On October 31st of each year, the holiday Halloween occurs. It is the season for dressing up, eating candy, and carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns. The biggest event of celebrating this holiday are the costumes.

There are a lot of options for costumes and they are very elaborate. Various stores, including Target, Walmart, and other convenience stores sell costumes. Additionally, there are establishments like Spirit Halloween that specialize in Halloween costumes and accessories. There are numerous ways for students to order their costumes, but Amazon is by far the most common. “I ended up buying everything for my costume off of Amazon, this was because they were able to come quickly in time for a last-minute Halloween costume,” senior Samantha Steensland said.

Depending on where you buy them, what you’re dressing up as, or how many items you need, Halloween costumes can get very pricey. Anna Amaris, a junior, wants to dress up as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. She made the decision to use a black dress she already owned. Some BSM students choose their costume for the year based on what they can find in their closet, exactly as Amaris did. “I had to buy gloves, a tiara, and a pearl necklace, but I was able to use a dress I already had, and the cost was under $30. I’m really happy with how my costume has turned out so far,” Amaris said.

Many students take a more creative approach to their costumes and make them from scratch. This year, senior Annie Juckniess created a component of her Buzz Lightyear costume. She was able to buy some of the costume’s components online, but she chose to make the top because nothing she found in a store or in line matched the idea she had for it. “I bought a green t-shirt, felt, and ribbon at Joann’s [Fabrics]. In the end, I cut off the top of the green t-shirt and glued it to the white t-shirt with hot glue. Then, to create his buttons, I cut circles of felt in various colors and adhered them to the shirt to make the shirt look like Buzz Lightyear,” Juckniess said.

It can be challenging to come up with a costume idea for just one person; just think about coming up with two costumes that coordinate. For Halloween this year, seniors Christina Taylor and Will Howell decided to dress as a pair that went well together. This year, they made the decision to have two costumes—one for the weekend before Halloween and one for wearing to school. They made the decision to dress up as people from the purge with their friends outside of school and come up with a fresh concept for school. They chose to dress up as Lilo and Stitch. “We received pink and blue one pieces. I’ll be donning a pink onesie,” Howell said.

Really, costumes can be anything you want to make of them. The students at BSM dress in a wide range of costumes, some cute and friendly, where others are more frightful and scary. Some students purchase fully assembled costumes, while others simply use what they already own to create a costume. Halloween is a fun holiday where BSM students can showcase their creativity by dressing up in costumes or just wearing their regular clothes—the choice is yours for the day.