The Best Dog and Child Halloween Costume Duos

Every Halloween, I have extreme envy of other dog owners whose pups not only allow them to squeeze them into adorable dog Halloween costumes, but also will tolerate being outside in a swarm of trick-or-treaters without inviting a lawsuit. I am especially jealous of those parents of dogs and children who consent to team up in their Halloween theme, because a dog-and-kid costume is just deadly cute. I will have to make do by studying them intently on the internet, under the guise of helping you, dear lucky readers with well-behaved mutts and children.

There are many directions you can choose for a coordinated costume. Your canine and human children can be dressed alike, or they can be two characters from the same story/show/movie/book. Your dog can be a famous fictional dog, human, or some other animal. You can cater the costume to their natural doggie features, or play against type for laughs. There’s just really no way it isn’t going to get squeals of delight from everyone who sees you.

There is one way this can go wrong: You don’t want to spend a ton of money or time on a Halloween costume only to have your child or your dog refuse to wear it. This is why we don’t recommend elaborate, expensive costumes or long, involved projects unless you’ve already tested out their costume tolerance. Some dogs are happy to wear wigs and glasses. Others are going to roll on the ground the whole night and do everything in their power to get that thing off. And yeah, basically the same with young children. If this is your first Halloween doing a dog-and-kid costume, go for something inexpensive and easy. When all goes well, you can risk being ambitious next year.

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Here are some store-bought and homemade Halloween costume ideas to steal or take inspiration from:

Monkey and Banana

What makes this store-bought costume duo so priceless is the very unenthusiastic expression on the dog’s face. This comes to us from She Media’s own Cristina Velocci, who has not let her pup Remy talk her out of continuing to dress him up for Halloween.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

The Vintage Modern Wife blogger Stephanie Wolf devised this family costume years ago for herself, her husband, their daughter Addie, and their little dog Pearl, a.k.a. Goldilocks. Read her super-easy instructions here.

Hot Dog and Vendor

We love when someone can take a store-bought costume and make it better, the way Stephanie Lynn enhanced this standard hot dog costume … by adding an entire human to it. Follow her instructions for turning your child into a hot dog vendor (remember those?) at ByStephanieLynn.com.

101 Dalmatians

I’m still too disturbed by the notion of a kids movie about a woman who wants to make fur coats out of puppies to watch this with my kid (seriously, who thinks of these things?!). But I have to admit that it is really hilarious to have your child dress as Cruela De Vil. It’s not even necessary for your dog to be a Dalmatian for this to work.

The Mandalorian & the Child

After years of seeing dogs in Yoda costumes, we’re not surprised to see the Child, a.k.a. Baby Yoda, as a popular offering in 2020. What will make your version truly original is when you pair it with your own child in a Mandalorian costume.

Lion Tamer and Lion

I am about as big a fan of real lion tamers as I am of puppy-coat makers, but I will make a huge exception for this little circus princess Pia, and her fearsome pet Mac, who seems quite content to chew on Pia’s “whip.” Mom Dana of Home of the Harveys has instructions on how to make this whole thing.

Farm Animals

I have little in the way of commentary to add here other than that my heart is full.

Annie and Sandy

Can your kid pull this costume off if they don’t have a halo of curly red hair? I’m sure they can. I do not recommend trying to get a toddler to wear a wig.

Dr. Frankenstein & Monster

Prepare your child for ultimate horror geekdom by dressing them as a mad scientist and coaching them to correct strangers who call the dog “Frankenstein.” Ahem, it’s Frankenstein’s Monster. It’s bound to be a night of fun.

Beauty & the Beast

The only problem with dressing your dog like the Beast is that it may make your child realize just how weird the plot of this fairy tale really is. Anyway, I’m sure your dog is very charming and a great ballroom dancer.

Marieshandmadeshop.

Narwhals & Gnomes

Target’s Hyde & EEK! Boutique costume collection includes a number of ways for families to dress in the same theme. What is better than seeing a pair of narwhals or gnomes walking up to your door on Halloween night?

Whatever you do, don’t consider putting your kids in any of these tasteless Halloween costumes this year.

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