A guy’s guide to doing Halloween right

When we were little boys, Halloween meant candy, staying up late and creeping around our neighborhoods like a pack of werewolves.

But as we have grown older, what does Halloween mean to us as guys? The essential question as this holiday approaches always becomes: Crap, what am I going to be?

Halloween, at its most basic form, is about playing a character and there are plenty of male personalities to choose from. Here are some cheap, relatively easy costumes for a college-aged male to put together.

Ace Ventura; Pet Detective – Just grab your sister’s old tutu, a button-up shirt and some crazy hair gel and you are all set. Everyone loves that movie and everyone will love your idea.

Bill Lumbergh from Office Space is another good one. Again hair gel and a pair of suspenders are simple and most guys (or their dads) have a pair. Carry your candy (or adult beverage) around in a coffee mug. More importantly, play the part on this one. It will make a big difference

Derek Zoolander. You can become one of the most beloved movie characters of all-time with a few minor preparations. Go to Goodwill and find an old pair of suede pants and throw on a bright shirt. Pucker your lips and walk around like you own every place you walk in to and your costume is sure to be “really, really ridiculously good looking.”

Because that’s the thing. Guys CAN look really good on Halloween.

It seems that us men get lost in what is seen as a largely feminine holiday. But some men on Central Michigan’s campus are committed to making Halloween count this year.

“I usually just throw something together at the last minute,” senior Aaron VanHattum said. “Not this year, though. I want to do it right for once. I’m going as a caveman this year. I got some help from my mom and that made a big difference.”

Not all men want feminine intuition when it comes to putting together the right get-up, but some get it anyway.

“When I suggested that I didn’t want to do anything for Halloween, my girlfriend was not happy,” freshman Travis Smith said. “I guess I don’t really get a choice. I’m going to be an old rich guy and she is going to be a gold digger.”

To seem like a better planner, many guys use a small back story or explanation as the driving force behind their last-minute costume design.

Think about your childhood shows or movies you loved growing up. How bad-ass would an Ivan Ooze (from the old Power Rangers movies) or Goku (from Dragon Ball Z) costume be?

And like VanHattum, if asking your mom or girlfriend for help is what you need to do, go for it.

There is no shame in being male and spending a lot of time on your costume. But there is a good amount of shame in being the one guy at the party with only a ratty old cowboy hat and claiming he is Woody from Toy Story.