It is October!!! Holy moly! There was something. What is the next occasion after Columbus Day? With Pumpkins and stuff? Ahhh, right, it's Halloween time!
The minute we turned our calendar to the 10th month of the year, I see orange, white and black everywhere. Kids are hanging up pumpkins, spiders and bats all over the house and stores have stocked up on candies and costumes. It seems like everyone is already prepared- but me! And there are only 23 days left (actually only 15 days considering the pre-parties. And the pre-pre-parties...it's getting worse!).
Last time, someone brought the whole Halloween costume thing up, it was only June. How can my friend plan her costume five months in advance!? Craziness must have fallen in, I thought. It was very annoying in summer but now... well, I wish, I would be back in June thinking about my costume. Since we cannot change time, I better start thinking now.

In the past, I was an angel, a pirate, a witch, a hula girl and all the classics. The boring, boring classics. This year, I want something special, out of the row and self-made! And this has to happen with strategy.
Point one: Never ever buy one of these ready-made-costumes you find in every Halloween store. They look cheap, slutty and are light-years away from being at least a little bit creative. Besides looking like a complete whore in your slutty nurse outfit, you also run the risk of seeing 5000 other girls in your costume (but hey, you can all join a union). So, once again, let us be clear here: DO NOT BUY A READY-MADE-COSTUME! The big Halloween stores are only (and I mean ONLY) good for buying accessories and wigs.

Point two: You can buy accessories before you know what you are going to dress up as. For example, if you see a wig you like, try it on and see if you still like it. If so, buy it! Right away! Do not think like "Hm, is this really the right one?" (yes, it is). Or if you see a feather boa, just buy it. Boas always go well with anything. You cannot go wrong with it.
For this point, the rule is: Just buy whatever you like. In the worst case, you have too many accessoires (but you still have to consider that there is not only one party, there are five). So essentially, buy as much as you can :)

Point three: Now it is time to think about what you actually want to be and since this is the hardest question of all, I advise to not think in characters, more like step-by-step. Picture your Halloween costume in your imagination in a big frame and think out of the box. You can take the magic wand of a fairy together with devil's horns.
This point is actually very helpful for determining your final costume. I need to point out though that you have to be aware of the fact that it always can change!

Alright, so we have three great advises (aren't they helpful?!) and by the time, I post here again, we will see how helpful my tips were to me.

Happy Halloween!

Anke