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October is coming to a close and you have once again left it too late to construct that perfect Halloween costume.
It’s OK. It was a jam-packed summer celebrating America’s 250th.
Now comes the challenge: resisting the urge to overpay for Amazon’s overnight shipping or make a trip to Spirit Halloween for an outfit you’ll just wear once. Instead, some long-dormant arts and crafts skills – and memories of the local stories that stood out this year — can save the day.
As always, Billy Penn is here to help. The team gathered suggestions for very Philly costumes inspired by the standout news events from the past year. Staff members even found time during their busy schedules to make them, keeping the designs as simple as possible with household supplies and materials that cost just a couple bucks.
Here are the team’s last-minute, Philly-inspired costume ideas, made and modeled by members of the Billy Penn staff.
For one Billy Penn newcomer to Philadelphia, the city’s rat problem first came into focus when it was declared an emergency in early October. At the time, it sounded a bit silly to declare the little rodents an emergency — like something out of a sitcom. It got even sillier when PETA suggested the rats go on birth control to quell the problem. Then a mouse appeared in the staffer’s apartment. Suddenly, the city’s situation became quite serious, and PETA’s suggestion seemed extremely practical.
For the record, the rat costume was chosen before one of its smaller relatives turned up at home.
The snout and whiskers came together with supplies from a local craft store: glue, gray and pink paper, white pipe cleaners, googly eyes and a rubber band. A generous helping of glue and an online mouse mask tutorial — probably made with a kindergartner in mind — produced the finished mask. For extra pizzazz, leftover paper became smaller mice to rest on the wearer’s shoulders.
A wardrobe already heavy in muted grays and browns made the rest of the costume easy.
Perhaps the outfit will help the staffer make peace with the furry rascals lurking in the dark outside the apartment. Otherwise, maybe they’ll accept a new member into their ranks and share their secrets to success in the city.
America’s 250th birthday brought a glut of major sporting events to the city, giving Philly sports fans more than just the local teams to support throughout the year. We got the chance to celebrate with the fans that came in from all over the country and world, to cheer on both superstar athletes and endearing underdogs.
Major draws like Unrivaled, the PGA Championship, the FIFA World Cup, the MLB All-Star Game and the return of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic also came with gift shops and handouts. The resulting mementos became keepsakes to cherish afterwards — or potential listings on eBay.
This may be the easiest, or the laziest, costume on the list, especially if you’re a sports fan. All you have to do is gather up the clothing and souvenirs you’ve accumulated this year and wear or carry as much as you can pile on. Anything with tournament branding can work: a hat, a scarf or even a stadium cup. For the events you didn’t attend and couldn’t borrow something from a friend for, you can simply print out some logo or image relevant to that competition.
To help sell it as a costume, you can act exhausted from the marathon of live sports and very little sleep you’ve been through to watch all the games and earn all your swag. Tell tales of the long line at FIFA Fan Fest you had to endure to get one of those popular charm bracelets, describe the decadent sundae that went into your All-Star helmet cup, or share some of the Croatian, Portuguese or Papiamento phrases you were taught by visiting soccer fans.
Uber Eats delivery robots have taken over Philly this year! The small, white droids have been the center of controversy, with people tending to love or hate them. As the robots expand throughout the city, one Billy Penn staffer turned the sidewalk spectacle into a costume.
The project started with a cardboard box wide enough to step into but small enough to carry without too much bulk. Removing the top and bottom of the box created an opening for the wearer, while rope attached with tape became shoulder straps.
White cardstock covered the sides, and a piece of black felt piece on the front to emulate the robot’s white siding and black screen. Pink felt hearts recreated one of the expressions the Uber Eats robot sometimes has while barreling down Center City sidewalks.
An all-black outfit and heart-shaped sunglasses completed the robot look, with Uber Eats logos on either side of the box.
The result is an easy, last-minute Philly costume — with the hope that nobody directs any robot-related anger at its wearer.
Why celebrate one Philly first when you can wear a whole bunch of them?
A collection of event swag becomes a wearable celebration — with a little cowboy flair. The supplies were already on hand: a “52 Weeks of Firsts” T-shirt, blue-and-white pompoms, beads, medallions and those colorful No. 1 stickers.
The centerpiece is a cowboy hat decorated with a large paper No. 1 cut from cardstock and outlined in blue. Blue beads and faux pearls make a festive hatband, while Firstival stickers add miniature versions of the celebrations’ distinctive sculptures. Another oversize No. 1, decorated with more stickers, gives the outfit an extra dose of Philly pride.
The medallions get a second life as statement earrings. The T-shirt, pompoms and matching tote keep the whole look on theme, with the bag doubling as a candy carrier.
The result is part Philly history lesson, part cheerleader for a city that always wants everyone to know it did something first.
The competition to find Philadelphia’s best parallel parker drew our city’s gutsiest automotive legends. In the contest led by the Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association, West Mount Airy’s Mario Zucca, aka “One-Shot Mar,” took home the gold — er, piece of the curb.
PPPA organizers also created a new Philadelphia mascot — one that both Gritty and the Phanatic would certainly be proud of — Parallel Pete.
To make your Parallel Pete costume, you’ll need an orange basic, like a dress or T-shirt, hot glue, markers, a white sash, craft foam paper, a headband and a mini traffic cone.
Luckily, Pete’s face is pretty simple. Use black and white foam to cut out his eyebrows, eyes and mouth. Create a Pennsylvania license plate out of the yellow, blue and white foam, and draw the PPPA logo on your sash. Then glue all of those elements onto your outfit. Glue your mini traffic cone to your headband, and voila: Parallel Pete is ready. Keep playing around if you want to be extra, and make elements like his pine tree air freshener, fuzzy dice and side-view mirror ears.
Bonus: Looking for a quick couples costume? A red jumpsuit, sunglasses and a helmet are easy elements to recreate One-Shot Mar’s iconic look. In this case, Toast the dog completes the vibe.
As news spread that Drexel University planned to close the Academy of Natural Sciences museum at the end of September, people from around Philly and the world mobilized to advocate on the historic museum’s behalf. Hundreds gathered at rallies, candlelight vigils, protests, public marches and City Council chambers.
And they had a uniform of sorts — science-themed, dinosaur costumes, historic figures in science and more. We recreated that in this costume as it is incredibly versatile with whatever your wardrobe might be, and whatever science-related thing inspires you.
Without a dinosaur costume on hand, we decided to attempt archaeologist-chic — think Indiana Jones meets Evelyn Carnahan from The Mummy, with a dash of Philly science kid wardrobe to make this an extra easy DIY effort. Basically, comfortable khakis or a neutral-colored skirt, a collared blouse or science T-shirt, bandana around the neck, book, satchel and a giant sign celebrating the Academy.
The post Billy Penn’s DIY Philly Halloween costumes guide: 2026 edition appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY.
