Many families love to center their costumes around a theme for Halloween. There are so many family Halloween costume ideas for parents to play on. From superheroes to animals, the sky truly is the limit when it comes to creative family Halloween costumes.
Family Halloween Costumes Based on Film
Draw your costume inspiration from some of your favorite films. From classic movies to newer releases, cinema is packed full of group costume themes. Choose a movie that suits your family's style and let your imagination run wild.
Minion Magic
If you have kiddos, you have probably seen Despicable Me and are in the know when it comes to minions. If you have an army of offspring, dress them as little minions, and parents can dress like the lead minion Mel or retired villain Gru. You can purchase minion costumes from most large Halloween retailers or try your hand at making your own.
From Your Family to the Addams Family
Dress one family member as Wednesday, one as Pugsley, another as Gomez, and of course, someone has to be hauntingly beautiful Morticia! If you have more family members to work into the theme, throw in an Uncle Fester, a Lurch, and a Cousin It.
Perfect Peter Pan Costumes
Away to Never, Neverland! Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, Wendy, and the gang can all make an appearance on Halloween night. Each person in your family gets assigned an iconic character, and then they can use their creative brain to interpret the outfit as they see fit. Assembling these costumes will be almost as much fun as the actual trick-or-treating!
Darling Disney Villains
Disney has given families so many great villains over the years. Have each family member choose a Disney villain to dress up as. Choose from Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, the Evil Queen from Snow White, Jafar, Captain Hook, or Mother Gothel. This theme works for families small in size or families with many members because there are tons of great Disney Villains to choose from.
Who Ya Gonna Call? Ghostbusters!
Thanks to an original movie as well as a remake, most generations have heard of the Ghostbusters. Grab your proton packs and head out into the spooky night looking for mischievous spirits. If you have a little one in your family, go full-on green to represent the beloved movie character, Slimer!
Wonderful Wizard of Oz Theme
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most recognized works in cinema. This is an ideal theme for families who consider their small dog as one of the gang. He will make an excellent Toto! Choose a family member to be the cowardly lion, someone to be Dorothy, a family member to be the Scarecrow, one to be The Tin Man, and don't forget Glinda the dazzling good witch!
So Many Superhero Options
Your kids think you are a superhero anyhow, so why not dress up as one? There are plenty of superhero movies to draw inspiration from, or you can go generic with your superhero costume. A few ideas are:
- General DIY superhero costume
- Batman and Robin
- Characters from the movie The Incredibles
- Avengers characters
Dr. Seuss Inspired Halloween Costumes
The great Dr. Seuss has shown people over the years that imagination is everything. Use one of his most notable works, The Cat and the Hat, to create fun literacy-based Halloween costumes. Before creating costumes, watch the movie as a family. This is a great option for families with twins or for families who are expecting another baby and want to tie Halloween into their big pregnancy reveal. Dress the existing children up as Thing 1 and Thing 2, and the expecting parent can wear a shirt that reads Thing 3!
Alice in Wonderland Costumes
Alice in Wonderland is a timeless tale that has been transformed into film time and time again. The movie has no shortage of creative characters, so everyone in the family has plenty of options to choose from. Dress up as Alice, The Mad Hatter, The Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts.
Head to Toe Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a favorite movie of kids worldwide. If you have a family full of Potterheads, everyone can take on a different character. Families of three might choose to be Harry, Hermione, and Hedwig. Larger families can all sport the classic Harry Potter glasses and scarf and take the theme in that direction.
Family Halloween Costume Ideas Inspired by Nature
Head outdoors and look around you; what do you see? Nature is nothing if not inspirational. Take aspects of the natural world and work them into a one-of-a-kind family Halloween costume.
Get Buggy With It
Spiders, ladybugs, and bumblebees are all great choices for a family of bug lovers. This is a great option for parents who want to dress up as part of the theme but don't want to go full-on costume. Dress in black and yellow and put on an antennae headband. Easy, fun, and earthy.
Align With the Elements
Think of the weather around you and play to the natural elements. One person can dress in white and blue. Sew or paste felt raindrops on the clothing, and you have the rainstorm. Create a large sunshine out of cardboard to be worn by another person. Use cotton balls or white fluffy fabric to create a cloud costume for a small child. This DIY costume project is a perfect choice for a family of three.
The Farmers and Their Barnyard Babies
Farm life is full of great costume ideas, and when you put the farmer and his barnyard friend together, you have a supreme family costume theme. Have parents dress as the farmers, and kids can choose from any number of farm animals to guide their costume choices. Go with a piggie, a cow, a horse, a chicken, a sheep, or any variation of those animals.
Underwater Wonder
The sea is a great place to look for family costumes for Halloween. Choose from a mermaid or merman, colorful fish, sharks, and even a fisherman! You could also play on Disney's classic film The Little Mermaid and select characters from that movie.
Go Garden Gnome
A family of garden gnomes is bound to be a bit hit! Everyone gets a hat and a beard, and before you know it, you will have a group of garden gnomes in all shapes and sizes.
Family Halloween Costumes That Draw From Events and Culture
Draw from cultural events and aspects as well as family fun outings to inspire family Halloween costumes that the neighborhood will be talking about for ages.
Day of the Dead Inspired Costumes
Spend time creating stunning designs on family faces to emulate the Day of the Dead. When it comes to Day of the Dead costumes, you can be simple in your choices or be very elaborate. Everyone's costume can have a different tone, color scheme, and design element so that they all coordinate but are also creatively unique.
Life Is a Circus
Life with kids is nothing if not a three-ringed circus. Get inspired by a classic family outing, the circus, and create Halloween costumes based around the Big Top. Parents can dress as the Ringmasters, and kids can be acrobats, elephants, clowns, and tigers.
Fun and Fantastic Flamenco Dancers
Channel some Spanish heritage and culture by dressing your gang up as flamenco dancers. Think bold red dresses and skirts, rainbow-colored outfits of kids, and traditional flamenco dancer suits. With this theme, you'll be the best-dressed family on the block.
The Zookeeper and the Wild Animals
If you are parents, then you are basically zookeepers anyhow! Dress up as the people who care for those beloved zoo animals. Have the kids dress as their favorite zoo animals. Great options might include lions, giraffes, monkeys, flamingos, and penguins.
Classic Spooky Costumes That Are Always a Hit
You can't go wrong with a classic! These spooky Halloween costumes are full of fun and fright. Go with skeletons, monsters, and mummies or ghoulish ghosts on October 31st.
So Many Cute Skeletons
A family of skeletons is an easy Halloween costume theme to achieve. Many large department stores carry spooky skeleton pajamas in all sizes, so there will probably be one for every family member. Many popular stores carry skeleton dog costumes as well, so Fido can get in on the action.
Get Your Ghost On
A classic costume that has been used for decades is that of ghoulish ghosts. You can do full-on DIY with your ghost costumes or purchase them at any major Halloween store. For a vintage vibe, dress the gang in all-white garb from the Victorian era. Paint faces white and spray all hair grey. What a fancy and frightful bunch you will be!
Monsters and Mummies Oh My!
Choose to wrap your brood up as a family or mummies or select varying monster costumes for every person in your family. This is a superb selection for large families, as you can never have enough monsters or mummies.
Robot Takeover
Beware! It's a robot takeover! At least in your house, it will be. Create robot costumes for your family. Start several weeks before Halloween and assemble the costumes as a fall family activity. It will be so fun to see what everyone can create.
Funny Family Halloween Costumes
These family Halloween costumes are all about hilarity and personality. Everyone will know that you and your clan are all about having a good time with one of these spooktacular outfit ideas.
Ice, Ice Baby
Rapper Vanilla Ice had one of the greatest pop hits of all time with Ice, Ice Baby. Have both parents dress up as bags of ice, and put your little one in a little tracksuit or correlating colors (likely white and blue.) Be sure to write "Ice" on the parents' costumes and "Baby" on the tot's costume.
Totally Taco Tuesday Inspired
Tacos are totally worth celebrating, and you can use them in a fun, festive, and yummy-looking family costume. One person can sport a taco costume, another an avocado costume, and if you have a little lady or lad, they can be a bottle of Sriracha. What a delicious and darling theme for a family of three!
Starbucks Ready
Combine costumes of cute, foamy coffee creations and barista uniforms to make a family full of Starbucks-lover outfits. Use white, cream, brown, and tan hues to create your java-loving costumes, and don't forget the telltale pops of green in your designs.
Dress as the Characters From The Office
Pam, Jim, and their littles are some of the most recognized and beloved characters in the hit series, The Office. A family of three could pull this family costume theme off with some creativity and understanding of the show and its characters.
Be Creative and Have Fun
With so many great costume options out there, it can be hard to settle on just one. Think about a family costume that pertains to your family's unique vibe. Be creative and include ideas and elements from all of your family members. Most of all, have fun with your costume choice. Halloween is all about letting loose and having a good time.
