By: Erin Brock

Costumes and cold weather! Unfortunately the weather is not always nice on Halloween epically in certain parts of the country. As any of you who live in these areas know most Halloween costumes are not exactly made with warmth in mind. Below are a few helpful ideas to help keep you warm as you enjoy your Halloween to the fullest!

Costumes for Children
- Order your child's costume a size or two bigger than what they would normally wear. This way you can put a pair of sweats underneath without changing the way the costume looks! -Look for costumes that have long skirts or pants. This will help keep their little legs warmer.
-Costumes that you can wear with snow boots. Many costumes show slip on shoes in the picture but some would also look good with boots. You can always get a cover for the boots so that they match the costume. This is a great idea if you live some where that snow is not uncommon on Halloween.
-Any costume that has a hood on it. These are great because you can wear a hat under the hood and no one can see it.
-And of course if at all possible get a costume that is insulated. There are many of these for little ones. They are usually very cute. My daughter has been a ladybug and grumpy bear. Not really because it was the best costume that I could find but the warmest.

Costumes for Pre-Teens and Teens
-Once again ordering the costume a little big so that pants and long sleeved shirts can be worn under is always a good idea.
-If the costume has a short skirt or is thin leggings can be worn underneath for extra warmth. -For any costumes that leave your shoulders and arms bare. A turtleneck sweater in the same color as the costume will cover these areas without taking away from the costumes look. Also a long sleeve insulated shirt will work well for this. They can be found in most stores in the intimates section.
-For costumes that require high heeled shoes. Try the rubber grips that go on the bottom of the shoe for extra traction. Once again if a boot or any other shoe with a rubber sole can be worn with the costume that is always the best idea.
-For boys find a mask instead of painting your face. The mask helps keep your face warm.

Adults Costumes
-For women's costumes with short skirts a pair of shorts or leggings will help. Also just plain old pantyhose will help keep your legs warm. Also adding a longer petticoat to the costume will help keep you warm.
-Knee high or thigh high boots epically ones made of vinyl are great to keep your legs warm.
-Anything that has a cape. You can order a real wool cape in the same color instead of using the thin one that comes with the costume.
-Wearing any type of spandex or lycra bodysuit under your costume will keep you warm without adding bulk to the look.
-for men thermal or insulated long johns will keep you very warm. Just make sure not to over do it. Try and select the lightweight kinds of you will be too hot.

Any of these tips can really be used for any aged person. But the best idea for staying warm on Halloween is to find an indoor party or haunted house. If there are none in your area consider having your own. Or talking to a city official about the city hosting a community event for all ages. For you that are set on going out trick-or-treating try and start early. For little ones its fine to start even before the sun goes down. Also find someone to drive you around that way you can get in the car and warm up between houses and cover more area also! In any case try and make the best of it Halloween is about having lots of fun. So be creative with your costumes you never know what great warm idea you may come up with.