Bevis and Butthead, Manchester United Fans?

If you're planning an ultra-geeky halloween, you darn well better have an ultra-geeky halloween costume and maybe a wild halloween mask, as well. That's where the Internet rocks. Your imagination can go completely wild, as you browse for halloween costumes and masks in free association mode. Who would have known that Bevis and Butthead are soccer fans? Grab a pair of masks and a couple of soccer replica jerseys and you've got something completely different ...

There are scads of halloween costume sources on the Internet. The possibilities are absolutely endless and shopping couldn't be more convenient. Compare that to tearing all over town, driving from shop to shop ... where the best you might do is buy the same costume that your neighbor just bought.

I was stunned by the fabulous selection of Elvis costumes and accessories at hollywoodcostumesandparty.com. My jaw couldn't help but drop as I browsed the snazzy jump suits, stylish TCB sunglasses, and fabulous pompadour wigs. Words cannot describe the "Deluxe Rock Star Pompadour Wig" (#1929), but surely Kramer would be proud to sport that do.

eBay can be a great source for halloween costumes and masks, but you have to be careful, lest your bidding get out of hand. When I checked the auctions this morning, there was lots of action.

The hobo costume was a perennial favorite back when we were kids. Actually, it was more like a Halloween costume of last resort ... when we ran out of ideas what to be that year, we always seemed to fall back on the hobo thing. Hobo costumes have fallen out of popularity, these days. You'd no doubt upset someone if you sent your kid to school dressed as a hobo ...less they're mistaken for a homeless person.

Alien costumes are one of my all-time favorites. When you dress as an alien, you can pretty much do whatever you want. "Hey, I'm an alien!" For me, the core concept behind a successful alien costume is to look like something, not just from another planet, but something from another planet that no one has ever seen before. If you want a familiar alien, say from Star Trek, you don't have to look far ... chamberofhorrors.com has Klingon and Quark masks, among others. And don't forget to check out the masks from the namesake movie, Alien, as well as the marvelous "Scum Boy" (who happens to look a lot like a Big Daddy Ed Roth nightmare), and other otherworldly creatures.

I remember some of the neighborhood moms going hog wild sewing up their kids' costumes. Others would merely take a trip to the five and dime for a cheap boxed costume and be done with it. But the trouble with the five and dime approach was that they always seemed to be out of the hot costume that year, no matter what it was. These days, we're not stuck with what the local discount store still has in stock ... you can log onto target.com or another big retailer and shop from the mothership.