Costumes your kids will want to wear all year long

One of my favorite things about watching my son grow up is seeing how his imagination blossoms as he gets older. He can take anything and turn it into something magical. An old toilet paper roll becomes a slide for his Lego men. The dustbuster can create “tornadoes” with the dust bunnies on the ground (whoops, I missed those last Sunday ?) and when he puts on a costume, he can become whoever he wants to be. The other day, he wore a superhero cape and a baseball cap that was meant to be a helmet, and I was only allowed to call him “Mr. Hero” all day. ?

I love to do whatever I can to keep up this imaginative play, so I don’t mind keeping our dress-up box full of things he can take on and off as he switches between new worlds. This is absolutely a privilege, but we like to invest in costumes that can have more life than just one use out of them.

These are my favorite Halloween costumes (and accessories!) that will last way past Halloween:

Bird wings

Parents can grab the full costume if they want their little to be a colorful bird, but I love just the wings for keeping play open-ended. They can be used whether your little one wants to be a majestic hawk or pretend to be an airplane zooming through the sky.

$48

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Magical soft crown

This is billed as being for princesses, but I don’t see why a prince, a king, or a queen couldn’t rock this gold crown, too. Perhaps your child throws this on if they want to be like Prince Tuesday from Daniel Tiger or Queen Elsa from Frozen. Pairs super well with this princess dress or this one. Comes in silver , too.

$5

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Pet clinic apron

My son loves pretending to fix boo-boos, ease headaches or give us “medicine” (usually a little shot glass full of orange juice), so this apron will get tons of use. And he’s not just a human doctor, he’s a stuffed animal and dinosaur and car doctor too. Whenever he has this apron on, he can make anyone (and anything) feel better.

$12

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Wizard hat

We’re big Harry Potter fans around these parts, so of course, we needed something perfectly magical to add to our collection. Putting on the wizard hat means we’re about to see some eye-opening magic tricks or hear our little cast amazing “spells” that will put us into a deep trance. And don’t forget to grab the matching cape , too.

$12

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Mermaid costume

Who can resist the idea of pretending to be a mermaid who swims with dolphins and seahorses? We watched the OG Little Mermaid movie the other day, and other than the part where my son said, “Why does this movie look so old ?” he was smitten with everything that had to do with exploring underwater and being a mermaid or merman.

$81

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Fairy wings

Maybe you see fairy wings, but your kiddo sees butterfly wings. Either way, it’s something delicate that can fly through the air, flitting this way and that. Bonus if you tell your little one that butterflies or fairies can’t talk, but can only hum silently as they fly around. ?

$8

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Hooded cape

I love that this cape has so many uses. You can be a good guy or a bad guy. It can be an invisibility cloak or it can be the cloak of a queen. You can be little green riding hood or you can be a witch. The possibilities are endless.

$45

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Green dragon wing + mask set

I love how versatile these two little accessories are. The mask can be for when you want to dress as a dragon or it can be for superhero play. The wings can be dragon wings or pterodactyl wings. And if your little wants to go full-on firebreather, they can complete the look with this dragon cloak.

$18

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Unicorn hood

You can’t tell me that unicorns don’t exist. Just because we can’t see them, doesn’t mean they’re there. Your little will love this little hood for when they’re pretending to be a unicorn or a narwhal. Pairs perfectly with this jumpsuit to complete the look. (Or purchase all together for full on unicorn status .)

$36

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Flower headband

TBH, this one is less like a costume and more like a must-have daily accessory for those days when your flower child wants to feel extra special. He or she can throw this headband on when they want to be a princess, a bohemian from the ’60s or just a stylish little preschooler.

$7

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