Top Halloween Costumes for 2011

Halloween is one of the most fun holidays of them all; it’s a time where kids dress up in their favorite costume and go out and trick or treat – as a parent I loved to see the different costumes my children wore, and it was also interesting to see the interesting and varied costumes that the other children wore.

Halloween is a very commercial time and as you approach it, the price of costumes increases rapidly; it’s therefore a good idea to shop around for bargains early on. One tip is to shop for ‘last year’s’ cool costumes – they me be out-dated, but you can get some really cool costumes pretty cheaply (for example – currently some Harry Potter costumes are cheap – as you approach Halloween, and the new movie comes out the price will go up!).

Personally, my best memories of Halloween have been where my mother and I made our costumes; they were cheap, but more than that it was a quality time to make them. Sadly not everyone has the time or the talent to make their own, but here are a few ‘cool’ ideas for home made costumes:

• iPad – I have not been able to find an iPad costume anywhere on the web – so make your own – it only requires a little bit of talent.
• Soda Can – with a little imagination and some card-board it’s very easy to re-create your favorite Soda Can
• Green costume – make a statement and create a ‘green world’ costume – you can do this in many many ways, use your imagination while promoting a great cause!

This year there are some pretty fun costumes, mostly based on movies although a couple have come back in vogue due to untimely deaths.

• Avatar seems to be a hot item for this year with many wonderful costumes appearing - they are bright and vibrant and pretty cool to look at.
• Twilight is always going to be one of the hottest costume out, and while they really are only a re-working of the old vampire theme, there are some really nice costumes available (especially some of the lady adult costumes)
• Karate Kid – again a reworking of an old costume, but with a new fun movie out, it’s going to be another cool costume, especially for younger kids!
• Last Airbender – while this movie wasn’t that great, some of the costumes coming out are simply stunning.
• Iron Man 2 – well my daughter’s boyfriend (19) will definitely be wearing his Iron Man 2 costume this year – with a second hit movie, you’re going to see more and more children looking like little Iron-Men!
• Clash of the Titans – well this movie had spectacular effects, even though it did suck, so you’re still going to see a lot of really cool costumes!
• Clone Wars – Star Wars has always been a favorite for young kids, this year with the highly successful Clone wars cartoon, you’re going to see a lot of mini-Jedi knights walking around.
• Despicable Me- this has got to be one of the cutest movies out for a long time, and with the tie-in with iHop it’s going to be the costume to be seen in this year – there’s going to be a lot of cute kids around!
• Michael Jackson – with his passing away, the Michael Jackson costume is making a comeback – generally it’s just a regurgitation of old stuff though!

For more ideas, visit the Amazon.com Halloween costume store.