Harry Potter Costume Ideas

One of the best kids and adult costumes this year is Harry Potter, the powerful boy wizard himself! With the 2009 release of the movie Harry Potter the Half-Blood Prince, kids and adult Harry Potter costumes have become one of the most popular Halloween costumes for Halloween 2009!

Harry Potter is the star of J.K. Rowling series Harry Potter. He is the powerful young wizard who is the hero whose life stories the Harry Potter series revolve around. Harry's mom and dad were killed by Lord Voldemort when Harry was a baby, afterwhich, he was raised by his relatives until he was invited by Albus Dumbledore to enroll at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn magic. Harry's best friends are Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and Hagrid. Although Harry is young, he is a brilliant wizard and he excels at the sport of Quidditch. Harry is the only one to have survived an attack by the evil Lord Voldemort which has left him with a very close magical connection and lightning-bolt scar, which Harry learns much more about in "Half-Blood Prince."

There are so many great kids Harry Potter costumes available it is hard to choose which one. By far, the most popular costume for 2009 is Harry Potter himself. If you have more than one child or adult in your family that wants to dress as Harry Potter you could have them come as other Harry Potter characters for a themed group Halloween costume.

With the following costume ideas below, you or your child can turn into the magical wizard himself. You can add authenticity to your costume by adding cool Harry Potter accessories.

Harry Potter Gryffindor Robe - some of the best kids Harry Potter costumes we have seen include a black hooded robe with burgundy lining and a Gryffindor Crest embroidered on the front. The deluxe version of the robe is made out of black velvet so there are lots of options depending on how elaborate you want to go this year.

Add your own white collar shirt, black pants, and black shoes to the robe to complete the Harry Potter adult costume look as shown.

Adult Harry Potter Gryffindor Robe - the best Harry Potter adult costume we have seen includes a black robe with a Gryffindor Crest embroidered on the front, hood and burgundy lining like this one from BuyCostumes.com. It is available in adult sizes up to men's jacket size 44.

Add your own white collar shirt, black pants, and black shoes to the robe to complete the Harry Potter adult costume look as shown.

Harry Potter Glasses - Every Harry Potter fan knows that Harry is never seen without his signature round glasses. We found three great pairs of Harry Potter Glasses all for under $5.00!

Harry Potter Gryffindor Tie - Harry Potter, like all students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry wear ties that represent the house they were sorted into. Harry was sorted into the House of Gryffindor and wears the colors, scarlet red and gold. There are some great options available for Gryffindor ties that have the Gryffindor crest embroidered onto them.

If you want to save some money and create your own Gryffindor tie or matching scarf here is a super simple project. Visit your local craft or fabric store and pick up some dark red or burgundy felt fabric and some gold fabric paint. Take a tie you already own and lay it on top of the felt fabric to use as a pattern. Trace around the tie with a ball point pen and cut out the pattern. Then you take the gold paint and paint a pattern of two larger gold stripes together with one thinner stripe of gold all the way down the tie. Let it dry and you are good to go. If you want to get more elaborate, you can use iron-on transfer paper to print out and iron on the Gryffindor crest. You can find a copy of the Gryffindor crest by clicking here. There are many options to choose from and all would work great.

Harry Potter Wands - every powerful wizard needs a magical wand to cast spells with. This year there are so many different choices for Harry Potter wands that its hard to pick one. We found wands that light up and wands that are motion activated, light up and have sound! Very cool options this year.

Harry Potter Broomstick - Harry rides his broomstick during Quidditch and is a fun addition to any Harry Potter costume.

Harry Potter Scar and Makeup Kit and Lightning-Bolt Tattoos - When Harry Potter was one year old, he endured an attack by the evil Lord Voldemort which left Harry with a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. To create the scar you can use a lip liner and draw in the scar or for a more realistic look you can use a tattoo or scar makeup kit. This makeup and scar kit comes with a 3-d latex scar and matching makeup to create a realistic scar. If latex and makeup is too intimidating for you we also found some lightning-bolt shaped tattoos that would work great too.

Harry Potter Lantern - It's the little details that make Halloween costumes great. We found this super cool Harry Potter lantern that actually lights up and works!

Hermione Granger attends Hogwarts and is a student witch who belongs to the Gryffindor House along with her best friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Hermione is academically gifted and excels in her classes. She is an overachiever and tends to be bossy and a know-it-all but is a good person. Hermione's character is strong, focused, intelligent but also very compassionate. Her Patronus is an otter and her magical wand is made of vine wood with a dragon heartstring core.

It is easy to put together great Hermione costumes. Here are some ideas.

Gryffindor Robe

Hermione belongs to the House of Gryffindor so she wears the Gryffindor robe along with the red and gold Gryffindor tie. There are some great options for authentic Gryffindor robes in both child and adult sizes. They come with the Gryffindor crest already embroidered onto them. If you don't have a official Gryffindor robe, you can use any black robe and print off a copy of the Gryffindor crest from the web and use an iron on to iron it to your robe.

Gryffindor Cardigan

Hermione also wears a grey cardigan. Either the robe or cardigan would make a great costume. We found this Hermione Granger cardigan and tie combo that looks great.

Gryffindor Tie & Scarf

The Gryffindor House colors are scarlet and gold and students are required to wear house ties. There are some great options available for Gryffindor ties and scarves and we have found a few below we think are great. You could also make your own Gryffindor tie and/or scarf by buying some scarlet red felt fabric at your local craft store and then painting on gold stripes with gold paint (see Harry Potter costume for instructions).

Hermione Wand

All respectable witches have a magic wand and Hermione is no different. We found this wand that looks like the wand Hermione uses in the Harry Potter movies.

Hermione Hair Style

Hermione has long sandy blond hair. If you don't have her hair type you can buy a sandy blond wig to match her style. Here is an actual "Hermione" wig we found and there are lots of other wig options online.

Little Details - Hermione is a brilliant student and absolutely loves reading and learning. To add a little detail to your costume you could carry around a book that you put a custom cover on with a title like "Magic Spells".

Draco Malfoy is a student at Hogwarts and member of the Slytherin House. He is Harry Potter's arch-enemy at Hogwarts. Draco is the son of Lucius Malfoy, a pure-blood and death eater. Draco loves to attack his enemies using psychology instead of brute strength. He likes to use his pure-blood lineage to intimidate others less prosperous than himself, like Ron. Draco is a bigot and a bully and doesn't feel remorse for his actions.

Here is how to create a Draco Malfoy Costume:

Slytherin Robe - there are quite a few great options for Slytherin robes and accessories this year. You can find Slytherin color robes with the Slytherin crest embroidered on them or just use a dark colored robe that you have or make.

Slytherin Accessories - Draco Malfoy is a die hard Slytherin and proudly wears the Slytherin colors of green and silver. You can wear a white shirt underneath the robe and add a Slytherin tie and scarf to complete the look. They have some great pre-made slytherin ties and scarves available or you can make your own. To make your own Slytherin tie you can buy green felt fabric and silver fabric paint from your local craft store, cut out the shape of a tie and paint on the silver stripes.

Hair - Draco Malfoy's hair is light blond so you can find a blond wig and style the hair so it looks like Malfoy's.

Malfoy's Wand - Like any magical Wizard Draco Malfoy carries a magical wand. We found this Draco Malfoy replica wand that looks just like the one he uses in the Harry Potter movies.

Ron Weasley is Harry Potter's best friend and a main character in the Harry Potter series. He is also best friends with Hermione. Ron is tall, has blue eyes, freckles, big hands and feet and a long nose. He has the "Weasley" red hair. Ron is a funny character who is also a bit immature and somewhat insensitive. Ron does have many magical abilities and strengths. He is a good tactical thinker and is very creative. It was Ron that came up with the idea to use Felix Felicis to get Slughorn's memory of telling Riddle about the Horcruxes and to go into the Chamber of Secrets to get Basilisk fangs to destroy the Horcurxes. Ron is also accomplished at dueling. He has the ability of producing a full Patronus which takes the form of a Jack Russell Terrier.

Creating a Ron Weasley costume is a fun way to dress up for Halloween. If you have a group, each person can dress as a different Harry Potter character and Ron is a fun costume to create.

You will need the following for your Ron Weasley costume:

A red-hair wig - If you don't already have red hair you can pick up a red wig at a local costume store or online.

A Gryffindor robe - Ron, Harry and Hermione all wear the traditional Gryffindor robe. There are some really great Gryffindor robes available online for this Halloween. We found the following Gryffindor robes in both the kids and adult sizes. If you don't want to buy a Gryffindor robe, any black robe would work and you could print out the Gryffindor crest on your computer and get iron-on transfer paper and iron one onto the robe.

Albus Dumbledore is a major character within the Harry Potter books and movies written by J.K. Rowling. He is the headmaster of the Wizarding School called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore is the founder of the "Order of the Phoenix", which is a group devoted to fighting Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore is known for his sharp mind and legendary power and became the only wizard that Lord Voldemort ever feared.

There are some great options for a magical Dumbledore costume this Halloween! Below you will find several Dumbledore costume ideas to spark your imagination.

Harry Potter Albus Dumbledore Latex Masks

If you want an authentic looking Dumbledore costume you can go with a Dumbledore latex mask like one of these that has molded facial features, hair, beard and mustache, wire-rimmed glasses and a fabric hat. The mask on the left is new from the latest movie The Half-Blood Prince but either would work great. Typically, these masks are one size fits all for adults.

Harry Potter Light-up Wands

Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards and such a powerful wizard needs a wand. There are many wand choices available. We though these wands that light up were befitting a wizard of such stature.

Harry Potter Dumbledore Costume Hats

There are a couple different hat options for your Dumbledore costume. Both are great hats and would look great. Both are made of quality fabric and detailing and velvet accents. A really cool bonus is that there is a fortune hidden in a secret pocket in the lining of each hat!

Hagrid is the half-giant who is the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. He is called a half-giant because he is about twelve feet tall and extremely strong. Because Hagrid is so large and strong he is protected from many physical injuries and spells. Hagrid may look aggressive, but he is one of the most caring and soft-hearted people in Harry Potter. He is one of Dumbledore's most trusted friends.

How to Make a Hagrid Costume:

• Find a Hagrid mask or a wig with a big bushy beard and long hair. Long, wild and bushy hair is one of Hagrid's most distinguishing features.

• Hagrid's clothes are groundskeepers clothes so he wears work boots and work clothes. You can buy larger sizes and stuff the clothes with pillows.

• Hagrid's large coat with lots of pockets. Hagrid's coat has tons of pockets and he carries an assortment of items in his pockets. On one occasion he even pulled Harry's birthday cake out from under his coat.

• Carry a pink umbrella as a wand. When Hagrid was expelled and outlawed from doing magic his wand was snapped into two pieces. He later reassembled the wand pieces and hid them inside a pink umbrella so he could still practice magic.

• Carry a magical creature with you. Hagrid is extremely interested in all types of creatures. Because he is extremely strong is able to handle dangerous creatures without any troubles. He has a dragon, a boar hound and a hellhound.

Minerva McGonagall is the Gryffindor House, Deputy Headmistress who is known for being prim and proper. She is known for being one of the few Animagi of the century, being able to take the form of a silver tabby cat at will.

How to make a great McGonagall Costume:

• A Pointed Hat - McGonagall always wears a pointed hat. We found a new McGonagall hat for Halloween 2009 that was from the movie Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince. Either pointed hat would work great.
  
  
  
  

Carry a Wand - she always carried a magical wand with her.

• Wear your hair in a tight bun or wear a dark wig pulled back in a bun. McGonagall has black hear and typically wears it in a tight bun.

• Wear square glasses - McGonagall wears square glasses that match the markings around the eyes of a silver tabby cat.

• Wear Emerald green robe - McGonagall is often seen in flowing emerald green robes, however, a black robe is much easier to find and would work as well.

This Dark Wizard is called "The Dark Lord" and known as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named", or Voldemort. He is the wizard who killed Harry Potter's parents and works to dominate the world of Wizardry by battling the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix. He is so feared that most don't dare speak his name!

There are some great ideas for a Voldemort costume this Halloween. Here are a few costume ideas to help you create your costume.

What you will need for a great Voldemort Costume:

A Dark Robe:

Whether you go as the younger and more handsome Tom Riddle or Voldemort in his full wizard form, you will need a dark robe. These are great Voldemort costumes for both adults and children because they include a long black robe with bell sleeves and a Lord Voldemort mask. You can add black shoes to this costume and have a complete look easily. If you have an old graduation robe that could work and long black t-shirts can be used for small children.

To copy the long fingers you can use extra-large white gloves and stuff then ends with cotton balls. They also make really cool and creepy latex Voldemort hands that look snakelike and scary looking.

Lord Voldemort's head is skull-like and has no hair. You can buy a head cap that will make you look bald. You could also try white pantyhose. For a fiercer look you can go with a full Voldemort latex mask like the one below. All you need is a black robe, black shoes and this full latex mask. A tip if you get the full latex mask is to wear a ski mask under it for more comfort.

Lord Voldemort's face is skull-like and almost white. He has reddish eyes. To get this look you can apply white face makeup all over your face, neck and lips and line your eyes with red makeup. Another option is to get a skull makeup kit that looks more realistic or go with a latex mask.

Lord Voldemort carries a wand that was a twin to Harry's wand.

Death Eaters in the Harry Potter novel series are a group of evil witches and wizards the followed Lord Voldemort. Death Eaters seek to eliminate all the Muggle-borns and generally cause fear in the wizarding world. The death eaters wore black robes and black hoods with skull masks to hide their faces.

There are some great Death Eater costumes available; here are a few we found:

Child Death Eater Costumes:

The child's costumes come with a robe with a hood and an attached shirt-front as well as a skull mask. All you would need to add to make this costume complete is a wand and a pair of black shoes.

Adult Death Eater Costumes:

The adult costumes come with a hooded robe, attached shirt-front and a skull mask. All you would need to add to make this costume complete is a pair of black shoes and a wand.

Dementors are some of the scariest creatures from Harry Potter. They are considered the foulest creatures that walk the earth. Dementors feed off of human happiness, peace and hope causing despair and depression to anyone near them.

There are some great options for Dementor costumes this Halloween 2009! With the new movie Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince some new costumes have come out.

Here are our favorites:

Kids Dementor Costumes:

To easily make a complete costume they have full Dementor costumes available that come with long black robes, chest pieces and masks. They also have Dementor gloves that look like Dementor hands to make your Dementor costumes even more authentic.

Adult Dementor Costumes:

New this year for Halloween 2009 they have "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince" Deluxe Dementor Adult Masks. The new masks are full over the head masks with mesh covering the eyes, very realistic.

Adult costumes also feature a full black robe, chest piece and mask. The Dementor gloves are also available for adults as well.

Hedwig was Harry Potter's pet the friendly white owl given to him on his eleventh birthday from Hagrid. Hedwig the owl absolutely loved Harry and was his companion throughout the books. Hedwig was Harry's personal courier as she carried mail and messages back and forth for Harry.

We have found a great Hedwig costume for children online. It is a white, soft and fuzzy jumpsuit that fits children sizes 2 - 10. This costume is an easy way to include your child in your Harry Potter costume party and is nice and warm for trick-or-treating.

Hedwig is another great addition to a child or adult Harry Potter costume. We found this cute Hedwig owl prop that would be perfect to add on to your costume. It is made of Styrofoam and synthetic white feathers so it is light weight and easy to add to a Harry Potter costume.

Dobby is a lovable house-elf that once belonged to the Malfoy family. In the 2nd year at Hogwarts Harry Potter freed Dobby from the Malfoy's and he then went on to work in the Hogwart's kitchen. Being an elf, Dobby was shorter than most humans, standing about three and a half feet tall. He had large, ball like eyes and long, pointed ears. Before Harry freed him, he wore a pillowcase and loved socks, especially if they were unmatched.

Adult Dobby Costume

Adults can make great Dobby costume with a latex Dobby mask and latex Dobby hands like these. This Dobby mask has molded facial features and eye holes underneath the Dobby eyes.

To complete the costume adults can wear a white or tan robe or cut a hole in the middle of some white sheets and layer them on top of one another. To make your robe or white sheets look tattered and old you can wad them up and get them dirty, cut holes in them or stain them in the wash machine by soaking them in black tea (lots of it). Be sure to carry a sock with you!

Child Dobby Costume

Children can make a great Dobby Costume by cutting arm holes in a white or tan king size pillow case and wearing one of the Dobby latex masks. To make the pillowcase look old and tattered you can stain it by soaking it in black tea and then wash it, wad it up and cut or tear holes in it. Be sure to carry a sock with you!