DYI Halloween

The most significant surprise I had in my first Halloween in America was that our fellow "trick-or-treating" were not disguised with scary costumes. In my imagination, this celebration was only associated with terror and my son, and I thought everyone would wear witches and skeletons costumes. Once past the surprise, to see the variety of costumes excited me much because it reminded me of my childhood “Carnavales” when my whole family used to disguise.

Last year my husband and I, playing a little with the nostalgia of the similarity between Carnaval and Halloween decided to dress like El Chavo and La Chilindrina, two characters from our childhood in Latin America. The costumes were a huge success among other immigrants parents, and the best part is that it was effortless to make with clothes that already were in our closet.

This year I'm preparing another couple’s costume that I made with pieces of our wardrobe. I have it saved as a surprise but thought I would share with you three costume ideas I was thinking while picking mine:

• Bank Robber: I love the comic book look and the simplicity of this approach. It's like being out of a cartoon from the 30's, and the pieces are typical: black pants, striped shirt, and a winter hat. Nothing easier than this!

• Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: A typical and easy recognizable Latin American couple. The trick in this costume is in the details, and it is not complete without flowers in the hair, a shawl, and black eyeliner to frame her eyebrows.

• The 70's: This decade is fun to recreate, especially because many of us already have memories of having seen our parents or friends dressed this way. Additionally flared pants are trending right now, so once used for the costume can be part of our regular closet.

Whether to go trick-or-treating or to a party these costumes are easy to achieve in a short time and are guaranteed success!

Happy Halloween!