SNL Halloween Costumes: Party On [Costume Guide]

One of the biggest names in TV comedy is hitting 45—Saturday Night Live! They've had us singing, dancing and laughing at their vast array of kooky characters for years, so why not turn your SNL faves into Halloween costumes? Share your favorite animals with everyone as Brian Fellow or make up a cheer for any mundane activity as one of the Spartan cheerleaders. You can even show off some of your best moves as a Chippendales dancer! These SNL Halloween costume ideas for adults are a combination of full costumes you can buy and DIYs, but you're always welcome to improvise as one of your favorite comedians.

1. Chippendales Costume

One of Chris Farley's earliest appearances on SNL is also one of his most beloved—Chippendales Audition. As one of two men left auditioning for the job of a Chippendales dancer, Chris Farley showed us that he has some MOVES! (Let's be real here. He's 10x better than we are.) Show off your own moves this Halloween with this easy DIY Chippendales costume. All you need is a set of cuffs and a bow tie collar, along with black pants and a set of black men's dress shoes. Then all you have left to do is tear it up on the dance floor!

2. SNL Cheerleading Costume

Give me an S! Give me an N! Give me an L! What's that spell? SNL! Bring out your overenthusiastic energy with a Spartan cheerleader outfit this Halloween. Will Ferrell has had quite a few characters, but his cheerleader duo with Cheri Oteri is one of the most beloved on the SNL scene. Arguably also one of the best SNL couples costume ideas, at least you have a partner to keep you company while you make up cheers for literally everything!

3. SNL Irwin Mainway Halloween Costume

You may know Dan Akyroyd as one half of the famous Blues Brothers, (which we'll get to later), but he also played the sleaziest salesman that we loved to hate. This easy SNL costume idea for guys only takes a business suit, toned glasses, and perhaps a wig and mustache if you're going for the full look. Once you have your outfit together, the only thing left to do is keep the Consumer Probe off your case. Surely the bag o' glass toy and your favorite chainsaw teddy bear aren't more dangerous than other children's toys on the market!

4. Wayne's World Costumes

It's Wayne's World! Wayne's World! Surely you should have expected to see some Garth and Wayne costumes in our SNL costume round-up. These classic characters were one of the few acts that made a successful movie based on their SNL personas. Excellent! These DIY SNL costumes only take a couple of wigs and a hat with which to pair with your own jeans, tees and Garth's flannel shirt. If you really want to drive the point home (or show off), you can always bring along some drumsticks and a guitar, but anyone who sees you in this SNL duo costume will know that they're not worthy of your Halloween prowess.

5. Mary Katherine Gallagher Costume

If you feel like your feelings would best be expressed in a monologue, then this Mary Katherine Gallagher Halloween costume is for you! (Just make sure not to break anything at the party.) Her classic schoolgirl outfit comes with all the fixings, but there's also a wig available if you don't have brown hair. Make sure to overenthusiastically announce your presence while wearing your women's SNL costume with a flurry of "I'm Mary Katherine Gallagher" so everyone knows exactly who you are!

6. David S. Pumpkins Costumes

Is there any SNL character more suited for Halloween than David S. Pumpkins and his beat boys? (That would be a no.) The perfect SNL costume for three people, only one of you will get to be THE David S. Pumpkins. As the frontman, you'll need to exude confidence and swagger. However, you'll need your two beat boy skeletons to back you up. (And also dance like crazy.) Any questions?

7. Blues Brothers Costumes

We promised you Blues Brothers, so here they are! This simple SNL costume for men merely takes a black suit and tie with a few accessories. Once you add a black fedora, sunglasses and perhaps a harmonica, you'll be set to take Chicago by storm. Belushi and Akyroyd were absolute comic geniuses, and dare we say, the gave us the best SNL movie ever! If your Halloween partner hasn't seen this movie, make sure they watch it before getting into costume. After all, you're on a mission from God!

8. Operaman Costume

No one sings the news in Italianeque-opera fashion quite like Operaman. In this costume-o, you'll look stupend-o! In order to create an Operaman costume, we took a fairly identical magician costume and swapped the red bow tie for a black one. We also found a similar wig so you can have his medium-length dark brown locks. Just make sure to belt out a few snappy lines and end on a good note with some vibrato!

9. Ace and Gary Costumes

A clear parody on Batman and Robin's sometimes questionable relationship in the comics, Ace and Gary are the Ambiguously Gay Duo. You and your friend of friends can don these SNL superhero costumes and save the day from the likes of Bighead, Lizardo and Dr. Brainio. This dynamic duo seems fairly clueless about all of the innocent innuendos they sling on a daily basis, so be sure to brush up on your puns and double entendres.

10. Nick the Lounge Singer Costume

One of Bill Murray's most popular SNL characters, Nick the lounge singer would schmaltz his way through trending songs in a variety of venues. He has a few different costumes, but we enjoyed the garishness of this baby blue tuxedo accented by Hawaiian accessories. (The best part is that you can reuse the blue tuxedo for a Dumb and Dumber costume!) Simply don your blue tux, wear a Hawaiian shirt underneath and add a lei for this Nick the Lounge Singer costume idea. A microphone prop is also a nice touch!

11. SNL Conehead Costume

There are few SNL characters as iconic as the coneheads. These "Earthlings" from "France" stand out with their bizarre, conical heads. There are occasions where one of them wears a suit, but the most important part of pulling off a conehead costume is the actual conehead! Should you happen to be handy with a sewing machine, their iconic silver pop-collar caplets would be a great addition to an already iconic TV Halloween costume!

12. Dooneese Costume

Kristen Wiig is an absolute gem on the SNL scene, with many iconic characters. However, there's no one quite like her character Dooneese. A staple on the Lawrence Welk show, she's the oddball in a group of singing sisters who loves squirrels and getting awkwardly handsy with her baby hands. In order to pull off a Dooneese costume, you're going to need a dress outfit with long sleeves (to hide your hands holding onto a pair of doll arms), a 50s-style blonde wig and a bald cap kit to create her iconic hairline. Don't forget to sing and tap your friends on the shoulder with your baby hands while wearing this SNL costume for women.

13. Hans and Franz Costumes

We pump you up! These muscular Schwarzeneggar-esque Austrian brothers love to boast about their muscular physique. While the muscles are obviously fake, you too can have the coveted bodybuilder physique with these Hans and Franz Halloween costumes! As far as funny costumes for guys go, there's no better duo than these classic SNL characters.

14. Brian Fellow Costume

Have you always been a little jealous of guys like Steve Irwin and the Kratt brothers? Do you think you could pull off your own animal show even if you don't have the credentials? Put your love of animals to work with this Brian Fellow SNL costume idea! With a Teddy Roosevelt costume as the base, you just need to add a leopard print scarf and rectangular glasses to pull it all together. I'm Brian Fellow!

We hope you enjoyed our list of funny costumes from SNL! Do you have a favorite recurring character? What about a favorite sketch? We'd love to hear from you in the comments. As always, we're looking for the best and funniest costume ideas for Halloween!