Fancy Dress On A Budget… Love/Hate

So everyone is a little strapped for cash, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time. Halloween is just around the corner, so we have decided to share some fantastic costume ideas with you that won’t break the bank. Here in the Her.ie towers we adore a bit of Love/Hate. For the last few years we've welcomed Nidge, Fran and co into our homes, and into our hearts. This year the lads inspired us to put together some group and couple costume ideas. We'll admit ourselves, some of these are just cat... The Perfect Couple, Nidge & Trish Create Nidge's bald head with a swimming cap and a splash of flash colour paint. If you're really creative you can add a little hair detail with a dry paint brush and small bit of black paint. No Nidge costume would be complete without a shiny sports zip-up jacket. Preferably one that zips right up the neck. Key phrase - A'right yea. Back comb, back comb, and back comb some more. Trish loves her big hair and tight clothes. A bit of black eyeliner and mascara and you're good to go.   Paulie Ah, the newcomer... All that is needed is six tubs of tax wax, a dodgy gold chain, black t-shirt and leatherette jacket. Uncle Terence Big Balls   A few polystyrene balls, a piece of cardboard with the name ' Terence' scrawled across. Easy peasy. Onscreen/Off screen Detective Ciaran Madden Garda hat, for obvious reasons. All undercover officers need a black hooded coat to protect their identity from drug mobsters (and their colleagues and boss).   Lastly a microphone, because Detective's don't just fight crime and partake in undercover operations, they're the lead singer of a band as well.   Elmo   Elmo loves his bright sports hoodies and trainers... Gnomes  No Elmo is complete without a gnome or two. Remember: Blue hats = cocaine. Red hats = Done Deal.    Aido    Aido loves Aido, his budgie. We're sure you could get your hands on a bird cage if you really wanted it. Pottsie (Aido's brother).    Bandage on the eye. Sorted. Nidge's Headstone   Patrick Ward came out with the greatest line of the series so far when Nidge offered to give him compensation for trying to kill him. "Keep your money and buy yourself a headstone". Nidge's headstone is the perfect fancy dress costume.

The golden oldies... Lest we forget.

Fran  Get into character with this face mask. Key Phrase - Coola Boola. Debbie  An auburn wig is a must. Debbie loves her light brown leather jacket.   Tommy (in his good days) Ah Tommy boy. The key to pulling this costume off is gelling the fringe down the face, a trusty short black leather jacket, no trousers... and a bottle of Fanta orange.   The Cat (Remember this?!) Why not dress up as the cat that stole the show, and even made an appearance on the Late Late. All you need is a few whiskers and a bit of fake blood. Darren Dazza loved his blue hoodie, and no Love/Hate costume would be complete without this signature item. What happened here?! He lived and died by that hoodie...   The genius is in the detail as they say, so why not add a little halo, and pair of angel wings to finish off the look... What do you mean you didn't hear Darren's dead?! We must admit, these are probably our favourite collection of costume ideas so far.