AILSA CHANG, HOST:
You know, Juana, sometimes the scariest thing around Halloween is not having a costume ready, right? So we have called an expert.
AMY PANOS: All you need is a black garbage bag.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
That's Amy Panos from Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and she says with a quick cut and paste, you'll be ready to fly.
SUMMERS: Just cut a scalloped pattern in kind of a half-circle shape out of the bag. Those are your wings. Wear it with a black T-shirt or sweatshirt and black sweats, and there you have a super-easy, super-cheap, practically free bat costume.
CHANG: I mean, assuming you're artistic. But, you know, if you're not looking to soar solo, you can also DIY with your BFF.
PANOS: That would be going as the it couple of the moment, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. You can abbreviate that Traylor if you're in the know. One person would wear a red football jersey. Travis plays for the Chiefs, and his color is red. And the other person, the fun part, could just choose one of Taylor Swift's many different looks from her many different eras - and bonus points for a long blonde wig with bangs.
SUMMERS: If you're set on what to wear but still looking for what to serve, Panos suggests, well, a snack-o-lantern.
PANOS: Basically, you're going to make a charcuterie board that is the color and shape of a jack-o-lantern.
SUMMERS: You can pile up orange snack foods like orange cheeses, carrots, even cheddar cheese popcorn.
PANOS: But then the most important part is the black that you need for the jack-o-lantern's smile and eyes. For that, you could use black jelly beans, blackberries, anything that's small, black and can be sort of shaped into a smile and eyes.
SUMMERS: OK, but as a procrastinator, I have to know what about the decorations?
PANOS: One easy and fun idea would be to make sort of candle holders that look like mummies. And then all you're going to do is wrap them around with either white gauze, or you could use even white crepe paper. You're just going to, like, wind it around loosely and tape it in the back. And then here's the key. You're going to want to add googly eyes on the front.
CHANG: For more last-minute ideas, Amy Panos says Better Homes and Gardens has a whole issue called Halloween Tips and Tricks.
(SOUNDBITE OF BOBBY BORIS PICKETT SONG, "MONSTER MASH") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
