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Most last-minute costume guides assume you own things you do not. This one works the other way round: every pair below comes with the actual shopping list, and none of them run past fifteen dollars.
Everything here can be sourced in one stop. A supermarket, a pharmacy or a discount shop will cover the whole page between them.
Each costume lists what you already have, what you need to buy, and what it costs. If the buy list is empty, you can leave the house right now.
One Shop, Three Aisles
Stationery covers more costume than people expect. Marker pens, coloured card, masking tape and a roll of white paper handle half this list.
The makeup aisle gives you the rest. A red lip, a dark eyeliner and a cheap pale powder build vampires, patients and ghosts between them.
Party shelves are for one thing only: fangs. Everything else there is overpriced and looks it. Buy the fangs, walk past the rest.
1. Vampire Love Story
Both in black, one collar turned up, both with a strong red lip. Two small marks at the neck on one of you, drawn with liner and softened with a fingertip.
The cheapest convincing costume there is, because the black clothes are already yours and the rest is two items.
You own: black clothes. Buy: fangs, red lipstick. Cost: about $8.
2. Greaser and Pink Lady
A dark jacket, white tee and cuffed jeans on one side. Anything pink with a neck scarf and a high ponytail on the other.
If neither of you owns pink, a pink scarf tied at the throat over a black top does the same job for two dollars.
You own: jacket, jeans, tee. Buy: a pink scarf, hair gel. Cost: about $6.
3. Bank Robbers
Black head to toe, beanies pulled low, scarves over the faces and a bag each. A currency symbol drawn on the bag in thick marker finishes it.
This is the only costume on the list where matching exactly is the point, so raid one wardrobe rather than two.
You own: black clothes, a bag. Buy: a marker pen, maybe a beanie. Cost: $0 to $5.
4. Holiday Tourists
Loud shirts, shorts over pulled-up socks, sandals, sunglasses pushed onto your heads and a camera round the neck.
A white stripe of sun cream down the nose costs nothing and is the detail that makes people laugh.
You own: most of it. Buy: a loud shirt from a charity shop. Cost: $4.
5. Ghost Sheets
Two white sheets, eye holes cut generously enough to actually see through, worn over something with a bit of shape so they hang properly.
The one costume here with a genuinely empty shopping list, provided you have a sheet you are willing to ruin.
You own: sheets, scissors. Buy: nothing. Cost: $0.
6. Farmer and Scarecrow
Denim and a checked shirt on both of you. The scarecrow tucks straw or shredded paper into the cuffs and collar and draws two triangles and a stitched mouth in eyeliner.
Shredded brown paper works as well as straw at any distance beyond a metre, and you probably have some already.
You own: denim, checked shirt. Buy: a straw hat, eyeliner. Cost: about $7.
7. Netflix and Chill
A red top with the lettering taped on in white paper. A blanket, thick socks and a permanent hot drink on the other side.
White paper and tape is the entire craft component, and it takes about four minutes.
You own: a blanket, a red top. Buy: white paper, tape. Cost: $3.
8. Doctor and Patient
A white shirt with a pen in the pocket and a clipboard. Pyjamas, a bandage somewhere visible and an arm slung in a scarf on the other side.
A roll of white bandage from the pharmacy costs two dollars and does more than anything on the party aisle.
You own: white shirt, pyjamas. Buy: a bandage roll. Cost: $2.
9. Eighties Workout Partners
Bright leggings, headbands, an oversized tee with the neck cut wide, leg warmers if you can find them. Volume in the hair on both.
Neon carries this entirely. If the colours shout loudly enough, accuracy stops mattering.
You own: leggings, a big tee. Buy: headbands, neon socks. Cost: about $6.
10. Chef and Ingredient
A white shirt, an apron and a folded paper hat. The other in one strong block colour as the ingredient, with a green scarf at the collar as the stalk.
The paper hat is a five-minute fold from a sheet of A3 and looks better than a bought one.
You own: apron, white shirt. Buy: a red or green top if you lack one. Cost: $0 to $8.
11. Celebrity and Paparazzi
Sunglasses and a coat with the collar turned up on one side. A camera, a lanyard and a notebook on the other, always half a step behind.
The most expensive item is a camera you already own, and a phone held up works just as well all night.
You own: sunglasses, a coat, a camera. Buy: nothing. Cost: $0.
The Free Three
If you want to spend nothing at all, the ghost sheets, the celebrity and paparazzi, and the bank robbers each come in at zero.
All three rely on shape rather than detail, which is exactly why they cost nothing and still read clearly across a room.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest couple costume here?
Three of them are free if you already own the basics: ghost sheets, bank robbers, and celebrity with paparazzi. None need anything bought.
Where should we shop if only one place is open?
A supermarket. Between the stationery, makeup and household aisles it covers nine of the eleven costumes on this page.
Is it worth buying anything from the Halloween aisle?
Only fangs. The rest is priced for people who left it late, and it tends to look exactly as cheap as it was.
How do we look put together on a tiny budget?
Spend the money on one good prop each rather than spreading it across the outfit. The prop is what people read as a costume.
The Bottom Line
A small budget is not the problem with last-minute costumes. Buying the wrong things is. One good prop each beats a full outfit of cheap party-shop pieces every time.
Work from the shopping list rather than the idea, and you will be out of the house in half an hour for under ten dollars.
Need it even faster? These couple costumes take minutes with nothing bought at all. If you have more time, try these easy and adorable DIY pairs or the full DIY couple costume guide. For coordinating both halves, see these matching couple costumes, and finish with some Halloween nails.
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