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Whether you grew up with Harry Potter and passed your fandom on to your kids or they discovered the books and movies on their own, they might want to take Halloween costume inspiration from the series. It seems every year (particularly since the movies were released), kids dress up like the magical characters, even if there isn't a new book or movie. Rather than dressing as Harry, Ron, Hermione, or Draco for the millionth time, maybe your children want more unique Harry Potter Halloween costumes for kids this year. There are so many characters in each book and movie — the wizarding world is a very complex place — so they don't have to stick to their old standbys.
From Hogwarts professors to classmates, evil villains and international witches and wizards, even to magical animals, ghosts, important inanimate objects, and the like, the options for a Harry Potter-inspired costume are, to be honest, nearly endless. The most difficult part for many of these costumes is finding just the right items to pull the costume together. While you're over dressing up as The Boy Who Lived, you don't really want everyone to think you're just wearing a normal outfit while out trick-or-treating, not after all the time and effort you put into it. When in doubt, add a wand. It'll answer a lot of the potential questions, while also ensuring that your out-of-the-ordinary Harry Potter costume is your best one yet.
1
Lavender Brown
If you're not quite ready to let go of your hope that one day you'll find out that you were really meant to be a Gryffindor, but you also don't really want to dress as Hermione again, consider Lavender Brown. She's a presence in the background for much of the series and even has a brief relationship with Ron. To dress as Lavender, you'll need a graduation gown ($24, Graduation Source) — ditch the cap — a Gryffindor tie ($6, Target), a white button-down shirt ($8, H&M), a black skirt ($7, H&M), black tights ($4, Target), and black shoes ($13, H&M). Pull the look together by creating waves in their hair, braiding it into pigtails, and topping it off with a knotted headband ($7, Etsy), which Lavender frequently wears.
2
Colin Creevey
Another Gryffindor, Colin Creevey is, basically, president of the unofficial Harry Potter fan club. Dress your kid up as Colin this year for a slightly different take on a Harry Potter costume. You'll need a graduation gown ($24, Graduation Source), a Gryffindor tie ($6, Target), a white button-down shirt ($10, The Children's Place), dark dress pants ($25, H&M), a charcoal gray v-neck sweater ($12, Old Navy), and a pair of black shoes ($20, Payless). Add a vintage-y camera ($20, Etsy) like the one that Colin is never without.
3
Filius Flitwick
Professor Filius Flitwick is the Charms professor at Hogwarts and teaches Harry, Ron, Hermione, and others how to perform spells. Dressing up as him for Halloween, however, will likely take a little bit of skill. I'd recommend DIY-ing a green velvet cloak ($7 per yard, Etsy) like the one he wears, as I had a hard time finding them available for sale. Add a green pointy hat like this one ($45, Etsy) and make sure they're wearing a white button-down shirt ($10, The Children's Place) underneath.
4
Narcissa Malfoy
Narcissa Malfoy, the impeccably dressed, yet fairly evil mother of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's nemesis, Draco, is another good alternative Harry Potter costume. This is an especially good last-minute costume, because if you already have a wool dress ($21, Walmart) and wool coat ($12, Walmart), all you really need is the wand ($8, Spirit Halloween). To make sure they're unmistakably Narcissa, (temporarily) dye their hair to resemble her two-toned dark and bleached-blonde look.
5
Sybill Trelawney
Sybill Trelawney, played by global treasure Emma Thompson, is only really in the beginning of the series, but makes a somewhat lasting impression. To dress up as Sybill, you'll need a patterned scarf ($20, NorthStyle) to tie into a headband, a blouse-y, earth-toned shirt ($15, Target), wide-legged pants ($12, Kohl's), and a pair of round glasses ($26, Zenni Optical). Layer on a ton of long silver necklaces and you have the most comfortable costume on the block.
6
Madame Maxime
Madame Maxime, the glamorous headmistress of wizarding school Beauxbatons, visited Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. She also fell in love with Hogwarts groundskeeper Hagrid. Dress like Madame Maxime (especially if you're tall — she's half-giant) for Halloween this year for a different take on a Harry Potter costume. To pull together your costume, you'll need a pair of wide-legged trousers ($15, Belk), a cape ($25, Chasing Fireflies), and, of course, a wand ($8, Spirit Halloween) for your most magical Halloween yet.
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