Halloween is right around the corner, and for those of you who have yet to find a costume, here are 10 last-minute, pop-culture-inspired costumes that you can achieve with items lying around your house.
1. Uncle Denzel
A goofy grin and your favorite fitted cap will transform you into Uncle Denzel. Ask everyone you meet: “How ya mama doin’?”
2. Cookie Lyon
Drape a colorful bathroom mat around your neck and pair it with anything animal print and you can be Cookie Lyon for the night.
3. “Hotline Bling” Drake
A puffy coat and the inhibition to dance like no one’s watching and you’re “Hotline Bling” Drake.
4. Meek Mill
Print two Twitter logos and tape them to your index fingers. Boom. Meek Mill, aka Twitter Fingers.
5. The #BlackGirlMagic Apple Music Commercial
You just need two fun friends and a dope playlist to re-create the Apple Music commercial featuring Taraji P. Henson, Mary J. Blige and Kerry Washington.
6. Squad Goals
If you’re rolling deep this Halloween, you and your fly friends should get dressed to the nines, and if anyone asks, “What are you guys?” just respond, “#SquadGoals.”
7. Don Lemon
Tape the label from a bottle of lemon-scented Dawn dishwashing liquid to a yellow shirt, and you can go as the only Don (Dawn) Lemon that won’t let you down.
8. Stephen and Riley Curry
If your Halloween celebration is a family event, all you need is a vivacious little one who isn’t afraid of the spotlight, and you can tell everyone you’re Stephen and Riley Curry.
9. Creflo Dollar
Grab a bowl, plate or bucket from your kitchen and a picture of something really, really expensive that you want but don’t want to pay for—like an island or a $65 million jet—and then pass that bowl, plate or bucket around your Halloween party like, you got it, Creflo Dollar.
10. Straight Outta Ideas
If all else fails, rock whatever you’re already wearing that day, and when people ask, tell them you’re “Straight Outta Ideas.”
Happy Halloween!
Akilah Green is a recovering Washington, D.C., lawyer-lobbyist-politico turned TV and film writer and producer living in Los Angeles. She currently works for Chelsea Handler’s Netflix talk show, Chelsea. She has also worked as a staff writer for Kevin Hart’s production company, HartBeat Productions, and as a consultant for Real Time With Bill Maher on HBO. In addition, she co-wrote and is producing Scratch, an indie horror-comedy feature film, and is a regular contributor to The Root. Follow Green’s adventures in La La Land on her blog, Twitter and Facebook.