Halloween Costumes for Kids

Woodland Creatures

Earth-tone knit clothing is the foundation for an enchanted forest of walking, talking flora and fauna. The foliage on the sapling and big trees is made from felt and cotton fabric, floral wire, and floral tape.

Make the Woodland Creature Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Halloween Masks

Making your own Halloween costume is fun, but it can be time-consuming. This year, why not make a mask? Preserved leaves, flower petals, and feathers can be used to create masks that have the impact of a complete costume; they're playful enough for any trick-or-treater yet elegant enough for a Halloween ball. This mask is made from adorning a basic mask with inexpensive fabric roses.

Learn How to Make Halloween Masks

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Little Lambs

These three little sheep can't wait to graze on candy. Their "fleece" is wool batting, gathered and sewn to a sleeveless leotard, which is worn over a black long-sleeved shirt and leggings. A cotton hat with floppy felt ears and a dot of face paint complete the costume. For children ages 3 and older.

Make the Lamb Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Crepe-Paper Butterfly

Crepe paper is inexpensive and available in a rainbow of colors, and it can be tugged, stretched, and rolled into a multitude of shapes. But be careful: it is paper and can rip. Which is why we used it to create beguiling accessories -- hats, wings, garlands, and skirts -- instead of entire outfits. Here, we created a pair of wings to turn any trick-or-treater into the perfect butterfly.

Make the Butterfly Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Honeybee Hive

What to bee? Annabelle, 5, will create a buzz as a bustling hive. Silk flowers, twigs, and bees all find home, sweet home atop her hair (made longer with twisted yarn). We made the bees with pipe cleaners; chenille bees are available at crafts stores. For this style, hair should be medium to long in length.

6 Hair-Raising Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Flower Bouquet

Make a sunny bundle of daisies, tulips, and sunflowers. These friends wear felt-petal collars and "pollen" headdresses topped with stickers. Velour dresses and bright tights bring it all together without a single stitch.

Make the Flower Bouquet Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Spring Chicken

Why did this baby chicken cross the road? To get to the Halloween party, of course. Her costume is made from two tickly feather boas, ordinary kitchen gloves, yellow tights, and a pilot's cap that's crowned with a felt comb. Under the plumage, two leotards are stuffed with batting for extra plumpness. Appropriate for children ages 3 and older.

Make the Spring Chicken Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Cowboy

Howdy, pardner. To turn your kid into a charismatic cowboy, just rustle up some brown-paper grocery and trash-compactor bags.

Make the Cowboy Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Pea Pod, Pumpkin, and Tomato Costumes

A talking tomato; a walking pumpkin. Apparitions like these aren't so surprising at a children's costume party, but there is something unusual about these particular creatures: They owe their disguises to crepe paper.

Make the Vegetable Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Devil Horns

Slip into something outrageous, if only for a night. You needn't be disguised from head to toe: One mischievous piece is enough to get you in the spirit of the evening. Here, a headband serves as the base for a devilish pair of horns.

Make Devil Horns

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Spider Princess

The perfect apparel for ruling the arachnids is made simply from crepe paper and a bit of yarn.

How to Make a Spider Princess Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Earth

This Halloween, turn your kid's mane into the main disguise. Nicholas, age 9, masquerades as one of nature's elements. His hair, groomed with spray-on dye, has sprouted into lush grass, a stomping ground for plastic critters. This costume is best for a child with hair that's short but not too cropped.

How to Make an Earth Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Pillowcase Pumpkin

This simple but adorable pumpkin costume can be made using an ordinary pillowcase in about 1 1/2 hours.

Make a Pillowcase Pumpkin Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Butterfly Wings

This basic pair of wings is perfect for a butterfly, but can also serve as the basis for many different costumes.

Make Butterfly Wings

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Wind

Styling a child as one of the elements, wind, is a breeze; in no time, you can create a costume that will blow everyone away. 

Wind Costume How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Matador

This senorita sports the traditional matador's attire, complete with an easy-to-make basic cape.

Make a Matador Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Skyscraper

A family of Manhattan skyscrapers rises to new heights.

Make a Skyscraper Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Outer Space

An out-of-this-world galaxy begins with plain dark clothing and corrugated cardboard.

How to Make an Outer Space Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

The Prince of Rock'n'Roll

Bring on the fans! This costume features gloriously gaudy gemstones and aqua lame, and pencil-drawn sideburns.

Make a Prince of Rock 'n' Roll Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Leaf Garland Costume

We copied the leaves of maple, oak, ginkgo, sassafras, and birch trees for this autumnal getup, but you can use any leaf shape you wish.

Make a Leaf Garland Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Flapper

What's shaking? The Charleston is the sweetest dance in town when the flapper wears a dress of shimmying sugar packets.

Flapper Costume How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Lily of the Valley

A child clad in green is transformed into a lily of the valley flower when topped with a simple crepe paper cap.

Lily of the Valley How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Hula Dancers

These girls were transformed into hula dancers in one afternoon. What's their secret? Their leis are made of vibrantly colored gift bows; their swinging skirts, fashioned from rope-style mop heads. The dancer on the left is even a ukulele player; her instrument is made out of recycled cardboard cereal boxes, a paper-towel tube, and rubber bands.

Make Hula Dancer Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Glamour Girl

Glam up your young lady with a faux-fur wrap, flea-market brooches, grown-up attire and jewels, and an elegant hair-do.

Glamour Girl Costume How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Shark and Bat Hoodie Costumes

These hoodie costumes are perfect for kids who love "scary" animals, such as sharks and bats.

How to Make the Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Coffee-Filter Fairy Godmother

An Elizabethan-style costume like this could get even Tinkerbell hooked on coffee.

Coffee-Filter Fairy Godmother Costume How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Rose Garden

To encourage hair-loom roses to bloom, Bryana, 7, sprinkled her head with hair glitter. Her updo, wrapped in a potted-plant fence, is ideal for tucking in silk roses. Wire keeps silk butterflies from flying away. More silk flowers grow on her shirt with the help of some hot glue.

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Cheerleader

Hip, hip, hooray! The crowd will go wild for this cheerleader and her very cheer-full ensemble. 

Make the Cheerleader Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Little Red Riding Hood

An easy-to-make red corduroy cape is all you'll need to transform a little girl into a favorite storybook heroine.

Make a Little Red Riding Hood Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Frog Prince and Princess Hoodie Costumes

Make adorable frog prince and princess costumes from ordinary hooded sweatshirts.

How to Make the Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Crepe-Paper Pumpkin

Disguise your child as a stout pumpkin with this simple crepe paper costume idea.

Make the Crepe-Paper Pumpkin Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Ocean Wave

Elevate a surfer costume with a totally cool hairstyle.

Ocean Wave How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Space Invader

This space invader is ready to explore galaxies, thanks to his high-tech night-vision goggles, egg-carton space suit, and foam-cup helmet. His weapon -- a cookie press with a plastic-cup-and-cone insert -- protects him from alien encounters.

Space Invader How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Little Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf Hoodie Costumes

Embrace the charm of classic storybook characters with these easy-to-make hoodie costumes.

How to Make the Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Ice

What costume could be cooler than this? Hair spray froze 7-year-old Gabrielle's hair in place (and functioned as "glue" for the plastic crystals); white hair dye covered it in frost. Body crystals were attached to her face with eyelash glue.

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Princess

Tra la la! The prettiest princesses must wear lots of lace, and we've found a way to use basic household items to make their lovely dresses.

How to Make a Princess Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Knight and Dragon

A knight in shining...foil? A costume for a daring knight and an imposing little dragon are quite easy to make using basic kitchen supplies.

Make the Knight and Dragon Costumes

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Raven

Our stark yet stylized bird costume is easily put together with just a few simple embellishments attached to an ordinary black hoodie.

Raven Costume How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Young Detective and Hound

The detective and his trusty hound follow the scent to the next crime scene. Their matching plaid capes (modeled after the attire of Sherlock Holmes) are sewn from inexpensive suiting fabric with a simple pattern.

Young Detective and Hound How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Tulip and Rose

A blooming crepe-paper tulip cap and rosebud headband -- each in pastel hues -- turn a mother-daughter duo into a sprightly pair.

Tulip and Rose Costume How-To

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Octopus

This adorable octopus costume is great for kids, and the pattern can be easily enlarged for adults as well.

Make an Octopus Costume

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Spider

Our pattern can be sized to make a creepy kids' costume, or enlarged to make a scary adult spider.

How to Make a Spider Costume