Lion Costumes for Kids

There are quite a few famous lions from movies, TV shows and real life that you can create a costume around. Ideas include:

• Simba from Lion King
• The Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz
• Aslan from Narnia (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe)
• Lion from Tinga Tinga Tales (we love this show!)
• Christian the Lion (he's been famous on YouTube recently)
• Ryan or Samson from the Wild (Father and Son lions)
• Alex / Alakay from Madagascar

You could just take any lion costume and add some accessories to become a famous lion. There are also some specific costumes for being a famous lion from Lion King or the Wizard of Oz. 

Do you have a cub to dress up as a lion? OK so real lion cubs don't have a mane. But these baby lion costumes do look very cute on an infant! 

These costumes work brilliantly if you have a big brother or sister who wants to dress up as a zookeeper or Safari ranger or perhaps as Diego from Go Diego Go. 

A zookeeper plus a baby lion makes a very cute combination. 

Do you need matching costumes for siblings? Here are some ideas for lion-themed matching costumes.

• Dorothy (or Scarecrow or Tinman) and the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz
• Zookeeper or Safari Ranger and Lion
• Lion Pride - great if an older child loves lions and you have an infact sibling or several to be lion cubs
• African Cats or Big Cats - add a Leopard, Jaguar, Tiger or other big cat. 
• Lion King Simba and Nala. 
• Diego from Go Diego Go and Lion Cub

For role play a partial lion outfit can be fun. You can get lion ears and mane on a headbad and a tail on a waistband or a lion hat. And we've included a fluffy lion vest too. 

And we just love the kids wooly lion hat below. It's great as part of a costume but it can also be worn regularly in winter. Last winter my toddler son wore a fleece lion hat every single day, and frequently refused to take it off indoors as well! Everywhere we went we got comments on the cute hat. I think this knitted lion hat is even cuter though. 

Lion masks add a finishing touch to a lion costume - bought or homemade. Or they can be used on their own for role play. You can go for a full face lion mask or just a lion nose mask. 

We have several of the Wild Repulic foam masks in our dress up collection. They're a great inexpensive addition to the dress up box and they look very cool on display too. The foam masks are much more comfortable than the hard plastic masks I remember as a child. 

We hope your child has lots of fun dressing up as a lion. It's a great opportunity to teach your child a little bit about Africa, the food chain and about endangered animals. And it's also a great opportunity to be silly with your kids. Why don't you pretend to be a Zebra or Wildebeast and let them chase and catch you?

If you enjoyed the lion costumes you might also like our favorite lion toys.