11 Halloween Baby Costume Tips to Keep Your Baby Happy

Looking for Halloween baby costume ideas for your baby or toddler? There are soooo many cute outfits out there, but many of them will not make your little one very happy…

Learn from my mistakes when choosing a Halloween costume for your child!

When choosing a baby costume for your infant or toddler, you need to consider not only the cutie-factor but also several practical issues that can make or break your party. At least if you want a happy baby (and parents).

In this article, we share tips on what to think about when you choose a costume for your child, regardless of if you are going to make it or buy it.

I have personal experience of NOT following these tips…

I have personal experience of NOT following these tips. When my daughter was 9 months old, we dressed her up as a puppy for Halloween. She was gorgeous – for one minute. Then she got furious on the fur and the tail and refused the costume for the rest of the day. Her friend was dressed up as a pumpkin, using just some orange clothes. A much better option for a baby!

For anyone interested in making your costumes as well as other Halloween kids’ crafts, you can find inspiration and instructions in the book “23 Halloween Crafts for Kids: Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas and Spooky Decor”. (Link to Amazon).

And for buying a costume for your baby, Amazon works really well. Another fun place is HalloweenCostumes.com, which – obviously – specializes in Halloween costumes. They have a huge offering!

Toddler and Baby Costume Tips and Ideas

1. How to think about hats

If the costume includes some sort of hat, make sure it is detachable. Many babies really hate wearing hats. For newborn babies, a hat can even trigger the suckling reflex again and again and again…

2. Comfortable to sleep in

If your infant is young or the party is long, buy a baby costume that is comfortable and safe to sleep in. Remember that any type of hat should be taken off before putting your baby to sleep if there is any risk at all that it could cover your baby’s face if they turn around while asleep.

3. Comfortable to move around in

Older babies and toddlers need a costume that they feel free to sit, crawl, climb, or walk around in; whatever they like doing.

4. Machine Washable (or cheap!)

It’s great if the costume is machine washable, although for more advanced infant costumes that can be hard to find. If not machine washable, then cheap is probably the way to go… especially for toddlers that feed themselves!

5. Good for Diaper Change or Potty

Check if you can change diapers without taking the whole infant costume off.

The same goes for toddlers that use the potty or toilet. If the costume takes more than a couple of minutes to take off, we all know the risk accidents…

6. Fit for the weather/temperature

Think through if you are likely to use the costume in a warm or a cool place and buy an appropriate costume.

7. Alternative clothing that fits the party

If you’re not sure if your baby is going to accept the costume i) try it at home for a while first and ii) bring alternative clothing that you think suits the party.

8. Let your child choose

Let your toddler choose his or her own costume if they want to. My daughter really wanted to be dressed like her older brother and was a superhero as a toddler. My youngest son wanted to be like his older sister and was so happy being dressed as a princess.

(Actually, he was dressed as a princess quite often when going to daycare, until he was around 2.5 years and somehow figured out that boys don’t tend to wear dresses. He was so cute!)

9. Keep it simple

If you think a costume is really to overdo things, consider a cute bodysuit, bib or pacifier with a theme at least.

10. A costume for easy feeding and breastfeeding

And for YOU mom – remember to choose a costume that won’t scare your baby and preferably one that is reasonably easy to breastfeed in (if you do).

11. Fun with matching costumes

Want to match with your baby? Try the Incredibles, Popeye with family (if dad wants to join in), maybe some characters from Winnie the Pooh or Flintstones. Or just dress up as a queen and little prince or princess. Or if you want to be a little bit scary why not a mom devil and a baby devil (but cute ones)?

For more inspiration, check the baby costumes below, available from Amazon. :-) There are some really creative, cute and fun ones to either buy, of course, MAKE if you are the creative type. You can also check out some of my current baby costume favorites here.

And here, I have gathered Halloween and Thanksgiving baby food recipes. :-)

If you have baby costumes ideas to share or- even better – pictures, please, please share below!