The Best DIY Group Halloween Costumes

Okay, it’s finally time: We’re only a month away from Halloween, and that means that no one can give you the side eye when you start talking about what you’re going to dress up as. We already know the worst costume of 2016, now let’s try to find a few of the best.

Which direction are you heading this year? Pop culture? Movies? TV? Geek culture? Or the evergreen standard, “I literally just went with what I thought would be easiest.” What about a little teamwork to make your Halloween dream work? You could go with a couple costume, or you could go all out and recruit all your friends to come together like Voltron. Not only do you get to dress up, but your friends — especially the shy ones — can benefit from having a clear idea of their role and you’ll all get to feel like you’re a part of something big.

So here are the 31 best and funniest group Halloween costumes, with plenty of creative DIY costume ideas from Twitter, Instagram, and across the web.

The Stranger Things Cast

Let’s get this one out of the way first. We guarantee there will be no shortage of individuals dressed as Eleven, Dustin, Barb, and whatever Winona Ryder’s character’s name is. You can’t beat them on your own, but you can wow it up by getting everyone you know to play some of the lesser known characters. Hey, if you really wanna go hard, you might consider getting someone to play Jean-Ralphio, just to further that theory about Steve being his dad.

https://twitter.com/beatlesinblack/status/764905635657945088

Easy standout DIY costumes: Be the wall of letters and Christmas lights used to communicate with those trapped in The Upside Down. Accomplish this by writing the alphabet on a white (or patterned) t-shirt and wrapping yourself in Christmas lights. Everyone will know exactly who you are and accuracy won’t matter (another fine nod to the show).

French Fries

This could be a costume for five people or 25 people, depending on what kind of order you’re looking at. You can buy a ready-made fry costume for children, but it costs $293 and would mark you as wealthy but not particularly inspired. You may want to just spray paint a cardboard box yellow and wear that, or just wear all yellow and tell people what you are. If you want to really shine, though, have one of your friends be the french fry carton. It really pulls the look together.

The Sailor Scouts

Not into the Sailor Scout look? Angry that you weren’t chosen to be Serena? Demand to be Luna. She was the best character, anyway.

All The Pokemon You Can Name

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKONLrKgCEi

This one’s a given. Just don’t lose your friends when you run into another group of Pikachus and Palmons!

The Royal Family

This one’s especially good if you’ve got friends who don’t want to do a lot. The queen will shine most of all, of course (not really shine, though, because the main ingredient of her costume is lots and lots of powder), but there’s plenty of room for a couple of guys in suits. If anyone asks, just say they’re Prince Andrew (that’s a real guy, right?). Want to kick it up a notch? Have someone spray paint their hair red to look like Harry and add a couple of adorable corgis to the mix.

Pro tip: Do not dress as Harry during his nazi phase. No one will buy it and no one will like you.

A Basket of Deplorables

https://twitter.com/ZRosserMcIntosh/status/776517854283853824

This one’s easy. Everyone wears a t-shirt that says “deplorable” (yes, you can buy one online) and talks about Making America Great Again. This one’s great if you’re trying to meet people and the conversation turns awkward. Blame your bad jokes on the costume — “I’m just trying to stay in character!” — and excuse yourself for a drink! (While this seems like it would be far-fetched, there are already several forum threads in which people are discussing how to pull it off.)

The Cast of Friends

Nostalgia is never a mistake. And if Friends isn’t for you, think Golden Girls or Suddenly Susan!

The Trump Family

Can you pull off smug? Self satisfied? Sometimes it’s best to laugh, just to keep from crying. You may have gathered how most people feel around these parts: that this costume is the scariest of the year.

The Minions

You’ve got two choices here. You could either go the traditional route, or you could go ironic and dress as “those minions memes you see on your aunt’s Facebook.” The costume’s nearly the same, the second one just requires you to carry a sign advertising your positions on vaccinations, Mondays, and disrespectful people playing on your page.

Suicide Squad

Terrible movie, excellent costume idea. You’re probably going to have to draw straws for Harley Quinn, though, and there are bound to be some hurt feelings and murmurs of “I could have done that better” on the night of.

Every Character From Super Mario Ever

Everyone’s got a Mario costume somewhere (even if you never bought one). Put it on, go out with your friends, and have a great and very safe and unimpeachable time. If anyone questions you about why there are 12 Marios in your group Halloween costume, you can either educate people on why dressing up for Halloween isn’t the same as faithfully recreating canon or go into a bullshit rant about alternate universes and how the games and shows and movies don’t happen on a continuum. Up to you!

The Cast Of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Kimmy’s outfit is easy and iconic enough at this point that it won’t matter if you’ve got anything else wrong. And you don’t even need to dye your hair red (although it helps) or even be a woman to pull this one off. And Kimmy’s friends — including the mole people — are pretty easy to do, too. Just remember that you can absolutely go as Titus if you’re not black, but you can’t do blackface. No, not even if you “have a really good idea.” Just: No.

The Lannisters

Always pay your debts! Always look fierce, fresh, and fly! But maybe don’t have sex with your sister?

Every Superhero On Television

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKy2PgcB-qi

Arrow, Jessica Jones (very easy, just look hella dour and always be flawed but right), Supergirl, The Flash, Daredevil…there’s no end to the choices you have here. Want to make it an all-out superhero universe? Mix in a few villains to add some spice. Bam, your group is now complete!

Fast Food Mascots

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGyDnbnvClv

Classic. Iconic. Terrifying.

Pac Man and Friends

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Adorable.

Run-Of-The-Mill Zombies Featured In Every Movie Or Show About Zombies

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Ever dress as a zombie and have this conversation?

“Hey, are you that zombie from The Walking Dead?”

“Actually, I…sure, sure.”

You can’t make everyone understand that you and your undead friends are actually zombies from Day of the Dead, but if you choose to go as a catch-all zombie, you can tell people you’re exactly who they think you are. The conversations are shorter, your costume is immediately perceived as cooler because it matches others’ perceptions, and you can still swarm a party with 10, 20, or 45 of your closest friends.

Pizza

Pizza slice costumes are all over the internet, but a full pizza? That’s a spicy meatball! (Sorry.) It’s also an innovative idea that an exhaustive search has proven doesn’t happen that often (or ever, at all). Just buy eight slices (or make your own) and then assemble in a circle at mutually agreed times during the evening for a delicious group costume. What fun.

Crayons

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A great standby that’s not only easy to do, but ensures that you’ll easily find your friends. They’ll be the ones in line for the bathroom complaining how hard this damn costume is to take off.

Parts Of A Balanced breakfast

Bacon, eggs, cereal, toast! Remind everyone that breakfast was once considered the most important meal of the day with this group endeavor. We trust you to do this, but obviously can’t help. So we’ve just left you a picture of breakfast here because breakfast is delicious.

The Cast Of Clue

With the Clue remake coming despite everyone’s protestations, this might be the last time you get a chance to dress up as the iconic characters from the ’80s classic. Anyone playing Miss Scarlet must do the “flames from the side of my head” monologue at least once per hour.

Power Rangers

https://www.instagram.com/p/BC-qLl3kumW

The new movie’s coming, and it’s time to dust off the costume you bought for nostalgia’s sake a decade ago. You’re cool again!

Every Major Food Trend Of This Year

Will you be a box of rainbow donuts or mufgels? Either way, your costume is bound to be a bigger hit than the food crazes we’ve already loved and lost this year. Pay tribute to them one last time.

The Cast Of Archer

Not too hard. Phrasing!

Harry Potter and Friends

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIjRAOeAIJ8

You’re never too old to go back to Hogwarts. Plus, these DIY group costumes allow you to show off the magic of friendship and make dirty wand jokes all night long. Fun!

The Cast Of Bob’s Burgers

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAQGz4-oTGl

Everyone will compliment you for being funny and on point. No one will know that you bought Louise’s bunny ears online.

Jem and The Holograms (Original)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIiU_6whBfb

Make sure that everyone knows you’re saluting the ’80s and not that godawful monstrosity that Molly Ringwald chose to pin her dreams on.

The Gilmore Girls Cast

Luke and Paris better be in here or so help me god.

Just A Bunch Of Guinea Pigs

You can buy costumes online. If anyone asks, just say you’re reenacting “The Startling.” This is the best idea we have. Go with this.

Killer Clowns

Very hot right now.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Contestants

By the time this Halloween rolls around, All-Stars will be over (sad) and you will have every reason to dress up as Lil Poundcake (because you know Alaska is going to win this one) or Alyssa Edwards. Lots of people try drag their first time on Halloween — think of all the dudes dressed as Disney princesses — so why not you? Doing it in a group ensures you won’t feel alone; emulating already existing queens shows that you’re respecting a craft, not just throwing on a dress and a dollar store wig and going as “generic woman #2, isn’t it hilarious?”