Seasonal baby outfit and costume ideas for taking great photos

The Super Bowl is the first big event of the year that your baby can attend. (New Year’s is tough when you go to bed at 7PM!) Here are a few inspiration points to get you started.

Dress your baby in the team merchandise or team colors: Once you know who’s playing, pick a team and find merchandise specifically for newborns and babies. If you can’t find mini jerseys and onesies with the teams on them, you can always look for solid-colored pieces that you can mix and match to show your spirit.

Dress your baby up as a football: Get a brown onesie and paint a white football stripe onto it. You can also buy football onesies online.

Dress your baby up as a referee: A cute alternative to a football is a ref. You can even add a whistle if your baby is not at the age where he or she will play with the cord.

Backdrops: An easy backdrop idea would be AstroTurf, which is readily available at your local hardware store. You could also print out photos of the actual stadium where the Super Bowl is being played and construct your own mini-stadium.

Valentine’s Day outfits for baby

Valentine’s Day is a sweet day to celebrate not only your partner but your beloved little one. Here are a few unique costume ideas for photoshoots. Dress your baby in red, white and pink: Reuse solid pieces you might have already and dress your baby in red, white and pink colors. They all match, so there’s no way to mess it up. Dress your baby up as a conversation heart: Get some fabric paint and paint a conversation heart onto a onesie for your baby to wear. If your baby is old enough and sitting up and able to hold things, try giving him or her a cutout conversation heart to hold instead. Dress your baby up as Cupid: Grab a Cupid’s bow and arrow or make one yourself from cardboard. This would be especially cute if your baby has Cupid’s curly locks. Add your baby to a bunch of roses: This works especially well with newborns since they won’t move around as much. After taking the thorns and leaves off of some red or white roses, carefully arrange them in a heart shape and place your baby in the middle. Add your baby to a bucket of Hersey’s Kisses: If your baby is young enough to sit still, add your baby to a bucket or box filled with Hersey’s Kisses for a sweet photo opp. Instead of filling the entire bucket or box you can place another box inside it upside down to lift your baby up and require less surface area that needs to be covered by the candy. Backdrops: Anything with hearts or pink, red and white on it is a cute backdrop idea. You can also get heart-shaped streamers and add conversation heart phrases like “Be Mine” and “Mine 4 Ever” to the hearts for a Valentine’s Day-specific backdrop.

Springtime outfits for baby

Spring is a time of renewal, growth and wonderful outdoor baby pictures. Here are some ideas and costumes for cute baby photoshoot ideas. These would also work for Easter photos. Dress your baby as a baby chick: Find a pastel yellow outfit or costume and put your baby in an open “eggshell” you make out of cardboard. You can also put a few stuffed chick animals around them. Dress your baby as a baby bunny: There are plenty of baby bunny ear headbands and onesies with ears attached that you can get for your baby. Place him or her in a meadow or field and give them a carrot to hold onto. Dress your baby as a baby lamb: You can buy a lamb costume, or put your baby in anything white or cream that is soft and nubby. There are also lamb ears you can buy, or hats with lamb ears attached. Add a flower crown: Little girls especially love this one—add a flower crown to a floral outfit for the ultimate springtime look. Add bubbles: Bubbles signify happiness, and just by adding a few bubbles to a photo you can add some serious joy. Backdrops: Rely on nature and all the beauty that is springing up outside! An open area with grass is good, or a beautiful flower bed. You could even take pictures during a family picnic or an outdoor tea party.

Summertime outfits for baby

Summertime is a great time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine for your photoshoots. Use an outdoor tub: A galvanized tub—or actual clawfoot tub if you have access to one!—is an adorable way to take a photo with your baby during the summer. All you need for your wardrobe is a diaper! To keep your baby safe, don’t actually fill the tub. Use balloons: A cute idea is to take a bunch of balloons like in the Disney movie “Up” and have your baby pose with them. The safest way is to have weights on each balloon and bunch them up together so that it looks full; then your baby can sit in front of the bunch. Grab a watermelon: For older babies who can sit up on their own and hold things, give them a slice of watermelon without seeds. The mess is part of the fun. Go to the “beach” or “pool:” You can fake being at the beach or pool if you don’t have one nearby by dressing your baby in swimwear and laying him or her down on top of a bunch of beach towels. Add sunglasses (if they’ll let you) and put a bottle of sunscreen in the shot and no one will know you weren’t at the beach. You can also add in props like surfboards. Just remember that if you are actually outside, babies under 6 months should have limited direct sun exposure. Backdrops: Anything in nature makes a great backdrop during the summertime, especially the beach if you have access. Barn doors, anything wooden, anything green or anything floral will also work.

Fall pumpkin patch outfits for baby

There are plenty of opportunities to dress up your baby in cute outfits or costumes before Halloween. Find flannel: Dress your baby in a flannel onesie, flannel shirt or flannel dress. Bonus points if it’s the red and black buffalo check. Put your baby in a bushel: Prop your baby up in a bushel and fill it with apples, pears, mini pumpkins or fall foliage for a cute photo opp. [Text Wrapping Break] Wear a pumpkin: If your baby is sitting up, hollow out a pumpkin completely. Cut leg holes and cut the top so it’s wide enough for your baby to sit comfortably. Put your baby inside the pumpkin for a cute photo. Backdrops: Take it outside again! Find a good pile of leaves to gather up in the background of your photo, or find a farm, apple orchard or pumpkin patch to take photos in.

Baby Halloween costume ideas

Your young child might not understand it yet, but there are great family traditions to be made around Halloween and costumes. You can always purchase costumes, but if you’re doing it last minute or prefer homemade costumes, here are a few baby Halloween costume ideas. Ladybug: Dress your child in a red onesie, dress or t-shirt and leggings. Tape or pin black dots to the front. Add some pipe cleaner antennas to a headband and you’ve got a ladybug costume. Weightlifter: Get a grey onesie or a grey sweatsuit. Make a “barbell” out of a dowel and two styrofoam globes and spray paint it black. Draw on a mustache with a removable marker or eyeliner. Max from “Where The Wild Things Are:” Purchase a cream onesie (bonus points if it’s a henley style). Pin a “tail” made from faux fur onto it, and fashion a crown out of the same faux fur with yellow felt triangles. Rosie The Riveter: Dress your baby in all denim, tying a denim shirt at the waist if possible. Roll up the sleeves. Add a red and white bandana or headband. Monkey: Get a dark brown hooded onesie and add a light brown felt circle to the middle of it. (You might have to do two half-moons if it’s a zip-up style). Add brown felt ears with light brown felt inserts to the hood. Paddington The Bear: Find a blue toggle coat, yellow rain boots and a red bucket hat to instantly make a Paddington The Bear costume. Aerobics instructor: Layer tights or leggings under a onesie and a few pairs of socks over the tights or leggings. Add a sweatband around the front of the baby's head. You get extra credit if it’s in all pastels or all neon colors! Tourist: Grab a baby Hawaiian shirt, shorts, socks and Crocs or sandals. Add a cardboard camera on a piece of string around their neck, as well as a pair of sunglasses. Farmer: Dress your baby in overalls, a flannel shirt and boots, plus a cowboy or cowgirl hat if you can find it. Let them carry a stuffed pig, cow or goat as a prop. Bumblebee: Find a yellow onesie, sweatsuit or dress and mark off black stripes with black masking tape or electrical tape. Add black shoes and an antenna made from black pipe cleaners glued to a headband. Avocado: Dress your baby in a green onesie or sweatsuit. Add a brown felt circle to the middle of the green outfit. Black cat: Dress your baby in an all-black outfit, and add felt ears to a headband. You can draw on whiskers with a removable marker or eyeliner. Bunch of grapes: This is best for babies that can sit up. Pin size-appropriate inflated purple or green balloons to a purple or green sweatsuit. Backdrops: It’s Halloween, so you’ll want to take pictures outside with the really rich fall foliage. Just remember that depending on your time zone, it could get dark early. Plan accordingly to take advantage of the natural light.

Thanksgiving outfit ideas for baby

The holiday season brings so many photoshoot opportunities. Here are a few to consider for Thanksgiving. Dress your child as a turkey: Place your baby in a tall stockpot, either in a brown onesie or naked. Buy a turkey hat or bonnet online, or you can make one out of felt. (You could also crochet or knit one too!) Add a bunch of vegetables around the pot as props. Find fall foliage: An easy idea for a Thanksgiving baby outfit idea is to dress your baby in the coziest sweater and boots and head outside. Scoop up a pile of leaves and artfully arrange them around your baby. Backdrops: Any fall backdrop outdoors would work for a Thanksgiving picture. For the turkey one specifically, the kitchen counter or table works best, especially if you have your Thanksgiving decorations out. Always have an extra set of hands on deck for any photoshoots on counters or tables.

Winter, holiday and Christmas outfits for baby

Winter is a cozy time, so snuggle up your baby in the softest outfits you can find for these photo ideas. While you can take photos outside in the snow, you’ll need to make sure your baby is dressed appropriately. Winter snow globe: Cut out pieces for a felt “snow globe” that you can lay your baby on top of for a photo. You’ll need the snow globe, the snow globe base, snowflakes and any fun add-ons like reindeer or presents or Santa himself. You can also skip the snow globe and just put down felt snowflakes as a backdrop. Sleepy Santa: This one is as simple as putting a Santa hat on your sleeping baby. Tuck a white or red cozy blanket up into your baby’s hands. Backdrops: Any holiday setting, such as under a Christmas tree or next to a mantle will make a good photo backdrop. A stack of presents is an easy prop—and if they’re empty boxes, your baby will love ripping the paper off and playing with the boxes. If you want to add snow to your photo, there are apps that can help you do that. Remember to keep your little ones away from the fireplace when it’s on. Pictures aren’t worth the safety hazard.