Harry Potter is one of the most popular characters in children's literature today, so it is only natural that Harry Potter costumes would be both popular and widely available. In fact, there are so many different costumes available, both for Harry himself and for various other characters in the books and movies, that it may be hard for you and your child to choose who you want to be, or which Harry costume to choose.
Ready-Made Harry Potter Costumes
The most popular character is, of course, the one for whom the books are named. There are several possibilities of costumes for Harry, the most common being his standard school uniform. In addition, his Quidditch robes are a popular choice. Since the release of the movie based on book 4, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, costumes based on the clothes Harry wore for his three Triwizard Tournament tasks have also become popular.
Where to Find Costumes
Most costume stores (both online and brick-and-mortar) will have at least one version of the basic Potter costumes including:
- Amazon Harry Potter Deluxe Costume
- Costume Craze's Harry Potter Section
- World of Harry Collection of Potter Wear
For wands, time turners and more, you can find a plethora of items that range from the inexpensive to the collector's edition at:
- The WBShop.com offers wands, T-shirts and many other accessories
- The Noble Collection offers a variety of collectible Potter memorabilia, wands and even a Time Turner
- Barnes and Noble offers several Harry Potter based items in their stores and via their website
Toy stores have Harry Potter wands. The Noble Collection has a wonderful replica of Hermione Granger's Time Turner, as well as a large selection of replica wands for a more authentic look. Madame Malkin's Robes is an excellent resource, with descriptions of the various costumes, suggestions for making them yourself, and links to many sites with ready-made costumes.
How to Make a Harry Potter Costume
You can make a simple version of Harry's school robes from things you have around the house. Necessities include:
- Black pants
- White, collared shirt
- Red (or red and gold striped) tie
- Black cape. A large black bathrobe will work fine for the cape, as the school "robes" have long, wide sleeves. (They are rather like choir robes.)
- Pair of black, round glasses frames (easily made from cardboard)
- Wand (a 10- to 14-inch long stick works well)
- Lightning shaped scar (face-paint or lipstick)
- Black socks
- Black dress shoes
Possible accessories include a broomstick (especially an old-fashioned broom with the round tuft of twigs at the end), a cauldron (makes a great treat-holder), and a wizard's hat (black, conical hat -- like a traditional witch's hat.)
If your child wants to be Harry the Quidditch Seeker, simply change the shirt to black and the robes to red. A broomstick is necessary for this costume, and a Golden Snitch (a ping-pong ball painted gold and with two gold or yellow feathers glued on as "wings") will make this costume complete. You could even use a small piece of wire to attach the "snitch" so it hovers just over Harry's shoulder.
Character Possibilities
There are many people in the Harry Potter books and movies to choose from. A family could even choose to go as a group of Potter characters, with Dad as Albus Dumbledore, Mom as Minerva McGonagall, and kids as Harry and his friends.
Good Male Characters
Led by the titular character, the films and novels offer a wide array of "good males" to dress up as including:
- Ron Weasley
- Fred and George Weasley (twins)
- Neville Longbottom
- Cedric Diggory
- Albus Dumbledore
- Rubeus Hagrid
- Sirius Black
- Remus Lupin
Bad Male Characters
For every good character, there was at least one or two bad males to act the part of the antagonist. You can choose from:
- Draco Malfoy
- Lord Voldemort/Tom Riddle
- Severus Snape
- Filch
- Dudley Dursley
Good Female Characters
Harry was fortunate to have many great females in his life, including:
- Hermione Granger
- Ginny Weasley
- Minerva McGonagall
- Molly Weasley
- Madam Pomfrey
- Luna Lovegood
- Nymphadora Tonks
Bad Female Characters
Less represented than Harry's masculine foes, the female characters weren't all sweetness and light, including:
- Pansy Parkinson
- Petunia Dursley
- Delores Umbridge
- Narcissa Malfoy
- Bellatrix LeStrange
Creature Costumes
Possible animal/creature characters include
- Dementors
- House Elves
- Buckbeak (Hippogriff)
- Nagini
- The Basilisk
- Hedwig
- Crookshanks
- Fluffy (Three-Headed Dog)
Other Characters
Other Hogwarts' students' costumes are fairly simple.
Boys
For boys the costume basics are as follows:
- Basic black pants
- White, collared shirt
- School Tie
- Black Robes
- Wand
Girls
For girls, the costume basics are as follows:
- Black or grey pleated skirt
- White, collared shirt
- School tie
- Black robes
- Opaque black or grey tights
- Black Mary Jane dress shoes
- Wand
For a more authentic look, there are a number of knit scarves and hats made in the colors of the various Hogwarts houses. These can do double duty as costume and as practical outerwear in cold weather. Some shops also offer house ties, again made in the colors of a given house and featuring the house crest. Specialized human characters, like Minerva McGonagall or Albus Dumbledore, it is probably best to go with a ready-made costume. For creatures like Nagini or the Basilisk, a basic snake costume could be used.
