Life

20 Clever Pun Costumes For Couples

by Sadie Trombetta

Getting dressed up for Halloween can be a total blast, but getting dressed up with your significant other? Well, that's a whole other story. If your S.O. is anything like mine, then one of these clever pun Halloween costumes for couples might be your best bet. If your partner isn't the "dress up" type, is uncreative, or just plain unwilling, then chances are you won't get them to wear the tight pants and leather vest of Prince Charming's costume so you can be Cinderella, and you can throw the other traditional couples costumes right out the window.

Sure, you can try to convince your partner to coordinate matching outfits, like a cowgirl and cowboy, or you could try and imitate a famous couple from history or pop culture, but face it: all the good ones have been done before. Not to mention, the likelihood of your BF or GF wanting to get that dressed up is slim to none. Instead of being Romeo and Juliet or a couple of matching pirates, why not be two parts to a whole, and take on a real costume challenge: the pun. In addition to being dressed up and ready to celebrate the holiday, a pun-themed costume is clever, funny, and much more likely to entice your Halloween-hating partner. The best part? Most of these costumes are simple, understated, and comfortable on their own — meaning your guy or gal can get away with wearing jeans or a sweatshirt with few embellishments. The real magic of the costume comes when the two of you are standing side by side, which means even the biggest costume-haters will be able to feel more comfortable all dressed up and never alone.

Whether your partner is the biggest Halloween hater, or someone who enjoys pumpkins, witches, and trick-or-treating, everyone loves a good pun, especially when that pun is in the form of a costume. Here are 20 of the most clever pun costumes for Halloween that will not only make your significant other a willing participant in the costume contest, but might actually give you a fighting chance for the first place trophy.

1. Cat Nap

Everyone's two favorite things come together in this epic and punny couples costume: cats and napping. It's a comfortable and easy costume to put together, so even the most resistant of partners won't mind dressing up.

What You'll Need: For the cat half of the costume, it's simple: cat ears, a cat tail, and all-black clothes. The napping half of the costume is just as easy, and comes complete with pajamas, a pillow, blanket, and eye mask.

Image: Polyvore

2. Chick Magnet

Whether it's true or not, your boyfriend probably fancies himself a lady killer of sorts. Embrace it by making it your Halloween costume, and rest assured you will be the only chick he magnetizes towards.

What You'll Need: A chicken costume or sweatshirt, like the one above, and some horseshoe-shaped magnets to attach to a dress or shirt. Chicken dance not required, but highly encouraged.

Image: Polyvore

3. Monkey Business

When it comes to picking someone to be silly and have fun with, isn't the other half of your couple the best partner in crime? Yeah, I thought so.

What You'll Need: A full-blown monkey costume, or a monkey sweatshirt and tail, a banana, a business suit, and a briefcase. Make sure you're both being really silly, too.

Image: Polyvore

4. Taco Belle

Yes, this is a great solo costume, but it can also be a great option for a couple's costume as well. You get to dress like a princess, he gets to dress like a taco — it's a win-win for everyone.

What You'll Need: A taco costume (or, more simply, a Taco Bell box), a Belle-worthy yellow gown, gloves, and heels.

Image: Polyvore

5. Deviled Egg

Another costume that works solo or in a pair, the deviled egg is a classic pun-themed Halloween costume that is guaranteed to get some laughs, and maybe even a spot in the "Best Couples Costume" category.

What You'll Need: Devil horns, a red cape, a pitch fork, white pants, and a white top with a yellow yolk-like circle painted, taped, or otherwise fastened to it. Bonus points if you bring actual deviled eggs to the party as your potluck contribution.

Image: Polyvore

6. Blue Hawaiian

Everyone's favorite tropical drink, the blue Hawaiian, also makes a fun, simple, and punny couples costume. Not to mention, it's a costume that gives you an excuse to sip on umbrella drinks all night long.

What You'll Need: All blue clothes, whether it's pants and a shirt, or tights and a leotard, a Hawaiian shirt, lei, and a grass skirt. Oh, and lots and lots of actual blue Hawaiians, if you'd like.

Image: Polyvore

7. French Kiss

Some couples costumes can be sexy and punny, like the duo's get-up for a French kiss. It's the kind of PDA that no one can really get all that upset about, either.

What You'll Need: Berets, striped t-shirts, red neck ties, a baguette, and Kiss-style face paint. Feel free to pick your own Gene Simmons-inspired theme song, too.

Image: Polyvore

8. Catcher in the Rye

For the literary-loving lovers out there, here is a punny book-themed costume just for you. And, yes, it does come with a late-night drunk snack.

What You'll Need: Baseball cap, catcher's mask, catcher's glove, baseball shirt, and brown clothes with rye bread fastened to them. Feel free to carry the book, too, and don't hesitate to read passages from it all night long.

Image: Polyvore

9. Holy Crap

Yeah, you could also do holy cow, but wouldn't it be more fun to dress up, or better yet, watch your S.O. dress up like poop? You know it would.

What You'll Need: All-white clothes, angel wings, a halo, and all-brown clothes with the poop emoji printed or attached to it.

Image: Polyvore

10. E-Mail

Aren't homonyms the best way to play with puns? Well, it you are an English major like me, they totally are, and this e-mail costume is the best.

What You'll Need: A t-shirt with a big letter "E" on it, a fake beard or mustache, flannels, and other "manly" attire. For this costume to really be funny, though, the "male" part of the get-up should be played by a female. Otherwise, it's an "E" and a dude wearing what he usually wears, and calling it a costume.

Image: Polyvore

11. Corn Dog

Puns and food go together like candy corn and Halloween, and while there are a lot of dog puns out there — hot dog, horn dog, the list goes on — corn dog is the best, because of its multiple meanings, and the many ways to execute it.

What You'll Need: You can go the store-bought way and purchase corn and dog costumes, or you can DIY it with brown clothes, dog ears, and a Korn t-shirt. Come on, you know you have one from your nu metal phase in the mid-'90s.

Image: Polyvore

12. Cotton Candy

Speaking of puns and food, cotton candy is a sweet twist on the same costume idea.

What You'll Need: All-white clothes with cotton balls glued to them, and clothes of your choosing with candy adhered to them. Alternately, you can dress as one kind of candy, and purchase a costume, like this M&M one.

Image: Polyvore

13. Doctor Pepper

Beverages work just as well as food when it comes to couples, costumes, and puns.

What You'll Need: Scrubs, a stethoscope, doctor's coat, and a grey dress or t-shirt with a giant "P" on it. To really sell it, you can even make a hat out of tinfoil to look like the top of a pepper shaker.

Image: Polyvore

14. Cereal Killer

Another killer costume (sorry, I couldn't help it) to do solo, cereal killer makes the perfect couples costume, and comes with a built-in meal, so you don't have to live on candy alone.

What You'll Need: Clothing of your choice with the cereal of your preference attached to it, and a bloody knife. Yeah, it's that easy.

Image: Polyvore

15. Hot Date

"Hot" is another one of those words that makes costume-making that much easier (see: hot dog, hot tamale, etc.), but since this is a couples costume, date seems the most fitting.

What You'll Need: Red, yellow, and orange clothes and/or flame-printed clothing, a fan, bright red lipstick, and optional flame face paint, brown clothes, a brown beanie, and actual dates.

Image: Polyvore

16. Bugs Bunny

I wholeheartedly believe that Halloween is for all ages, but it doesn't get better than when you're a kid. Channel your childhood with a cartoon-inspired pun costume.

What You'll Need: Earth tones clothes, bug tattoos, fake bugs, all-white clothes, bunny ears, bunny tail, and face paint. A carrot wouldn't hurt, and neither would greeting everyone with "What's up, Doc?"

Image: Polyvore

17. Shooting Star

When you're in love, your significant other is your shooting star, right? Flaunt it. Heck, be it for Halloween.

What You'll Need: Fake bow and arrow with fake arrows (you know, so you can actually play with it), a holster, and star-themed clothes, including, but not limited to, star earrings, galaxy printed clothes, and Converse All-Stars.

Image: Polyvore; Fake bow and arrow, $9.99, Spirit Halloween

18. Birthday Suit

You can go naked without actually being naked with this couple's interpretation of your boyfriend's preferred outfit: your birthday suit.

What You'll Need: Birthday hat, balloons, a party dress, a birthday banner, and a suit. No actually nudity required.

Image: Polyvore

19. Pot Brownie

If you never thought a young woman's nature club and drugs didn't go together, you obviously never got stoned and ate an entire box of Thin Mints, but I digress. This costume combines both while being sentimental (for those former Girl Scouts out there), and pretty hilarious.

What You'll Need: Pot-leaf printed clothes, a brown skirt, and a Brownie vest. You get bonus points if the vest is actually your old one, especially if you still have the hat.

Image: Polyvore

20. Sugar Momma

Hopefully, this costume isn't your reality, because like TLC said, we don't want no scrubs. While you don't actually want to be anyone's sugar momma, you might want to think about it for Halloween.

What You'll Need: A maternity dress, a pillow (or other DIY fake pregnant belly), a baby doll, and a white t-shirt painted with the Domino Sugar label on it. If you don't fancy yourself a painter, you can always glue sugar cubes or packets to a white t-shirt.

Image: Polyvore

For more Halloween ideas, check out Bustle on YouTube.

Images: Debbie R, Kenaka Menehune, Michael Verhoef/Flickr; Wikimedia; jessleutz/Instagram; Giphy (15)