WonderCon is a week away and I just realized that we don’t have cosplay planned. I should be fired. For the past couple of years I have had delusions of grandeur when it comes to cons and family cosplay.

In my head it looks beautiful. In my head people are stopping us for pictures every 3 feet. I can close my eyes and hear the gasps, ooohs and aaaahs from convention goers.

In reality, I will have to scrap the idea of an elaborate family costume and try to scrape something together in the few spare hours that I have in a week.

It isn’t easy but it is doable. And if you find yourself in a similar position as I am, I have some hints to help you out.

Be resourceful! You don’t have to be an expert seamstress to make a costume happen. If you can cannibalize clothes from your closet, then what are you waiting for? Hit up your local thrift or second hand stores for cheap clothes and accessories to make your costume work.

Army/Navy/Surplus stores are the go-to place for a lot of costuming supplies. I made a Black Widow costume in under 12 hours and only went to two stores (one of them being an Army/Navy store). The costume looked fabulous and I’ve worn it to several cons.

No time to go shopping? Amazon is my best friend. You can buy a halloween costume for a good price and a relatively fast shopping experience. But don’t stop there, make some modifications to your “off the rack” costume so it is unique.

*bonus* If you have Amazon Prime you can have that costume at your doorstep in a day! Technology is wonderful.

Be creative! Fabric paint, hot glue, makeup, spray paint and household items are essential to costumes done in a time crunch. Get ready to scan the internet via Pinterest, google images and various cosplay forums for costuming tips.

Relax! Costuming should be fun. If you are easily frazzled then do yourself a favor don’t attempt a cosplay that has to be rushed. Keep in mind that you may have to be very flexible in your vision. Put something together knowing that it isn’t going to win the grand prize at the masquerade. Or maybe it will because you are so creative. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Cons are supposed to be fun for the whole family. If mom is cranky because she stayed up all night trying to figure out how to fashion a screen accurate Stay Puft Marshmallow costume out of a bed-sheet and scotch tape, the day at the convention will be a bust. Trust me.

People who enjoy attending cons in costume are creative folks. We take pride in our work, no matter how long it takes. We do it because it really is an escape from reality and makes the convention going experience enjoyable on a different level. Don’t wait any longer! The clock is ticking.

That being said, I had better get back to that bed-sheet and scrap the scotch tape. Duct tape is clearly the answer here.