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All the things that make trick-or-treating so thrilling as a kid—ringing doorbells, exchanging candy bars with friends—might not be happening this fall, but that’s no reason to not dress up. Over the past few months, we’ve adjusted to wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) during our day-to-day lives, and Halloween doesn’t have to be any different. It turns out masks, face shields, and other types of barriers that help with reducing exposure to COVID and maintaining a safe social distance from others lend themselves to cool kids’ costumes.
Has your little one been dreaming of being a rock star? How about a lion or an ancient Egyptian? That’s all still possible this year—you just might have to get a little crafty. In addition to a real cloth mask or covering, we gathered six clever options that will keep your child safe. Get your cardboard, fabric markers, and stickers ready.
Daft Punk
There are endless possibilities with helmets (astronaut, gladiator, alien), but this is one Mom or Dad can join in on. Your headgear doesn’t have to be anything metallic or fancy: Pair it with a jacket and a tie and everyone will know which duo you are.
A T.rex
Keep kids busy in the days leading up to Halloween by building a mechanical dinosaur together (they’ll learn about rotary motion and fossil detective work with this kit). All the parts are delivered to your doorstep, including the matching dino claws, the spiky head, and the string that moves the chomping felt jaw up and down.
A Mummy
Have some elastic bandage wrap sitting in your medicine cabinet? Travel back in time to ancient Egypt. This DIYer topped her kid’s outfit off with a bejeweled leather headband (minimal sewing is required if you’re making the strap from scratch) and a toy cobra for a Pharaoh-worthy touch.
A Unicorn
One Etsy shop owner is giving plain plastic face shields a kid-friendly spin by hand-painting characters (there’s also bears, dinosaurs, lions) onto them. The pretending doesn’t have to stop in October—the $40 find will be handy to have around for plane rides and other outings.
A UFO
An out-of-this-world UFO costume helps keep other trick-or-treaters light-years away—or just a minimum of six feet. This one by Oh Happy Day is made from a baby spring float (the base of the structure), a gray plastic tablecloth, a small inflatable swim ring, and a large plastic bowl. Taping balloons to the bottom of the structure creates the illusion that they’re soaring through space. If you don’t feel like putting in all the work, consider buying a kit, complete with alien glasses, instead.
Ghostbusters
Who you gonna call? All it takes is a little bit of white paint, themed decals, and some tubing to transform a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe into the iconic Ectomobile. The rest of the neighborhood can depend on you.
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