Halloween Costumes for Babies (The Guide)

From elaborate sewing projects to last-minute baby costumes and frugal-minded ideas for parents who want to highlight their baby’s mind-blowing Halloween cuteness, we’ve put all our best dress-up ideas on this page. If you’ve got a related photo or story to share, please send it to moms @ rookiemoms . com and we’ll add it to this guide!

Best last minute costumes for infants:

• Fried egg – white sleeper with yellow felt circle sewn or glued on
• Farmer – denim overalls, plaid shirt
• Aerobics instructor – onesie over leggings with baby legs if you’ve got ‘em. Make a quick sweatband by cutting the edge off an outgrown newborn cap
• Greaser – jeans, white t-shirt, converse (requires a baby with hair – Whitney makes this kind; Heather does not)
• Baby Einstein – Write E=MC2 on a onesie and be done with it. Concept and photo courtesy of ParentHacks.com.

More last-minute costumes…

Simplest tiny newborn costumes:

• iPod or iPhone onesie (buy it here)
• Swaddled ladybug or cow (buy them here)

Best costume that will actually be worn again:

• Skeleton pajamas (buy them here) — BabyGap saves the day with this skeleton pj-set that gets more wear after Halloween. Rookie Mom go-to costume! Julian has been this twice, Holden once, and Milo once… Scarlett, you’re next!

• New this year from BabyGap, glow-in-the-dark spider web jammies. A new classic?
• Black and white zebra pjs (buy them here) — Hanna Andersson provides a more spendy option. These infant jammies may be $38, but they’re organic! cotton!

• Train conductor-style overalls paired with collared shirt and red bandana (only on eBay)

Best “baby as a prop to your own costume” ideas:

• Baby as a monkey to Mommy and Daddy’s Wonder Twins
• Baby in Bjorn as Mini-Me to either parents Austin Powers

More mom and baby costumes:

• Martha Stewart’s “no-sew” spider and web
• Baby as frog to your princess
• Baby in sling or Bugaboo to your celebrimom of choice. Got twins? Be J-Lo. Pregnant again? Be Britney or Naomi Watts.
• Mom as a butcher; baby as a piglet

More sidekick costume ideas like this…

Best costumes for pregnant chicks:

• Buddha
• Bristol Palin: for those who favor the tasteless costume on Halloween
• Juno: for those who wanted to be Bristol, but prefer to be more tasteful
• Staying home? Paint your belly as a pumpkin like Caley

Best place for store-bought costumes that will be soft and comfy:

• Old Navy (loving the $22 monkey and bumblebee) — and Old Navy costumes go on as easy as a zippy sweatshirt and pair of pants.




Best two shortcuts for DIY parents:

1. Start with a monochromatic base outfit like these from One Step Ahead (This warm under layer comes in red, pink, tan and green for $14.99)
2. Use iron-on printer paper to add details and designs (R2D2, tiger, tiny tux)

Best resource for cheap Halloween trinkets to get you in the mood:

• Oriental Trading Company
• Target

Laziest costume for a parent with a printer:
Print a mask from the Kodak web site

Deserve a prize for your “green” costume, made of recycled or reused items?
> Enter the Sprig contest.

Most impressive costume endeavors by other parent bloggers:
> Kermit the Frog made from green sweatsuit by BelleFlower
> Caley’s DIY knight costume for preschoolers utilizes her discarded belt and the hood of a favorite old sweatshirt.
> Secret Agent Josephine’s merbaby is probably The Cutest Thing On The Internet

Still reading? If you’ve got a cute idea to share for Halloween, please send it to moms @ rookiemoms . com and we’ll add it to this guide!