Buy or make a Halloween costume for baby

Halloween is a favorite holiday of mine. In San Francisco, it is a really big deal, and we, as pre-baby adults, celebrated full force every year. When I learned I was going to have a baby two weeks before Halloween, I was planning his outfit before my belly was even visible to the public.

As a crafty chick, I assumed I would make my child’s Halloween costume every year. However, since trying this motherhood thing on for real, I have gotten a reality check. Until my second child, I didn’t pull off a DIY baby costume.

If you have a newborn, I highly recommend using a pair of pajamas with a theme. Add accessories as your baby will tolerate. I was obsessed with Julian’s giraffe “costume” from Gymboree. So the fact that he didn’t show up until two days before Halloween, and we spent it in a hospital, did not stop me from dressing him like a giraffe for most of November. (Witness my five-day old son in his baby costume that year.)

When he was 12 months old, Gymboree did me right again, with a pair of pjs that have a skeleton on them. (GAP makes them in glow in the dark.) Look how happy he is; he has an appropriate toddler costume, and hair! What a difference a year makes.

Either let them do the work for you (ie order one of these) or get inspired to make your own, using a pair of pajamas as your base. (Browse for Halloween stuff at babyGap.com, and then check Old Navy, cause most of theirs are less than $15.00.)

And finally, for those who are making their child’s costume, One Step Ahead sells solid-colored mock turtleneck and sweatpant combos for turning into costumes or wearing underneath them. They come in red, green, black, pink, and more.

DIY baby costumes that I admire
1. Make a merbaby outfit by Secret Agent Josephine
2. Elvis baby by Christy (RM.com reader)
3. R2D2 for an infant by Myke

Halloween costumes for babies can tend to be expensive and worn only for a 10-minute photo shoot. Holden (pictured) at 6 months old wore three costumes in about ten minutes — his official costume was the chili pepper (also from Babystyle); his runner up was a free borrowed baby pumpkin; his homemade costume was the wizard with his robes (AKA sleep sack) and an enormous hat we had stashed in our costume box. And with all that effort (and so many options), he “refused” to leave the house so Heather could get some free candy with her cute baby-prop.

So, if your best intentions to make a costume get you no where, save your money, and spend it on a babysitter for yourself. Go out for a drink after baby has gone to bed so that you can check out all the crazy costumes worn by people who still party. That’s my new Halloween tradition.

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Whitney

RookieMoms.com co-founder Whitney lives with her husband, son, and daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area where she writes about parenting, crafts, and activities that moms can do with babies in tow. She and Heather also publish 510Families.com, a site for East Bay parents.