| Family First Feature |

Going Wild with Comfy Costumes

By Esti Vago | February 14, 2023

Here are some costume ideas almost as comfortable as regular clothes, and super easy to create to boot!

Photography by Chaya Miller

While some kids don’t mind bulky costumes, many would prefer being comfortable. As a parent, in addition to the fact that comfortable kids equal happier kids, I also appreciate it when it's easy for kids to load in and out of the car and get buckled throughout all the mishloach manos deliveries. Here are some costume ideas almost as comfortable as regular clothes, and super easy to create to boot!

Don’t Get Rattled!

This charming costume takes almost no time to make. It’s especially fun for those who enjoy getting the people around them hissssterical!

You’ll need:

A black shell

Black pants or skirt

A Melissa and Doug stuffed snake

How to make it:

Measure the snake against your child’s arm by placing the head of the snake just beyond the child’s fingertips.

At the spot that the snake reaches your child’s shoulder, cut a slit on the underside of the snake that’s wide enough for the child’s arm to fit in.

Remove the stuffing from the slit until the head of the snake, leaving the head stuffed.

Have your child put his arm into the space you took the stuffing out of, and wrap the rest of the snake loosely around your child’s body. It should be roomy enough for your child to be able to slip the snake on and off over his head. Ideally, the end of the snake should hit at or above the waist so your child can sit comfortably.

Use the hot glue to glue the coiled snake into that position.

A Lucky Duck

If you’re looking for a costume that’s cute and comfortable, this certainly fits the bill!

You’ll need:

A yellow T-shirt

A yellow tutu

Orange tights

A yellow cap

3 orange, 1 blue, 1 black, and 1 white piece of felt

Glue dots

How to make it:

Fold an orange sheet of felt over the cap’s visor and use hot glue to glue it on. You can draw a slightly arched shape that goes a bit higher than the visor. Trim the excess felt.

Cut two sets of white, black, and blue felt to create the eyes, and glue the layers together with hot glue. Glue them onto the front of the cap.

Glue the arched part of the orange felt into place.

For the webbed feet, measure the length and width of your child’s shoe on an orange sheet of felt.

Draw three humps that go slightly longer and wider than the front of the shoe.

Cut out two of those, either by stacking the felt and cutting both at the same time, or cutting once, tracing it on the second sheet, and cutting out the second one.

Cut a hole very slightly bigger than the size of your child’s ankle — just large enough for your child’s foot to slip into.

You can use a glue dot to secure the front of the duck foot to the front of your child’s shoe. (Rubber or foam shoes such as Natives or Floafers can easily handle the glue dot without getting ruined.)

The Chipper Chipmunk

How many chips would a chipmunk munch if a chipmunk could munch chips? He’d munch all the chips that he would get in his mishloach manos!

You’ll need:

Brown pajamas or a brown dress

Brown visor

Brown felt (multiple shades)

Fur material

Chipmunk face template (Click Here for the template)

How to make it:

Measure a strip of fur to fit down your child’s back from his neck until below his waist. Use hot glue to glue it to the back of his top, leaving the part at the bottom hanging.

Fold the corners of the hanging part inward, creating a soft point at the bottom, and glue the corners down.

Download, print, and cut out the chipmunk face template.

You can either glue the entire template onto the visor, or replace parts of it with felt. To replace parts with felt, cut out the parts of the template you’re replacing. Trace them onto the correct color felt, and cut out the felt accordingly.

To make the ears 3D, cut an arch out of dark-brown felt and a slightly smaller arch from a flesh-color felt. Glue the lighter-colored felt onto the darker felt, leaving a border of darker felt showing. Repeat for a second ear.

Fold about one-third of the arch forward and glue it behind the chipmunk’s face. Glue the back two-thirds behind the visor.