12 Genius Last-Minute No-Sew Costumes for Halloween

If you haven't come up with a funny, innovative costume yet for Halloween, you're running out of time. While all your friends are busy perfecting their month-long DIY costume project, you're still being lazy about it and have just now started to search online for ideas.

But that's okay, because there's nothing wrong with being lazy, and some of the best Halloween costumes have been born from laziness. Case in point are the following 12 last-minute costumes, which require no sewing, extra planning, or anything extravagant. Choose your poison based on what you have around your house right now—or can get with a quick trip to the store.

1. Cereal Killer

Want a bloody yet hilarious costume? Try becoming a last-minute cereal killer. I know... this has been done to death, but that's what makes it so great, right? Just use mini boxes of cereal, plastic knives, and splatters of red paint to cover yourself in breakfast murders. All it takes is a quick run to the grocery store— but don't forget to empty the cereal boxes first, or you'll spend your Halloween dispensing cereal snacks.

12 Genius Last-Minute No-Sew Costumes for Halloween — *Image by emilyroutman/Instagram*

2. Tie 'Died'

Bad puns can make great costumes, especially when they're simple ones like this tie-died costume—a spin on the brilliantly colored tie-dyed T-shirts we know all too well. Simply stick a knife (fake or real, your choice) through a tie you aren't too fond of, and you have an instant costume—and a very dead tie.

3. Snakes on a Plane (X/Y Plane, That Is)

We've all heard enough Snakes on a Plane jokes to last a lifetime, but even years after the movie's debut, it can inspire a hilariously nerdy no-sew costume. This take transforms the "airplane" into a bi-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, aka an X/Y plane. All you need is a sheet of cardboard, markers for the axes, fake snakes, and a little math knowledge.

4. Tracksuit Care Bear

By sticking a circle of paper decorated with a marker design, you can turn a comfy tracksuit or sweatsuit into the perfect Care Bear attire. Just grab your favorite sweats outfit, choose a Care Bear tummy to copy, and stick your homemade drawing onto the stomach of your outfit. No bear ears or paws required at all; you simply need to show your "feelings" on your stomach and you're good to go.

5. Living Spiderweb

Stick your baby into your costume with this easy living spiderweb. Martha Stewart's website offers step-by-step instructions on how to turn a plain white tee and skirt into a spider's web with black yarn. To really make the costume come to life, use black socks to create eight spider legs. And covering your baby in all black, you can craft a velcro "holster" to keep the young spider attached all night.

7. Black-Eyed Peas

Pop culture costumes always make an impact, and with the right pun, you can become just about any celebrity with little effort. If you're looking for an incredibly easy costume, grab a black tee shirt, some duct tape, and black eye makeup to become one of the Black-Eye Peas. No effort, no sewing— just tape and a little eye color.

8. Spice Rack

Happen to have an oversized bra and a collection of spices hanging around your home? If so, you're ready for any costume party. Just combine these two simple items together to create an unusual spice rack costume.

9. Freudian Slip

Want to make an intelligently funny costume this year? You don't need much for a Freudian Slip costume—just an actual slip and a few notecards or pieces of paper. Attach a notecard or paper to the slip that says nothing more than "Freudian." Or, if you'd like a more subtle approach, add Freudian terms like Oedipus, ego, id, and so on, applying them all over the slip itself.

10. Medusa

If you have plastic toy snakes at home, and weren't a big fan of the Snakes on a Plane idea, Medusa is another good, easy option. Just braid your long hair into an updo and sticking the snakes among the braids. Make sure the faces poke out around your head, with their tails hidden, to achieve a true Medusa scare.

11. Bag of Eminems

Who doesn't love a candy pun on the most candy-centric holiday of the year? This one combines Eminem and M&Ms for an easy Bag of Eminems costume. Just grab a spare garbage bag, print out a variety of Eminem faces, and you're ready for any Halloween event.

12. Formal Apology

A last-minute costume can still make a statement—even an apologetic one. So go ahead and don that suit you wear just once or twice each year, and add a homemade "I'm sorry" sign to pin on, or hang around your neck. Wherever you go, you'll be making a formal apology... for your costume.