Remember how easy Halloween was back in the ’80s? You threw a sheet over your head or got some fake blood and fangs and went as one of the traditional Halloween mainstays. Or, you went to the drug store and bought a pre-packaged cardboard and plastic costume of Mr. T, Papa Smurf, My Little Pony or He-Man.

But that was then, and now we’re in college. The stakes are higher. Your Halloween costume is a prime expression of your creativity, and people will think you are boring if you take the easy, traditional route.

So you’ve waited until now to put together your Halloween costume. Don’t fear. There’s a wealth of simple last minute ideas that can rescue you from being the only one without a cool costume on Halloween night.

Get three of your buddies together and strip off your clothes. (Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting what you’re thinking.) Grab some socks, place them over your little peppers, and presto! — Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The infamous “Abbey Road” album cover parody can instantly come alive for Halloween right here in Ames.

If you really want to get noticed, get into your Chili Peppers costumes and take a walk across Welch. Sure, you might get arrested for indecent exposure, but you’ll look cool, and that’s all that matters.

A lot of girls will probably get together this Halloween and go as Charlie’s Angels. Starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu, the motion picture version of the ’70s TV show opens this weekend and is the movie industry’s biggest hype of the fall.

Instead of buying into the Hollywood hype and making yourself a walking advertisement for the movie, go as a different three-girl trio, such as Wilson Phillips.

They may have sold four million copies of their self-titled debut album, but most likely the average person on the street has forgotten about Carnie and Wendy Wilson (daughters of Beach Boy Brian Wilson), and their partner-in- crime Chynna Phillips (daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas).

You could parade down Lincoln Way singing their greatest hit, “Hold On.” People will surely remember that really annoying pop song from 1990 with the lyrics “Someday somebody’s gonna make you wanna turn around and say goodbye/ ’til then baby are you gonna let him hold you down and make you cry.”

Still drawn to the allure of fake blood and vampire fangs? Combine classic ideas with celebrity pop culture to create a unique costume.

A Zombie Kurt Cobain can be assembled easily by making a quick trip to the thrift store.

The Nirvana frontman died in April of 1994 with a self-inflicted gun-shot to the head.

You can revive Cobain’s spirit by finding some tattered blue jeans, a blonde wig and a grungy cardigan sweater. Wear your favorite grunge-era band T-shirt and splatter fake blood all over you. I know this is probably in bad taste, but you’ll definitely get noticed.

Then there’s always the shaved head option.

Lots of people got their heads shaved at the Stuart Davis concerts at the M-Shop a couple weeks ago.

Stuart Davis is on a mission to shave the heads of humanity, and you too can join in the fun. Plus, it could make an easy way out for a Halloween costume.

If you’re skinny and scrawny enough, you can easily pass for Moby just by shaving your head and dressing in a simple jeans and a T-shirt.

Sinead O’Connor, Mr. Clean, Gallagher — the head-shaving costume ideas are endless.

If you don’t want to be that extreme, but still want to alter the appearance of your head, wear a backwards red baseball cap and insinuate you had sex with Christina Aguilera. Instantly, you can become Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.

So, hopefully these ideas will inspire you to be a little more creative this Halloween. With all this talk about costume ideas, I should probably get my costume together.

Anyone willing to lend me a tube sock?