5 Tips for Stress-Free, Creative & Awesome Children's Halloween Costumes 🎃

Fall has just arrived. And while we're not sure whether we're relieved or excited about some cooler weather, we're definitely looking forward to Halloween. 🎃

We know that while the excitement may be high, the hunt for costumes can be overwhelming for any parent and can get trickier when you've got more than one child to dress.

So, with that in mind, we've checked in with Amy Wetton, founder of Wild Canary Studios, twin mama, and costume and Halloween enthusiast (according to her, nothing tops Halloween as a holiday - it’s the best!), to curate 5 top Halloween costume tips, plus a list of costume ideas. These tips can help make the search for, or the creation of, costumes more easeful, which will hopefully add more fun to the occasion – which is what Halloween should be about (candy, shmandy!).

This post was originally published in 2018. We’ve updated it, so it’s more current. You should also know that some of our links are affiliate links. That means that if you choose to purchase any item through these links, we’ll receive a small portion. We promise to contribute this to our Halloween fund - including some healthier trick or treat options for the local kiddos! You can read more about this here.

1. Scope it out. 

Start by looking around at the Halloween costume scene, in shops and online. Pinterest is also great for this.

If you're venturing into the world of making your own kid and family Halloween costumes, you'll want to explore a variety of costume ideas and map out how feasible it is to make them within your time frame. It’s amazing what you can do with a sweat suit, some felt and a glue gun! 

If you're on a budget, buy and sell sites or consignment stores are going to be your friend. Even ask around in your circle of friends or neighbourhood. People are sometimes willing to lend out a costume!

Also be sure to think about the weather, maybe they need something cozy and warm? Or something you can throw a jacket over? Also, make sure they can walk in it! 

2. Prepare. 

Whether you're making your own costumes or sourcing them from a shop, the Halloween scene moves fast - it's not uncommon for stores to start stocking them at the end of August. The super heroes and Disney princesses tend to sell out fast. You can always grab them and if your kids don’t want to wear them, they are always hot sellers on the buy and sell sites, or donate them to a school for their dress up centre!

As we all know, time is of the essence in a life with children - so give yourself ample time to pull it all together. 

If you’re strapped for time you can always hop online and cross your fingers some costumes are still in stock. These can carry over, into role play games, during the rest of the year too.

Have a baby and need to keep it extra simple? Stores are always stocking sweet mini ghost, skeleton and pumpkin onesies.

During this second Covid-19 Halloween, you may also want to explore options for face masks to match your child’s costume. These realistic animal masks are incredible (I am buying them this year!). Remember, if your child is wearing a protective face mask, they shouldn’t be wearing a Halloween mask on top.

 3. Involve your children. 

The older your children are, the more input they'll want to have in the Halloween costume process. The more they enjoy the create Halloween costume building process, the more likely they are going to want to continue the cute pairings for years to come. 

But be warned, as Amy Wetton wisely advises, "once you have an answer of what they want to be, get on with it and drop the conversation! My boys changed their minds a million times the first year they had a say."

4. Enjoy the process. 

We're all busy and adding on another item on to our to do list can feel stressful and overwhelming. By getting ourselves involved in the creative costume process, we can channel our inner child and ease some of that stress. 

5. Flaunt it! 

Enjoy the attention that your hard work deserves on Halloween night.

And be sure to share it with your community! They’ll love seeing your dressed up children, to get the Halloween spirit going. And it can also help inspire others’ next year's costumes.

Of course, if all else fails, throw some ears on them, paint on a nose with eyeliner and call it a day! They will enjoy the evening running around gathering treats no matter what they are wearing!

Here are some fun ideas for coordinating sibling and/or family costumes:

·      Tweedle dee and tweedle dum

·       Oompah Loompas

·       Peas and carrots

·       Charlie Brown and Snoopy 

·       Pair of dice a.k.a. Paradise

·       Mad Hatter, Alice and the White Rabbit

·       Chicken and an egg

·       Bo peep and her sheep

·       Fox and the hound

·       Alvin, Simon & Theodore 

·       Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell

·       Snap, Crackle and Pop

·       Huey, Dewey and Louie 

·       Doc Brown and Marty McFly

·       Wayne’s World

·       Dumb and Dumber 

·       Mouse and cheese

·       Mario and Luigi 

·       Grinch and Cindy Loo Who 

·       Bam Bam and Pebbles 

·       The Paw Patrol Team

·       Ninja Turtles

·       3 Blind Mice

·       2 skeletons - skeletwins

·       Red Riding Hood, Grandma & the Big Bad Wolf

·       Yip yip monsters

·       Egg, Butterfly and caterpillar 

·  Cat family

·  Pokemon trainer and Pokemon characters

👻 Happy Halloween! 👻