Although Halloween is still more than two weeks away, there’s definitely a subset of the Penn State population who care and try extremely hard to meticulously plan and execute costumes for each night of festivities during Halloweekend who already have their costumes ready. Each Halloween brings the return of the cliché costumes you recycle from year-to-year (i.e.: anything involving animal ears), but it’s always interesting to see what culturally-relevant topics make their way into Beaver Canyon for Halloween Weekend. Here are some of our predictions for Halloween 2013.

1. Miley Cyrus

Between her most recent music videos, VMA performance, and general antics, people just can’t shut up about Miley Cyrus lately. Because her new “movement” comes with many interesting outfit choices, don’t be surprised to see Miley-wannabes twerking outside Canyon Pizza. For an opportunity to make a couple’s costume, have your significant other be Robin Thicke. Don’t worry, this idea’s already mass-produced so you don’t even need to DIY.

2. Flappers and Jay Gatsby

Throwbacks to the 20’s are perennially popular come Halloween, but given the renewed obsession with the high school American Lit staple following last summer’s film adaptation, we expect to see many more fringe dresses this year. Look for some Great Fratsbys as well, because who doesn’t love an awful good pun? Hopefully your party ends a bit better than his.

3. Daft Punk

In years past, we’ve seen LMFAO, Deadmau5, and, most recently, Psy. Following the release of their most recent album, Random Access Memories, and the success of  its lead-off single, Get Lucky, expect attempts at the masked duo by more creative costumers.

4. Minions

A popular choice for DIY costume enthusiasts since the release of the original Despicable Me movie in 2010, we anticipate a resurgence of girls in Minion costumes* running around State College.

*Denim shorts, yellow tops, suspenders, fake goggles

5. Starbucks Beverages

Since most people really don’t want to pay $40+ for a cheaply-made costume from Spirit or any other Halloween store, Halloween is the opportunity to summon any creativity you can muster in order to put together a costume. Because it’s autumn and people won’t shut up about pumpkin spice everything, we expect to see some attempts at DIY Starbucks cup costumes. The concept is already popular on Pinterest, so chances are they’ll show up here as well.

6. Walter White

With the series finale of Breaking Bad still a fresh memory, we wouldn’t be surprised to see fans impersonating America’s favorite meth dealer to once again remind everyone around them of how great the show is (really, we get it).

7. Grumpy Cat

Cats are a go-to costume for those who don’t know what else to throw together. Given the viral madness that Grumpy Cat became this year, we expect to see at least a few people attempt to differentiate themselves from the other hundreds of cat costumes found throughout Halloweekend.

8. Government Shutdown

Last year’s presidential election created plenty of fodder for political costumes, including Mitt Romney, Binders of Women, and President Obama himself. With the federal government shutdown going strong just under two weeks in, it’s sure to inspire some costumes come Halloween weekend.

What costumes do you think will be popular this Halloween? Share them in the comments.