Sometimes, it’s not enough to just go to a Halloween party; sometimes you want to make an entrance. And sometimes your really crazy costume is so unique that nobody will get it unless  your entire group of friends is in costume by your side to complete the picture.

Want to make a great entrance at the party and have an awesome time with your friends creating the outfits and playing dress up? Here are a few ideas for some great (and cheap) group costumes.

Iconic characters from movies and TV
Think of “The Breakfast Club” and choose a jock, a princess, a rebel, a freak and a nerd. Or you could be Zack Morris, Kelly Kapowski, Slater, and Screech from “Saved by the Bell.”

“Styles with a retro influence tend to be classical in design, and mod dresses and hippie styles, for example, will let women dress up for a night out with less fuss,” according to a press release by Spirit Halloween, a large seasonal retailer located throughout the country. “These costumes are flattering for all body types and easy for any woman to wear.”

You could also go more contemporary and be “The Simpsons,” the Griffins from “Family Guy” or all the characters from “South Park,” “Futurama,” “Gossip Girl” or “90210”.

Plus, it would give you and your friends an excuse to ditch homework and have an all-night brainstorm marathon for ideas.

Barbies that never made it to the shelves
This theme allows you to be totally creative and use all the stuff in your closet. On a budget? You can probably still throw together “Trailer Park Barbie,” “Redneck Barbie,” “Scary Barbie,” or “Ghetto Barbie.”

Guys could be “Gamer-Geek Ken,” “Chuck Norris Ken,” or “Divorced Ken.”

There is also Britney through the years: from “Hit-me-baby-one-more-time Britney” to “Nearly-naked at-the-Video Music-Awards Britney” to “Kevin and Britney as newlyweds” to “Pregnant-and-smoking Britney” to “Just-shaved-my-head-because-I’m-crazy Britney.”

Game show contestants
This is the easiest and cheapest theme. Just buy inexpensive colored T-shirts for everyone, and add the show’s logo to them. This theme also allows you to be nostalgic and use all the great Nickelodeon shows you used to watch as a kid like “Super Sloppy Double Dare,” “Legends of the Hidden Temple” and so on.

You could also try Monopoly game pieces: top hat, thimble, car, iron, dog, wheelbarrow, etc.

Seven deadly sins
This one is really easy because there are many interpretations, and you can go as far as your modesty (or lack thereof) allows. “Envy” can be dressed in all green, “greed” can be just a regular outfit with Monopoly bills pasted all over it and “lust” can pretty much take creative license in any direction.

Video game characters
Just get some pillowcases, make them into mushroom caps and you’ve got a Mario Cart theme. Imagine Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Peach, Bowser, Yoshi and Donkey Kong. You could also be something as simple as a Tetris piece.

Comic book heroes and villains
Dressing up as Wolverine might be kind of lame, but not if your entire crew is dressed as all the X-Men characters. Also consider Batman, Robin, Joker, The Riddler and Batgirl or Spiderman’s Spidey, Dr. Oct, Green Goblin, Peter Parker and Mary Jane, or even The Fantastic Four. This idea might be more expensive, but the possibilities are endless.

Harry Potter, Heroes, Twilight or Ninja Turtles would also be fun options.

And let’s not forget this year’s blockbusters like Iron Man and Batman. According to Spirit Halloween, Batman costumes are always a big seller, but with the release of “The Dark Knight,” stores are bound to sell even more.

E-mail Adriana Plasencia at [email protected].