 2: When your dress has cooled down, put it on (or put it over your collared shirt) and put on your curly wig. Arrange your hair into a large bun at the crown of your head, and pull out a few strands at the front.

What you’ll need for the school bus:

• A box that’s big enough to fit around your partner’s hips
• Yellow poster paint
• Aluminum foil
• Construction paper
• Hot glue gun
• Suspenders
• Staple gun
• Yellow T-shirt

Step 1: Craft your school bus using the large cardboard box. First, remove the top and bottom flaps from the box. Then, using that cardboard, create the nose of the bus and attach it using hot glue. On The Magic School Bus, the bus sometimes had airplane wings, so you can add those if you’re feeling extra creative. Allow the glue to dry fully and make sure everything is attached firmly.

Step 2: Paint the box using your yellow poster paint; you may need to apply two or more coats, making sure the previous coat has dried fully before applying the next.

Step 3: Create the windows and wheels for your bus. First, cut out rectangles of black construction paper and glue three or more to the long side of your box, two large squares to the front, and one large rectangle to the back of the box. Do the same to create the round wheels of the bus.

Next, cut slightly smaller squares of aluminum foil and glue them to the center of each window. Do the same with the wheels.

Step 4: Sketch out lightbulbs, horseshoe-shaped magnets, and stars from your construction paper and glue them all over the bus. Check out this photo for reference.

Step 5: Attach a pair of suspenders to the inside of the box using a staple gun. Then, pull on your yellow tee, don your box-bus, and you’re off!

4Struck By Lightning

https://www.instagram.com/p/u6FNPZPV0e

Sometimes falling in love makes you feel like you’ve been ~struck by lightning~ in the best possible way. Corny? Sure. But that’s what couples costumes are for — to express your inner cheeser.

What you’ll need:

• A white T-shirt you don’t mind destroying
• Black chalk
• Scissors
• A teasing comb
• Yellow cardboard, or regular cardboard and yellow poster paint
• A cheap umbrella you can destroy

Step 1: Start by making your struck-by-lightning tee. Snip a hole into the shirt, then pull to rip it wider and give it that rough-edge look. Don’t pull too hard too fast, otherwise you could rip the shirt completely. Continue snipping and ripping until you’re satisfied with the number of tears in your tee.

Step 2: Using black chalk, add a “burnt” effect to the edges of your rips by applying the chalk and smearing it with your fingers. This can be as subtle or dramatic as you’d like.

Step 3: Make the lightning bolt using whatever cardboard you have. First, ensure it’s wider than your partner’s head. Then, trace out the lightning bolt shape in pencil, and cut it out using scissors or an X-acto knife. Next, trace a circle large enough to fit over your partner’s head on one side of the cardboard, then cut it out. If you need to paint the cardboard yellow, do that now; note that you may need more than one coat of poster paint.

Step 4: Destroy your umbrella by turning it inside out and ripping the fabric. You could even break one of the internal spines.

Step 5: Tease your hair — make it as big as you dare.

Step 6: Put on an all-black outfit (if you’re the lightning bolt) or a regular pair of pants or a skirt (if you’ve been struck) and go win that costume contest.