We needed two costumes that were simple to put together, relatively inexpensive and, most importantly, instantly recognizable by adults and children without being too scary. Our sons were invited to a costume birthday party the week before Halloween, a `Trunk or Treat' event at our church the weekend before Halloween, and, finally, they visited residents of assisted living homes and did some light trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and my office on Halloween itself.

My eight-year old son, Kou, was enthralled with the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Phantom-of-the-Opera-at-the-Royal-Albert-Hall/dp/B005SFS4ZU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall</a>, a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which was simulcast live worldwide on Oct 2, 2011.

And while his older brother Kai has not yet watched&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Russell-Crowe-s-performance-in-Gladiator/dp/B002UZ2FX8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Russell Crowe's performance in Gladiator</a>, he is learning about the Roman Empire in school, thus his interest in a gladiator costume. We chose not to equip him with a prop sword or knife though, as it is difficult for a 10-year old not to whack something or someone once he's equipped.

Thankfully, both costumes were as easy to assemble as they were to remove. I posted a picture of their completed costumes on the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Kids-Gladiator-Costume/dp/B00252S2WO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Kids Gladiator Costume</a>&nbsp;page.

The black cape was more durable than I had anticipated and fit my son perfectly. I appreciated that the costume allowed my son complete freedom of movement as well. He removed the mask occasionally (and carefully) as needed but otherwise had no trouble with the Phantom costume.

Rating: Four stars.