For those of us who like dressing up, costumes aren’t just for Halloween. If you play your cards right, there are plenty of other occasions where you can get away with wearing a costume. Here are 9 of our top favorites.

1. Renaissance Festival – Every year, when the Renaissance Festival comes to town, scores of people attend – and a great deal of them attend in costume. Most costume retailers online have an assortment of Renaissance and historical costumes to choose from. Another option is to browse thrift stores and vintage clothing retailers, and put together your own costume.
2. Theme Parties – Theme parties are becoming quite popular! A lot of people enjoy throwing decade parties – the 20s, 50s, and 80s are the most popular decades – where guests dress up and dance to period music in a house decorated with period décor. Other theme parties include vampire parties, pirate parties, and just about anything else the host can think of!
3. Book Release Parties – What better way to celebrate the release of a long-awaited new book than with a costume? This kind of party was popular for the release of Harry Potter and Twilight Saga books, with many attendees dressing up as their favorite characters.
4. Conventions - It is almost impossible to go to a convention without seeing tons of attendees in costume. The classic example is the Star Trek Convention, but costumes are popular at others too, such as Disney, anime, and comic book conventions.
5. Masquerades - Many of us, when we think of masquerades, think of formal balls, such as those in Phantom of the Opera and The Man in the Iron Mask. Masquerades are still around today, however — they are simply parties were everyone is expected to come wearing a costume and mask. The excitement is in not knowing who you are partying with, of course!
6. St. Patrick’s Day – St. Patty’s Day is one of our favorite holidays! This is the day when everyone is Irish – you get the luck, the drinking, and everything else. Whether you are going to a St. Patty’s Day parade or a party at your friend’s house, costumes are welcomed and encouraged!
7. Mardi Gras – Depending on where you live, Mardi Gras may be a big deal, or not much at all. But you don’t have to live in New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras! Instead of staying home watching the parade on TV, invite some friends over for a private Mardi Gras celebration – and tell them to come in costume!
8. Christmas - Everyone loves Christmas — whether they celebrate religiously or not, this is a fun and festive holiday season for many people. This is also a time when you see a lot of costumes at work and at parties: elf costumes, Santa and Mrs. Claus costumes, reindeer antlers, and so on. May everyone be merry and wear a great costume!
9. Photos – One of the most fun times to get dressed up in costumes is for photos. Think about it – you could send pictures of your adorable newborn in an even more adorable costume for double the oohs and ahhs.

Although we tend to think of Halloween as the supreme costume holiday – and in many ways, it is – there are many other reasons throughout the year to dress up. Wearing costumes is fun because it gives an opportunity to be someone else for a little while, or at least to have fun like someone else! What are some of your favorite excuses to dress up?

About the Author: This post is by Vern, who enjoys writing about everything from business to biology and fashion to fiction. This post was inspired by an adventure in shopping for childrens costumes with his daughter for a school play.