Light Up Costumes

What a light up costume is, and what we make

Light up means battery-powered. The costume runs on its own battery pack for as long as the batteries last: no charging beforehand, and it works in full darkness from the moment you switch it on. Glow-in-the-dark is the other thing shoppers mean by this, and it works differently. That fabric or paint absorbs light and releases it slowly, so it needs a lamp or the sun to charge first and fades as the charge runs down. Everything on this page is the battery-powered kind.

Across our range that means one of two builds. An inflatable suit pairs its fan with a light vest, so the same battery pack that holds your shape also lights it up. A standard costume carries its light source in one spot instead, most often a mask or a pair of glasses with LED eyes built in. The difference is how much of you lights up: an inflatable glows across the whole body through its vest, while a mask or LED glasses concentrates it on the face, which is the part people look at in a dark doorway.

Light up costumes for kids and adults

We size these separately rather than shrinking one design down. Kids' pieces are cut to specific ages or a height range: the scary jester comes in three sizes for ages 7 to 14, the grim reaper in four. All of our kids' products are safety tested by accredited labs. Adult pieces run one-size-fits-most or a height range instead, like the 5'4" to 6'4" span on the eye monster piggyback.

The Kids Skeleton T-Rex Light Up Costume glows red from the eyes, and its fan and battery pack hold the suit fully inflated for over 4 hours on 4 AA batteries you supply yourself.

Ready in about a minute over your child's regular clothes, the Kids Light Up Ghoul Pick Me Up Inflatable Costume makes it look like a purple phantom is carrying them off, sized for ages 3 and up.

On the adult side, the Black Light Up Inflatable Megamorph wears its glowing light vest over a blow-up fat suit, zips on in minutes, and also comes in blue and red.

How to choose: power, setup, and where you'll wear it

Two things decide it: where the light sits, and how long you want to spend getting into the costume. A light-up mask or a pair of LED glasses is the quickest option, and the kids' jester mask arrives with its 2 CR2032 batteries already in it. An inflatable takes a little longer to seal and switch on, runs on AA batteries you supply, and holds its own shape all night on its fan rather than on you. If most of your night is Halloween itself, our Halloween costumes hub has the wider seasonal range; the picks here work just as well for a costume party any time of year.

We make the scary jester twice over, one for adults and one for kids, so a parent and child can go out matching. The adult half, the Mens Scary Jester Light Up Costume, puts a light-up mask over a diamond-print top and contrast pants, with a tie, belt, and gloves in the pack.

The Kids Scary Jester Light Up Costume is the other half of that pair, its mask glowing red-eyed on 2 included CR2032 batteries, cut in three sizes for ages 7 to 14.

The eye monster piggyback is the other costume we build at both sizes, same illusion either way. The Kids Light Up Eye Monster Piggyback Costume sits a wide-eyed monster on your child's shoulders with glowing LED eyes and self-stuff legs included.

Grown-ups get the same joke: the Light Up Eye Monster Piggyback Costume runs one-size-fits-most for adults 5'4" to 6'4", with the same glowing eyes and self-stuff legs.

Scary rather than silly, the Kids Grim Reaper Light Up Costume sets battery-operated red LED glasses under a hood, prints a skeleton ribcage on the robe, and packs a 3-part scythe, in four sizes.

The Inflatable Halloween Costume Light Up Purple Ghoul lights up the ghoul's face on a fan-powered inflatable, and it has a built-in pocket, so your phone and keys go out with you.

Sizing and fit

Every costume we make, light-up or not, is measured across 30+ points by garment techs trained in tailoring, and we run more than 500,000 quality checks a year across the whole range. All of our kids' products are safety tested by accredited labs. Battery setups vary by product rather than following one rule: the inflatables and eye-monster piggybacks above run on AA batteries you supply yourself, while the kids' jester mask ships with its 2 CR2032 batteries already included, so check the product page for the exact count before you order. Fabric pieces take a cold hand wash and an air dry; inflatables take a sponge wipe with the fan pack removed.

Frequently asked questions

What is a light up costume?

A costume with battery-powered LEDs built in, usually in a mask, a pair of glasses, or an inflatable's light vest. It lights up on its own power the moment you switch it on, rather than needing to be charged under a lamp first.

What's the difference between a light-up costume and a glow-in-the-dark costume?

A glow-in-the-dark costume uses fabric or paint that soaks up light and releases it slowly, so it needs to sit under a lamp first and fades as the charge runs down. A light-up costume runs on its own batteries instead, in full darkness, for as long as those batteries last, with nothing to charge beforehand.

Do light up costumes need batteries?

Yes, and the type varies by product. Our inflatable costumes and eye-monster piggybacks take AA batteries you supply yourself, while the kids' light-up jester mask ships with its 2 CR2032 batteries already installed in the mask. Check the product page for the exact count and battery type before you order.

Are light up costumes only for Halloween?

They earn their batteries at any after-dark event where being seen is the point: a costume party, a school event, a birthday, a night out. The LEDs care about darkness, not the date.

Can adults wear light up costumes, or are they just for kids?

Both. Our range covers adults as well as kids, from the inflatable Megamorph and Purple Ghoul suits to the light-up eye-monster piggyback and the scary jester costume, all sized separately from the kids' versions.

How long do the batteries last?

The Kids Skeleton T-Rex Light Up Costume stays fully inflated for over 4 hours on its fan and battery pack. Runtime and battery count vary by product and by the batteries you put in, so check the individual product page for the costume you want.