For lovers of dressing up in costumes and eating candy, what could be better than Halloween? It is mid-October and trick-or-treaters are gearing up for their favorite night of the year. Some Halloween costume trends continue to remain popular, while new themes emerge that are based on pop culture, movies or television characters.
We hopped around town to see what kids and parents are wearing for Halloween 2025.
First stop: Monster Mash at Perfect Scenario in Saline.
Jenni Roby and her team at Perfect Scenario hosted a Monster Mash on Saturday, Oct. 11, with face painting and fall crafts, food and games and a costume contest.
“We started with our sensory-friendly guests at 4pm. They came and did some Bingo and now are part of the party,” Roby said. “We have live music starting soon, and free pizza from Jet’s Pizza and free cookies from Enchanted Oven. There are activities for everyone.”
There was a range of unique costumes represented at the Monster Mash. Specifically, we saw Roby’s children dressed as a kitty princess and Gizmo; a kiddo dressed as a half-skeleton, half-pumpkin; a family dressed as Snow White, Belle, Wolverine and Deadpool; friends dressed as a bat witch and a star witch; friends dressed as Belle and the Beast. Additionally, teen helpers took the opportunity to cosplay while they helped children with tattoos and face painting.
Second stop: The stores
Super heroes and princesses? Check! Movie and television characters? Check! The racks are filled with masks and costumes, face painting kits and wigs to help make the transformation easy.
Last stop: the internet
Where would we be without our social media friends to help us get creative? Pinterest and Instagram are great places to find “out-of-the-box” costume ideas.
We asked our social media friends what their kids will be wearing this Halloween.
“Vintage theme,” said Michelle White.
“My youngest is going as Roxanne from FNAF,” said Carolyn Sue Hastings.
“Connie from Dandy’s World,” said Carmen Gallaway.
“My kids are going as a glow in the dark stick figure, a princess and a puppy dog,” said Sarah Beckham-Marshall.
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Halloween trends 2025
Based on our observations at the Monster Mash, local stores and the internet, here are some trends that you will see this Halloween:
Television
Disney shows remain popular choices for Halloween characters, like Bluey and Super Kitties. Netflix shows like Wednesday and Paw Patrol will also be heavily featured this Halloween.
Movies
The big screen always inspires the costume crowd. Expect to see lots of characters from shows like Wicked, How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo and Stitch and Monsters, Inc. Classic movies like Harry Potter, Ghostbusters, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice still remain perennial favorites. And don’t forget the Star Wars characters like Yoda, Grogu, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and more.
Of course, the many Disney princesses and Comic Book heroes will always be a top pick for the little ones.
Pop culture
KPop and other musicians will appeal to teens and tweens, as will gaming characters like Mario and Luigi, Princess Peach, Fortnite, Minecraft, Sonic the Hedgehog and Pokémon. Manga and anime characters will also be popular with the middle school and high school crowd.
Foods
Have you always wanted to be a taco? Or maybe an avocado? A bag of candy? Pizza? Hot dog? Don’t worry! There’s a costume for every foodie out there! Can’t decide? You may want to opt for the charcuterie board costume to cover all the bases!
Cosplay
Renfaire costumes may get another use this Halloween, as whimsical creatures and castle cosplayers break out their corsets, faux furs and armor for one more special occasion.
