When my oldest daughter was 4, she loved the idea of taking care of animals and decided she wanted to be a zoo keeper for Halloween. Our zoo keeper costume was so fun and easy to put together, and we loved adding all kinds of details to make it special.
Grab a few basic pieces of clothing from your closet, the sale rack, or the thrift store. Then, gather and create a few fun accessories to complete your zoo keeper costume.
The Basic Outfit
Polo shirt: Go for a solid, nature-inspired color like tan, olive green, or orange. Even if you are shopping for a girl, check the boys’ department, too. We found a polo shirt on the boys’ clearance rack at Old Navy. Uniform clothes are often on sale in stores this time of year, or a thrift store might be a good option for the shirt, too. Cargo shorts or pants: If you don’t already have a pair of cargo bottoms on hand, grab a pair to add to your child’s wardrobe after Halloween. Bonus! Boots or tennis shoes: Wear something you have, borrow from a friend, or check the thrift store.
Fun add-ons
The costume really comes to life when you add lots of props and accessories. Finding and creating these add-ons is my kids’ favorite part of costume-making!
Keys on a ring: Gather up some spare keys and clip to your belt loop. Laminated name tag & clip: An office supply store has plastic badge holders that would work great. Your child can design a personalized name badge! Hat: A basic baseball cap would be a good addition to this costume, or go for a safari look with a pith helmet. Party stores often have inexpensive costume hats. Walkie-talkie: If you have a set of walkie-talkies, clip one on to your costume.You could also make a pretend walkie-talkie from a juice box – adorable! (via let’s go fly a kite) Stuffed animal to carry Fanny pack or satchel
This costume went right into our dress-up bin after Halloween, and got lots of wear for pretend zoo emergencies, safaris, and animal rescue adventures.
Just for fun:
Read about jobs at the zoo and how zoo animals get checkups at San Diego Zoo kids’ website. Check out the books A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper and Z is for Zookeeper. Play Zoo Bingo on your next visit to the zoo via Mom it Forward.
