Easy Halloween Costumes for Cold Climate

by Sarah Stoski · Published October 24, 2020 · Updated October 27, 2020

It’s easy to find Halloween costume ideas for indoor parties, and for warm-weather locations. However, here in Canada, we need easy Halloween costumes for a cold climate, if you want to go trick-or-treating. You’d get hypothermia in most of the skimpy costumes you see online!

Long ago, as a new mom, I worked for hours, making cute Halloween costumes for my son. What was I thinking! Now, we do quick and easy Halloween costumes, that are perfect for cold October days. See my fancy costumes, and tips for making easy Halloween costumes.

Halloween Pickle Costume

Here’s that first Halloween costume I made for my then 6-month-old son – Super Pickle! There was a green fleece body suit, with a hood, and a Super Pickle cape that attached at the back. You can see the cape’s “SP” logo in the photo.

For indoor wear, he had a long-sleeved shirt and long pants, to keep him cozy. If he had gone trick-or-treating outside, the costume could have gone over his snowsuit.

He wore that costume for an hour at his baby play group on Halloween morning. In the afternoon, we went to visit my parents, so they could see their adorable grandson. He grew more confused as the day wore on, as you can tell by the look on his cute little face.

EASY VERSION: If I had to make a Super Pickle costume now, here’s what I’d do.

For indoor wear, I’d put the child in green pants and a green sweater or shirt.
For outdoor wear, put them in a green snowsuit, or layer of warm clothes, with something green as the outer layer. Or, use a bright green garbage back as the outer layer! (They’ll thank you years later, when you show the photos to their high school friends)

Then, make a cape from green fabric – maybe a towel or pillow case. Make the letters S and P from red felt, and pin then onto the cape.

Halloween Ewok Costume

For my son’s second Halloween costume, I made another elaborate outfit. This time, it was an adorable Ewok costume, and again, it took hours to make.

For the body covering, I used a bear costume pattern. It’s made from dark brown fleece fabric, and light brown fake fur for the tummy section. That stuff is not easy to work with, let me tell you!

For the head gear, I created my own pattern, based on what I saw in the Star Wars movie. It’s made from fake leather.

He wore the costume at day care, for an hour or so, and he wore it for a few minutes of trick or treating in the evening. It’s perfect for cold weather, and you could wear heavy or light clothing under it, depending on the weather.

EASY VERSION: If I had to make an Ewok costume now, here’s what I’d do.

For indoor wear, I’d put the child in brown pants and a brown sweater or shirt.
For outdoor wear, put them in a brown snowsuit, or layer of warm clothes, with something brown as the outer layer.

Then, make headgear from pleather, or a brown paper bag. Use brown felt to make the ears at the top.

Buy a Costume

Eventually, I got smarter, and lazier, and started buying costumes, or making really easy ones

One year, his grandma sent a fireman costume, so that was as easy as it gets! I didn’t even have to go shopping. That moustache though!

He wore the costume at day care, for an hour or so, with his play clothes under it. In the evening, he wore the costume for about half an hour of trick or treating. It was a cold night, so he wore a hat under the helmet, and his snowsuit under the fireman’s coat.

A bonus with this costume was that he used it for months after Halloween, for dress-up play. He ran around our apartment, putting out fires, and keeping everyone safe.

The Apple Tree

My mother used to make easy Halloween costumes for cold climate too. It’s a tradition, and a necessity, here in Canada. Here’s one of my first costumes – an apple tree. This easy costume took her about an hour to make.

I’m wearing my snowsuit, ready to go door-to-door, asking for treats. Earlier in the day, at nursery school, I work the “apple tree” over my play clothes.

The tree and apples are made from felt. The hat is made from overlapping leaf-shaped green felt pieces. On top, there is a bird made from red wool pompoms, with orange felt for its eyes, beak, and feet.

And, of course, I had a deluxe Halloween bag – a plastic bag from the local grocery store!