If you’re a mom or a dad at your wit’s end thinking about how hard it is to make your tween happy… just remember what it was like to BE a tween. It really isn’t the most fun. You’re starting to come into your own and develop your more mature personality, but you’re still young enough that much of your life and surroundings aren’t in your control. Being patient, listening, and having a thick skin are some key pieces of advice for those who go out shopping with their tween. And don’t forget: for a pre-teenager, appearance is just as important on Halloween as it is any other day. You have to let them choose what they want the most, but they can’t forget that it should be mostly ok with mom and dad. Still not sure how to go about this? Here’s our guide for Halloween shopping for a tween.
Pop Culture Tween Halloween Costumes
| Teen Cruella | Jurassic Park T-Rex | Tween Violet | Teen Michael Myers |
Rule #1: Know your pop culture. Phases come and go faster than ever these days. Remember when you were young? One day you loved a certain teen heartthrob (*cough* Nick Carter *cough*) and then the next, you couldn’t even BELIEVE that your mom would ever suggest you liked him more than Justin Timberlake. Being on trend is one of THE most important things for a soon-to-be-teenager, so turn to your tweens favorite movie or TV show for costume ideas. However, these fun inflatable T-Rex costumes never seem to go out of style!
Group Halloween Costumes for Tweens
| Basketball Lucas | Crissy Cunningham | Video Stop Steve | Season 4 Eleven |
| Tween Sally | Jack Skellington | Queen of Hearts | Teen Mad Hatter |
Rule #2: Consider their friends. Tween life is squad life. We have to say, life as a tween is MUCH easier with your friends there by your side. So, take that into consideration. We mean, when’s the last time you saw your middle school kid without one or two of their closest friends? Group costumes might be the way to go. PLUS – strength (and confidence) in numbers when they show up at their very first Halloween party. And you know, a bestie costume is very Instagram worthy.
School Appropriate Tween Halloween Costumes
| Neon Leopard Onesie | Banana Costume | Tween Red Riding Hood | Teen Sailor |
Rule #3: Make it school appropriate. What is and isn’t acceptable wardrobe-wise has to be determined household-by-household, but chances are, if your tween is going to school on Halloween in costume, you also have to follow dress code. Sometimes, all you have to do to make a Halloween costume age-appropriate is to add a pair of leggings underneath a skirt or a long sleeve shirt under a sleeveless top. We’re not here to pass judgement, but just to show you some school-appropriate Halloween costumes for your tween!
Nostalgic Tween Halloween Costumes
| Teen Beetlejuice | Katniss Everdeen | Yu-Gi-Oh! | Teen Dorothy |
Rule #4: Suggest some ideas from when you were younger. Great news, parents. The stuff you loved when you were younger is now considered nostalgia. Gross, huh? Just listen to this, though – if your kid is 12 now, that means that the first episode of Friends aired, like, 11 years before they were born. Think of the shows that started 11 years before YOU were born. They were CLASSICS! They were on Nick at Nite. Once you’ve come to grips with the passage of time, you can realize that now your age is actually in your favor. The 80s and 90s (and even the 00s) are HUGE now. Tell your kid all about what watching Rugrats was like back in the day or what it was like to really own a Care Bear. Enjoy this moment of coolness with your tween, it probably won't last.
Classic Tween Halloween Costumes
| Tween Reaper | Killer Clown | Cute Werewolf | Teen Zombie |
Rule #5: Basics aren’t basic. You can’t go wrong with a classic. Just because a costume isn’t tied to the current fad or a pop culture tidal wave doesn’t mean that it won’t be a hit with your tween. These Halloween costumes are tried and true for a reason. There’s scary, there’s historical, there’s storybook, there’s animal, hippie, disco, mad scientist, you name it! There are plenty of classic costumes to choose from for your tween.
Alright, parents. Good luck! Hopefully these rules on shopping for a tween Halloween costume makes the event go from just manageable to actually fun for both you and your kid. Let us know down below if you have any other tips on picking out the perfect costume for your not-yet-a-teen, but no-longer-a-child. Of course, we also have plenty of kids costumes and teen costumes, too!
