Halloween is one of the best days of the year. It's one of the only days where it's acceptable to walk out of the house done completely to the nines and no one is allowed to judge you. You can wear next to nothing as a sexy nurse, or wear all the things as a Gremlin and no one can say a single thing. The problem is, there seems to be a finite number of costume ideas out there. On October 31, there will be hundreds of witches, Harley Quinn's and cats strolling the streets, dipping in and out of bars. If you don't want to look like every other average Joe and Jane out there then you'll really need to rack your brain to come up with something unique and original.

As a little pre-trick-or-treating gift, we've helped you out with half of that impossible battle, rounding up 15 of our favorite creative Halloween costumes. Maybe they'll give you some inspiration for your own look this year!

15 How I Met Your Mother

Via: pinterest.com

If you didn't immediately catch this costume's reference, then we're not really sure where you've been living for the past decade (maybe under a rock?) or if you should carry on and read the rest of this list (the rest of these costumes are probably going to be over your head as well). How I Met Your Mother is a classic. It's sure to air on TVLand when we're all 50+, and we'll watch episodes and reminisce about "the good ol' days." But dressing up as a character from the legendary sitcom can be a little tricky since they all dress like typical mid-2000s city dwellers. But this sweet couple said "challenge accepted" and figured out exactly how to channel their favorite TV characters. He's got Ted's controversial red cowboy boots paired with his typical blazer, button down and jeans combo. She's got the iconic yellow umbrella with the tan trench coat and simple black heels. And we're giving them an A+ for creativity.

14 The Joy of Painting

Via: costumeworks.com

Bob Ross' name has risen back into the spotlight over the last few years, thanks in part to the fact that his entire series, The Joy of Painting, found a home on YouTube in 2015 followed by Beauty is Everywhere coming being added to Netflix in 2016. There's something about the painter's soft voice and permed afro that's managed to calm the anxieties our entire generation. For the 30 minutes you're watching him paint a landscape that could hang in your grandmother's house, you forget completely about the threat of nuclear war that's ever looming on the horizon. Which is why we're dying over this Bob Ross (and canvas!) Halloween costume. It's literally the purest costume you'll see all year. And the Ross wig? Spot. On.

13 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Via: runtoftheweb.com

Everybody loves a good old classic '90s sitcom costume. But certain ones, like Seinfeld and The Nanny are a little played out, which is why we love this Fresh Prince of Bel-Air duo. Walking around a typical college campus, you'll find a dozen sorority girls dressed up as Fran Fine, and another twenty frat boys decked out in their Jerry Seinfeld finest, but the Will Smith and Carlton Banks costumes are still few and far between. These two literally hit the nail on the head. They nailed Will's affinity for loud prints, and his jaunty sideways cap. Even Carlton's trademark sweater vest and iconic dance move made the costume get up! Our only hope is that someone took a picture of these BFFs posed just like this in the local college bar in the interest of the future position they'll be holding in the Halloween hall of fame.

12 Kool-Aid Man

Via: pinterst.com

Deciding on a costume while you're pregnant is always a little harder. You can't be a Playboy bunny or a sultry nurse quite as easily when you have a very active eight-pound baby sitting in your stomach. The effect just won't be the same. However, being pregnant on Halloween does open the door to a lot more creative costume choices. This mom-to-be really delved deep into her creative side and came up with this hilarious Kool-Aid man costume. The curve of her belly really mimics the curve of the Kool-Aid man's pitcher, and we're loving the busted through wall that she somehow (maybe by magic?!) attached to either side of her body. The word bubble with the classic, commercial catch phrase is really just the icing on the top of this incredibly creative costume.

11 Whack-A-Me

Via: pinterest.com

It seems like all kids wear one of 25 Halloween costumes every year. You've got the classics (witch, zombie, ghost, mummy), the vocations (police officer, fireman, doctor, waitress, teacher, construction worker), the fantastical (princess/prince, mermaid, fairy), the animals, and then they trendy ones (AKA, whatever TV shows or movies were extra popular that year).

If you take your child trick-or-treating, we can almost guarantee you'll see those exact same costumes over and over and over as you meander down the street. But this kid and his mom had had enough of the boring same-old, same-old costumes and decided to come up with their own creative alternative. Which is how little Timmy ended up as the classic arcade game 'Whack-A-Me.' We have to give major props to the duo for the amount of time and effort that was spent constructing this one of a kind get up—it definitely wasn't a last-minute costume. As well as the attention to detail—he perfectly matches the pictures.

10 Hope

Via: pinterst.com

The 'Hope' and 'Change' posters that circulated during Obama's 2008 campaign are literally iconic. Seriously, the original is now hanging in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, and reproductions of the image are on everything from coffee mugs to T-shirts. Which is exactly why we're loving this ubër creative Halloween costume. We can all instantly recognize the portrait, but none of us would think to turn it into our holiday look. This guy killed it, though. He nailed the big things like the face paint, getting the color splotches exactly right; and the background, attaching red and blue covered cardboard to the back of his suit jacket; as well as the little things, getting the campaign symbol in and everything. This costume couldn't have been all that comfortable to wear, or easy to put on, but we're so glad he did it because Halloween parties everywhere are definitely better for it.

9 Clippit

Via: pinterst.com

Dressing up to go into the office this year? We've found you the perfect costume. This Clippit costume is just such an office joke, that you'll definitely win the 'best costume' prize. Most of us remember the Microsoft Office mascot of the '90s and early '00s, who'd pop up every time you were working on a project offering help and tips. He didn't make the cut in the '07 version of the program, but for the few brief years he was around, he really livened up the homework assignments we completed on the application. We can't quite figure out what this girl made Clippit's body out of (any guesses?), but we can tell you that what makes the whole thing is the "helpful hint" bubble she's included on the side. Hopefully her office appreciated her efforts as much as we did!

8 Banksy graffiti

Via: jpegy.com

Some people don't really love Halloween. It's too "basic" and "mainstream" for them to really get into it. Which is a shame, because Halloween is one of the funnest holidays of the year! There's no other day where it's socially acceptable to dress up as something you love (like, "Baby One More Time" Britney Spears) and then go out to the bar and take shots with everyone you know. But for those Halloween haters, we just want to remind you that you can still enjoy the holiday without being basic. All you need is an obscure costume, like this Banksy graffiti one. That way you can take part in the dress up fun, without worrying that half a dozen other people at every party will have on the same outfit. It's creative without compromising your "I'm unique" beliefs and that's just ghoul-tastic.

7 Corn on the cob

Via: pinterest.com

Not all of us want to look sexy on Halloween. Or scary. Some of us work with children, or in family-centric environments, and are encouraged to wear our costumes to work on October 31. They need to be modest and not too spooky for younger revelers, but we don't all want to be superheroes or kittens. Which is why we love this preschool teacher's creative corn on the cob costume. It's definitely modest, definitely child-friendly and definitely totally original. Corn on the cob isn't really a go-to Halloween idea, but this turned out totally cute! The green hoodie makes it look like it would actually be comfy (no scratchy dress up fabric here!), and we love the finishing touch of the corn silk on the top. Too perfect!

6 Black and white

Via: twistedsifter.com

We guarantee that you'll see at least a handful of girls dressed as Marilyn Monroe this Halloween. And a few more dressed as generic old Hollywood movie stars, but this takes the whole "movie star of a bygone era" thing to a whole new level. These three friends look like they literally could have walked off of the TV set of any '60s TV show. Leave it to Beaver, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show—you name it. They totally nailed the classic '60s suburb style. And to make it even better? They're actually black and white. The body paint, and the two-toned outfits really amp the whole thing up. They look like they could have stepped out of your grandparents old TV set straight onto the block to start trick-or-treating. We're dying over this originality!

5 Out to the outhouse

Via: pinterest.com

This is such an elementary school aged boy costume. We can't imagine our 10-year-old female acquaintances getting excited about showing up to their school's Harvest Fest decked out this way. But, this little guy's costume is totally unique and hilarious. You can tell from the look on his face that he's loving every second in this "I got caught" costume. The amount of work and planning that had to go into this get up is insane! They made paper mache legs, built his outhouse out of cardboard boxes (and attached it to some kind of rolling platform) and even went so far as to cut a moon into the door and include some real toilet paper. While maneuvering the festival in this ensemble probably wasn't easy, it had to have been all worth it when he won the grand prize for 'best costume' of the evening.

4 Wrecking ball

Via: pinterest.com

In another pregnant belly costume, this mom-to-be decided to pay tribute to one of the most iconic pop culture moments of the past 10 years. She turned her baby bump into a wrecking ball, and then attached a nearly naked barbie to play the part of Miley Cyrus (minus the combat boots). We're loving this original take on such a legendary music video moment and definitely think it's so much cuter than a nearly naked 20-something walking around carrying a mini wrecking ball and claiming to be that iteration of the pop star. So props to you, mom! Hopefully your little one inherits your sense of humor and creativity. Halloweens of the future will be so much better for it!

3 A paper doll

Via: pinterest.com

As we get older it becomes cooler and cooler to dress as relics from our past. There's something so nostalgic and celebratory about being your favorite Saturday morning cartoon character or a Cabbage Patch Kid or a '90s teen for the holiday. This girl took that old school awesomeness a step further (and a step better) by dressing as everyone's favorite activity to do at Grandma's house: paper dolls. We love the over-the-top floral pattern of her dress, along with the gigantic cut out tabs on both her dress and her headband. This costume really has us feeling like we want to drive over to Granny's house, pull out that giant shoe box of paper dolls and find some inspiration for our own 2017 Halloween look.

2 The hungry, hungry caterpillar

Via: costumeworks.com

We love a good group costume here at TheThings, but we also know how hard they are to pull off. It can be so difficult to get everyone in your group on the same page and the same level, which is why we're dying over this incredibly cute and incredibly creative group look. We love it when family's dress up together (we're looking at you Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka!) and this family who took inspiration from one of their favorite timeless children's books did an absolutely amazing job. The baby scored the role of the hungry, hungry caterpillar himself. While mom, dad and older siblings took on the parts of the strawberry, cake, ice cream, watermelon and cheese that he ate through prior to his transformation into a butterfly. Families looking to dress up together this Halloween take note: this is how you do it and do it well!

1 Darla

Via: pinterest.com

If you find yourself out trick-or-treating this Halloween, or out at a bar taking shots with your pals, we're positive that you'll see your fare share of Disney villains. There are guaranteed to be some Ursula's and some Maleficent's and some Cruella de Vil's. But there's one lesser villain that you probably won't see all that much of: Darla from Finding Nemo. The dentist's niece was a total terror—all the fish knew that a day with her would be the last day they ever lived. But the notorious fish killer doesn't get the fame or fear that she deserves. Which is why we're all about this Darla Halloween costume. The girl went so far as to include the headgear and Nemo in a sandwich baggie and we are completely head over heels for it. If you're on the market for a villain costume for this October 31, this is definitely the way to go!