Matching family costumes with an infant: ideas that work when one of you can't walk

The first thing one new mom said she’d do for Halloween was “look up matching costumes for parents and infant.” How the baby gets around decides which ideas work, so that’s how this is organized.

Two rules first

The baby’s piece is the simplest piece. A hat, a one-piece, a bib. You carry the detail. Anything with a mask, a tail, ties at the neck, or little parts that come off is for the grown-ups, and the AAP says look for a flame-resistant label on whatever the baby wears. Warmth, snaps, and fabric matter more than the theme.

Nothing bulky goes under the car seat harness. If the costume is puffy, it goes on after you park. The AAP’s rule on bulky clothing under a harness applies to a plush pumpkin exactly like it does to a snowsuit.

If the baby’s in a carrier

The carrier is already the center of the costume. Kangaroo with a joey (baby in the pouch). Baker with a loaf. Beekeeper with a bee. Astronaut with a tiny alien. Farmer with a chicken. The baby’s whole costume is a hat or a hooded one-piece; the carrier gets a cover or an apron.

If the baby’s in a stroller

The stroller is the vehicle. Hot-air balloon with the baby as pilot. Bathtub with a rubber duck. Train with the baby as engineer. Shopping cart with the baby as the groceries. The stroller takes the cardboard; the baby takes a hat. Keep decorations away from the wheels and brakes, and don’t block the canopy if rain’s in the forecast.

If you’re carrying the baby

Keep it to a two-piece theme so you can hand the baby off without undressing anyone. Chef and lobster. Gardener and tomato. Pilot and cloud. Little Red Riding Hood and a very small wolf.

Siblings

Pick a theme with a natural “small one”: a litter of puppies with one in a sling, a bunch of grapes with the baby as the single grape on your chest, a solar system with the baby as the moon. Older kids get the elaborate costumes; the baby gets a role without a costume.

The picture

One mom told us the first thing she’d worry about with a costume was “photos.” The matching-costume picture is the whole point for most of us, so take it before you leave, in the house, in good light, right after a feed. If you want it in a pumpkin, the crafts page has the setup. By house three nobody’s smiling.