Costume ideas for Halloween 2010

Once people hit the teenage years, Halloween is no longer about fun, candy and dressing up in funny and appropriate costumes. Teen girls start dressing up as "slutty" as their parents can stand and boys walk around in t-shirts saying "This is my costume."

There's no point in dressing or acting super promiscuous for one day out of the year. Those photos that will inevitably get posted on Facebook.com from the previous night might ruin future employment opportunities or cause drama among friends.

This year, let's vow to start celebrating Halloween the way we used to by making it all about fun and candy!

The following are alternate Halloween costume ideas that you can wear to parties, or even out trick-or-treating if you'd like. They are meant to be funny and creative, not offensive and provocative, but use them however you want.

Crayola Crayons: Everyone remembers coloring worksheets in elementary school. Why not commemorate that time by dressing up as a box of Crayola's? You could either wear a solid colored leotard with matching colored tights or even a solid colored t-shirt or tank top with matching shorts and leggings or tights. You can also make crayon wrappers and pointy hats with construction paper or poster board to complete the look.

Rubik's Cube: You could either find a huge box to create your cube or buy six pieces of poster board to tape together and create a box; just paint the sides to look like a completed Rubik's Cube.

You can find tons of other Halloween costume ideas by doing a Google search or just asking other people what they've done.

The guy from the Old Spice commercials: This is by far the easiest costume to create. All you need is a towel and something to wear under the towel. Putting some shorts on in case a "friend" tries to rip your costume away would be wise. Maybe carry around a can of Old Spice too in case people don't understand.

Jersey Shore: A group of three (or four) girls could dress up as the Jersey Shore girls: "Snooki," Sammi "Sweetheart," "JWoww," and even "Jolie" if you have fourth person. If you're not naturally tan, go out and buy some fake tan lotion or bronzer to darken your skin. You'll also need a long, black wig to wear. Don't forget to add your pouf! Fake nails and heels are also a must to complete the look.

Guys can also look like the Jersey Shore guys. "The Situation" is one of the easiest looks to pull off all you need are some shorts, a t-shirt, hair grease and self-tanner. If you're confident enough, you can walk around without the t-shirt. Just remember to use some self-tanner on your abs to make them appear more contoured and tan. If you're not so confident or just don't want to freeze on Halloween, you can find a six-pack costume at Target, Wal-Mart or anywhere else they sell costumes. You could even write "It's T-shirt time!" on the front of your tee. Remember to use lots of hair grease or even temporarily dye your hair black to match the characters.

However, dressing up like the Jersey Shore cast doesn't mean you have to be slutty! You can still look like the characters while showing less skin than they do. Try a boyfriend tank instead of a low-cut tank or Soffe shorts instead of Snooki's booty shorts.

Lady Gaga: This costume will easily be one of the most popular for everyone and one of the easiest to create. Anything outrageous that Lady Gaga has worn over the years will do. From her "Meat Dress" to "Little Red Riding Hood," you can do just about anything shocking to resemble Lady Gaga.

But whatever you plan on being for Halloween, be sure to have a great time and be safe. It is important to travel in groups, everyone knows there is safety in numbers, and don't drink and drive. In addition, UT offers a night walk service that can be reached at 419-530-3024 (On-campus 3024). When you call the service an escort, wearing a blue-and-gold jacket, will be sent to your location on-campus and will accompany you to any parking lot or campus building.