How To Travel with a Halloween Costume

We travel every fall, which means a lot of times we're able to get in on Halloween parties/activities. Sometimes we even go places where costumes are required (or more fun), like our trip to Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania last year, where we spent two days enjoying a Harry Potter festival and an evening of magic at Philly's science museum. We packed our regular clothes and then things we wanted for cosplay/costumes, and still went carry-on only.

Photo by Abby Savage on Unsplash

So, if you're thinking of traveling where you'll need/want to bring a costume, there are a few rules to follow. I try to bring clothing that will work with accessories to create a new look. That way you don't have to pack too much extra to make a costume work.

Here are some of our costumes that would work (or have worked) for travel:

A few years ago I had a Fantastic Beasts birthday party, where I dressed as an owl, but this dress was so well made, I could leave off the cape and wear it out as a regular dress. If you have a similar costume or an outfit that can be transformed into something else, maybe with a set of ears and a tail, then this is a winner.

One of our Halloween parties saw Eric and his friend dress as red shirts from Star Trek. Alex decided his was an engineer, but this is an easy costume to pull off, with only a shirt needed, which is super easy to pack.

I have a lot of costumes, one of which was this mime. The top was terrible and too small, so I replaced it with a striped shirt I already had, which is a staple of my travel wardrobe, because it's loose and goes well with a lot of things. This means I'd only have to bring suspenders and this thin beret and scarf. Works for guys as well. 

Sorry for this terrible bathroom selfie, but it was the only way I could get my whole outfit at the time. I purchased this fun Hogwarts school hat at Chestnut Hill's Harry Potter festival, got this great cape-like cardigan that I wear on the plane and as an extra layer elsewhere. With a funky blue top, it completed my Ravenclaw look for a Night of Magic.

We also dressed up for the Harry Potter fest when we went to Chestnut Hill, and we packed robes that were quite thin, since we don't travel with or own licensed robes. Eric chose a black graduation robe for his, attached a bunch of buttons, and added a Cedric Diggory shirt to be the ultimate Hufflepuff. I ironed on some Gryffindor patches and sparkly stripes to mine and then added a number and the name Bell to my robe, so could cosplay as Katie Bell of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I got a lot of compliments on it. 

This isn't, technically, us. LOL! Our friends came to a Halloween party as Waldo and Waldo. This is a popular costume at theme parks and it's super easy to put together. If you purchase a good quality shirt, you can wear that outside of your Halloween event.

We go to a lot of Disney parks and every few trips we hit up the Halloween party. It's always warm, even in California, so it can be challenging to come up with easy ideas that aren't hot to wear. One year we went as an ice cream man and a crazy baseball fan. We've also gone as Wayne and Garth from Wayne's World, safari goers, a pilot and a German girl in lederhosen. Next year we'll be headed back to Walt Disney World, and I'll be coming up with two more packable costumes. 

Stay tuned for more Halloween travel ideas, including where to go and what to do to take advantage of the season.

Have you ever traveled during the Halloween season?