Halloween Made Easy: 5 Tips for Creating Homemade Halloween Costumes
Spooky season has arrived and the countdown to Halloween is on! With their vivid imaginations and joy for pretend play, dressing your little ones up in adorable costumes is fun for the whole family. There’s a lot of easy ways to make a baby Halloween costume you can pull together in no time. Here’s our top 5 tips and tricks for creating simple, fun homemade Halloween costumes for your littles!
Owl Costume with Teddy Fleece
5 Tips for Baby Halloween Costume Ideas
If you’re having trouble finding inspiration for baby Halloween costume ideas or your toddler just changed their mind about what they want to be, have no fear. Read on for our top 5 tips on how to construct easy costumes at the last minute.
- Keep it simple. Whether you are crafting a baby Halloween costume or helping transform your toddler, you can make your own costumes with a few key supplies. If you have a costume trunk for dress-up at home, you already have a selection of costumes that can be used for Halloween (princess, fairy, witch, firefighter, cowboy). Consider the age of your little one - babies need to be warm and cozy and toddlers probably won’t wear elaborate or uncomfortable masks or costumes for long (and there may be some protesting!). Make memories as a family this fall by spending time getting in the Halloween spirit and embracing all things spooky (but not too scary).
- Just add ears. Animals are the easiest costume and so adorable for babies and toddlers. From bunny to cat, mouse to deer, pick up an assortment of animal ears or make your own with pipe cleaners, felt, construction paper and a headband. Watch your little one become a cozy bear with a Teddy Fleece costume combo (ears and face paint will help them get into character!). Your baby or toddler will transform into a furry animal without needing a jacket to stay warm - choose a jogger and sweatshirt in rose pink for a pig or a Teddy Fleece overall in moss for a frog. If you’re going to a costume party or trick-or-treating, layer up your littles with comfy organic cotton clothing underneath their homemade Halloween costumes. Don’t forget blankets for the stroller or wagon, too!
- Work with what you have. Pull out tutus and leotards for a ballerina, figure skating costumes, basketball or soccer uniforms. Choose clothing in shades of fruits and veggies - yellow for banana with a brown cap for the stem, green for broccoli or red for tomato. Dress them in every hue for the perfect rainbow costume. A lumberjack baby Halloween costume comes together quickly with buffalo plaid and a black hat. The paper bag princess just needs a crooked crown and a paper bag dress (bonus if you have a stuffed dragon to play sidekick).
- Make it silly. At this age, littles aren’t looking to be particularly frightening. Halloween is a time for them to be silly, embrace their favorite character and wear their heart on their sleeve. Puns and idioms can make clever costumes you can whip up at home. Try French toast (a black beret and breton stripes with a piece of bread), smarty pants (a pair of pants and boxes of smarties), party animals (animal print outfit with party hats), holy cow (cow print and angel wings) or a baseball bat (a catcher’s mitt and bat wings).
- Get creative as a family. Nothing says photo op like a coordinated baby Halloween costume with a family theme. From Peter Pan to Frozen, there are so many beloved characters well-suited to each family member. The Addams Family, the Flintstones, or the Jetsons are great options - let your little one decide which homemade Halloween costumes they’d like to make together. There’s a lot of really simple group costumes you can tackle with minimal effort like a box of crayons (colorful clothing and paper hats) or Where’s Waldo (all you need are stripes, a hat and glasses).
Bear Costume with Teddy Fleece
Takeaways
Even if you’re at the 11th hour, the simplest costumes often spark the most creativity in your little one. Whether you’re focused on crafting costumes or pulling together something sweet for your new baby to dress up as, check out our list of 40 fun Halloween activities for kids to get inspired! We hope these baby Halloween ideas have you excited to pull out some arts and crafts and get in the spirit of the season.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most kids will start trick-or-treating around age 3 or 4. Since babies and toddlers may be scared by some masks or decorations on Halloween night, it might be a better idea to hand out candy with them or take them to a fall festival where they can show off their costumes. Most candy given out on Halloween is a choking hazard for babies and toddlers.
If your kids are too young to eat sugar, or you want to limit how much they eat at once, try freezing Halloween candy. This stops them from binging and they can continue enjoying Halloween treats for months to come.
You can give out granola bars, stickers, crayons, mini puzzles or fidget toys to trick-or-treaters or your own kids. Any small items that are Halloween themed can be how you “treat” your little ones at this time of year. If you want to limit sugar, have them trade in the candy they collect for a Halloween surprise from your collection.
Halloween face paint can be a safe and fun alternative to wearing a mask if you choose non-toxic makeup. Many Halloween products marketed to children still contain toxic ingredients that can irritate skin. They may also contain dangerous metals like lead and nickel that are especially harmful to young children.
