I must confess. My first Halloween with my daughter, I cheated. I dressed her as a baby.
However, each consecutive Halloween I have gotten better at dressing her in cute but relatively simple costumes. Part of this is my distinct lack of sewing and art skills: costumes need to be simple for them to work. The other part is that I don’t have the time to sew 500 individual feathers onto a custom chicken costume, even if I wanted to.
This blog post is for those of you who are like me: you love Halloween activities, you want a cute baby or toddler costume, you have a small budget, and you’re short on time.
A Pig
We did this costume last year. It is ridiculously easy. Simply buy a pink sweat pant and shirt set or a pink sleeper. Use black fabric paint to paint the word “oink” and some pig footprints onto the clothing. Then glue pink pig ears to a headband, and you have it – instant piggie costume! The best part about this one is that you can use the costume as pyjamas later.
A Pumpkin
If you have some minimal sewing skills and a pillowcase, this is for you. Create a seam at the top and the bottom of the pillowcase and thread some elastic through the seams. Using Kool-Aid, dye the pillowcase orange. Place the top of the pillowcase under baby’s arms, and stuff it slightly to make it look round. If your baby will tolerate hats, attach a green felt leaf to a tighter hat to make the stem.
Wizard or Witch
Use a black sweat shirt and black sweat pants for this project. Get some shiny material and cut out stars and moons. Glue them onto the shirt and pants. Add a play silk cape, and you have a little wizard baby!
Artist
Find a beret and a black top, and you’re set! Simply attach the beret to baby’s head – this might take some elastic at the bottom. Smear some beet juice, blueberries, or other bright “paint” colors onto baby’s face, and you have an artist in the midst of a creation.
Farmer
You likely have at least one pair of baby overalls hanging around. Rub them in the dirt a little. Find a straw hat for your baby – craft stores often have doll hats. Add rubber boots and a token stuffed animal, and your baby will be ready to hang out at the farm!
Devising Halloween costumes for your baby can be a lot of fun, and it doesn’t need to cost much or take a lot of time. What wild ideas are you thinking about for this Halloween?