20 Kids’ Halloween Costumes, Vetted 20 Different Ways

As hinted above, Scandinavian-inspired children’s clothing brand Hanna Andersson is a well-established parent favorite. One reason is that the company’s high-quality pajamas make great hand-me-downs. I learned about them from Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio and Verge photo editor Amelia Holowaty Krales when putting together our baby costume guide and thought they deserved a spot here, too. Trolio has used the stripey version of these long-johns when creating costumes for her two kids (they served as the base layer for a deep-sea diver and a robot). But the brand also sells some more specifically costume-y styles like the pirate above (there’s a “Mischievous Mummy,” too), in addition to Halloween-themed prints like gummy bears, ghosts, black cats, and bats that would make for an easy ensemble come October 31. You can also add on accessories like a pirate hat and parrot, dragon wings or bat wings, or a lion’s mane and claws.

When I texted my 12-year-old cousin Alex about what he wanted to go as this Halloween, he didn’t hesitate in sending me this Ghostbusters getup. (His sister, 10-year-old Olivia, is hoping to dress up as Eleven in her totally tubular ’80s romper.) Inspired by Stranger Things  and a recent rewatch of the legendary ’80s movie, Alex decided this year was the time to go for it. “I’m such a huge Halloween fan and it’s a classic,” he told me. He’s clearly onto something: Grace Rubenstein, co-founder of podcast consulting and production company SeedPod Media (and mother to Strategist deals editor Sam Daly’s half-brothers), told us her 3-year-old and 5-year-old sons are planning on being a Ghostbuster and ghost, respectively. “Kids love to feel important and powerful and helpful, and pretending to be Ghostbusters lets them do that,” she says.

Dodo Kids video editor Erin Hug’s 6-year-old is currently obsessed with the French children’s show Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, centered on two supervillain-fighting Parisian teenagers whose alter-egos are the eponymous Ladybug and Chat Noir. Hug’s husband is French, and her daughter considers the show a “really cool connection to her country,” even watching the show en français. This polka-dotted unitard matches the one Ladybug wears, and comes complete with a coordinating mask and wig with ribboned pigtails. (To finish the outfit, Hug bought Ladybug’s magical yo-yo, which is used to tie up villains in the cartoon.) “As soon as she put it on, she started posing and jumping around like a superhero,” Hug says.

Other apparent fans of Pottery Barn Kids’ costumes are America Ferrera and Andy Cohen: When my curiosity over the costumes that celebrities choose for their kids led me to a BuzzFeed listicle from last year, I couldn’t help but notice that Ferrera (mother to Sebastian and Lucia) and Cohen (whose son’s name is Benjamin) put their kiddos in similar silvery spacesuits. After close inspection of the details — including the petal-like flames on the jetpack and the star-embroidered chest patch — I’m confident the outfit is from PBK. It also comes in baby- and toddler-size versions, and if you want to stay fully on theme, the company sells a coordinating rocket-ship treat bag that can be personalized with your kid’s name or initials.

In an act of “peak preschool-slash-sibling humor,” the 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son of Chloe Varelidi, founder of play-set maker Follies, are dressing up as a duo of pasta and pizza. (Varelidi attributes the idea to a family trip to Italy this past summer.) She particularly liked the “questionable Photoshop skills” involved in the making of this slice: “My rule is always that when the idea for a costume is ridiculous, it really needs to be very obviously ridiculous,” Varelidi says. As a bonus, her very active son can easily run around in the slice, which slips on over his head and shoulders.

Lila, the daughter of Katie Bishop, supervising producer of Vox Media’s Criminal Productions, is a big fan of the PBS animated show Hero Elementary, which follows a group of students enrolled in a school for “budding superheroes.” (Her favorite character is a boy who can wondrously make bubbles.) The 4-year-old also can’t resist sparkle — so Bishop bought her this set that includes a starry tulle skirt alongside a lightning-bolt-emblazoned cape and mask. “Lila has started saying that she also wants to be a cat? And a unicorn? While also being a superhero? And I feel like in a pinch we could make that happen with a few headbands plus this costume,” Bishop says.

This set from beloved toy brand Melissa & Doug boasts a 4.8-star rating on Amazon across more than 2,800 reviews. Reviewers praise the costume’s quality with one joking that their grandson “put out a tremendous amount of fires” with it on and another explaining that the hat-and-jacket combination is tough enough for intense pretend play. The jacket features reflective panels, a name tag, and Velcro bands to hold an included fire extinguisher. Note that the bullhorn can get “excessively loud,” per one recent review, but a piece of packing tape over the speaker can be a quick fix.

Pokémon is forever, it seems, and there’s a new Pokéfever going around right now, with multiple kids we talked to for our back-to-school guide expressing their love for Pikachu and all the rest (especially the related merch). I heard about the resurgence again from Catherine Smart, co-founder of sauce company Not Just Co., whose first-grader Jack loves the franchise. “All of a sudden, Jack was begging for cards — even proposing chores for card money — and his social life started revolving around a binder of cards and shrewd trades with his friends,” Smart says. So there was no competition for what he would be this Halloween. Smart appreciates the practicality of this “trainer” costume, as Jack can wear a long-sleeve shirt underneath the jacket or switch between pants and shorts.

Another popular costume on Amazon is this one-size-fits-most surgeon uniform, which boasts a 4.5-star rating across more than 1,400 reviews. Customers were especially impressed by the quality — one reviewer praised how the set “feels like scrubs and looks like scrubs,” down to the stitching. The ensemble comes with a long list of accessories that you’d see in a doctor’s office, including a stethoscope, otoscope, thermometer, injection needle, and blood-pressure gauge. Another reviewer said their son “got into character right away” once he put on the scrubs, “listening to our hearts and bandaging owies.”

I found a few strong contenders when I Googled Halloween costumes — including a rainbow complete with a cloud umbrella (but it’s sold out in many sizes) and a lamé, googly-eyed octopus. But this “Monster Mash” one-piece won out because it’s versatile, gender-neutral, and supremely easy. It has horns and spikes, yet looks plenty cozy and cuddly to keep your kid warm in chilly October temps. They could say they’re a dinosaur, or an extra from Monsters, Inc. And as a bonus, there’s an adult version if you’re hoping to find matching costumes for the whole family.