Better get on it. You can put together the following costumes this weekend in an hour or so, plus shopping time.

Self-portrait: Cut a picture frame shape out of foam core using a sharp utility knife and paint it in an ornate fashion. If, like me, you’re artistically challenged, find clip art of a picture frame to use for guidance. I found mine on Google by clicking on “Images” and then searching for the words picture, frame, clip and art.

The frame should be big enough to frame the wearer’s head and shoulders. I had trouble getting mine to stay upright, so if I had a do-over, I’d make mine longer than the one in the photo so it could be attached around the neck and waist. Nevertheless, the frame is light enough to carry if necessary.

I attached a loop of elastic to the back of the frame’s bottom rail so it could be worn around the neck, but you might have better luck attaching the elastic behind the neck as if it were a picture wire. Add another piece of elastic so it goes behind the wearer’s back. Looping elastic around each shoulder might work, too.

When it’s trick-or-treat time, dress the wearer formally and extravagantly, as if sitting for a portrait.

Dirty laundry: Cut a hole in the bottom of a cheap plastic laundry basket so it can be worn around the waist. Attach pieces of string or elastic to the top of the basket to act as suspenders. (Crossing the suspenders in the back helps them stay up.)

Fill the basket with clothes, softener sheets and an empty bottle or box of laundry detergent. Attach a sock to a headband for the wearer.

Chick magnet: Buy a bunch of fake baby chicks from a craft store, or use the petrifying Marshmallow Peeps left over from Easter. Attach them to an old sweat shirt or sweater with pins, staples or glue. This costume will require some explaining, of course, so it’s best worn by an older teen-ager or adult – someone old enough to get the joke.

Head on a platter: Cut a line from the back of a large aluminum baking tray to the center, then cut a circle for the wearer’s neck. Tape the cut edges with duct tape, and dress the wearer in a turtleneck. Add some parsley and lettuce as a garnish, along with radishes and carrots cut to look like roses. The book suggests affixing the garnishes to the platter by sticking tacks through them from underneath the platter and covering the heads of the tacks with silver duct tape, but staples or hot glue would probably work, too.

I’ve seen this costume taken a step further by making the platter the centerpiece on a table made of a box covered with a cheap tablecloth. “Set” the table with disposable plates, cups and flatware.

Spa client: Wear a whiteterry-cloth bathrobe and slippers and wrap your head in a white towel secured with a safety pin. Paint your face green, leaving an inch around the eyes and mouth for a mask effect. Carry a comb and a hand-held mirror.

Free pet: Cut a hole in the bottom of a cardboard box, big enough to accommodate the wearer. Make suspenders out of string or elastic and attach them to the box. Tape a sign on the outside that says “Free to good home.”

Fill the box with stuffed dogs or cats, arranged so they’re peeking out of the top. Paint the wearer’s face to look like a dog or cat, and have him or her wear a headband with ears attached.