Halloween Costume Ideas for the Whole Family
Halloween 2024 is only 10 days out, and I would guess that most parents and their kids haven’t yet picked out their costumes - arguably one of the most important parts of the holiday. I know our family hasn’t. With so many Halloween costume ideas, it’s easy to fall into decision paralysis. But Halloween is the perfect time for families to come together in fun, creative, and spooky ways. Especially if you include your fur babes in the costume theme.
Unfortunately, my husband and stepdaughter are brats when it comes to the idea of dressing up for Halloween as a family - they’re way too cool. So most likely, me and Bebe will dress up on Halloween, and my husband and stepdaughter will just dress up as themselves. They’re no fun at all. But if you have a more festive and cooperative family, here are spooky costume ideas:
(I will not be posting pictures in this article to avoid copyright issues but you should Google each idea)
Bluey - Chilli (Mum), Bandit (Dad), Bingo, and Bluey. Bluey is our favorite show to watch together as a family. My husband and I love the show just as much as our almost two-year-old daughter does. As soon as the intro comes on, me and Bebe start dancing. So if my family was going to dress up, the Bluey family would be my first choice. By the way, if you have more than two children, you can have multiple “Blueys” and “Bingos,” if needed. Or, you can utilize some of the supporting characters from the show - Muffin, Socks, Indy, Rusty, etc. Going off on a bit of a tangent here - Rusty deserves his own spin-off, in my opinion.
Classic fairytale characters. These stories provide a variety of recognizable characters - imagine you and your spouse as royals, while the kiddos can dress up as princesses, princes, or a hilarious sidekick. This theme offers flexibility for families of any size. Here are some ideas:
Snow White - you can have Snow White, the Evil Queen, any or all of the Seven Dwarfs (Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, and/or Dopey), and The Prince. There are many characters to choose from.
Cinderella - Cinderella, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, Drizella, any of the mice, or the pumpkin.
Peter Pan - Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, and Tinkerbell.
Sleeping Beauty - Aurora, Prince Phillip, Maleficent, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.
Frozen: Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, Sven, Hans, Iduna, Agnarr (the mom and dad of Anna and Elsa), or Bruni (the cute lizard from Frozen II).
Toy Story: Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Mr./Mrs. Potatohead.
The Addams Family. Years ago, before we got married and had a baby, I convinced my husband (my boyfriend back then) to dress up as Gomez while I dressed up as Morticia. That was the only time I was able to get him to dress up as something. If you want your family to dress up as the Addams family, you can also incorporate Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, or Pubert Addams (the baby). Perfect if you want your costumes to be a little spooky but not too scary.
Harry Potter. Just like any proper Millenial, I have been a Harry Potter fan since I was about 10 years old, so the idea of a Harry Potter costume theme is super exciting to me. If you’re wondering, I am a Slytherin, my husband is a Gryffindor, my stepdaughter is a Ravenclaw, and we don’t know yet what house Bebe will be in, but by the time we figure it out, she probably won’t care at all. Anyway, if you want to choose this costume theme for your family, you have tons of characters to choose from:
Harry
Ron
Hermione
Mr./Mrs. Weasley
Dumbledore
Professor McGonagall
Hagrid
Buckbeak
Hedwig
Star Wars - Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and Yoda.
Food family!
Fruit salad - apple, banana, pineapple, strawberry, and orange.
Fast food family - Burger, Fries, Milkshake, Ketchup, Mustard, and Hot dog.
Breakfast - Bacon, eggs, pancake, and toast.
50’s diner theme.
Classic monsters.
Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy, and a werewolf.
Ghosts.
Vampires.
Witches and wizards.
Dinosaur family - think a t-rex, a velociraptor, a triceratops, and others.
Old-timey cartoons:
The Flinstones - Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Pebbles, and Bamm-Bamm.
The Jetsons - George, Jane, Judy, and Elroy.
Grease - Danny, Sandy, the T-Birds, and the Pink Ladies.
Ghostbusters - the Ghostbusters team, Slimer, and Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
Jungle animals - Lion, zebra, giraffe, tiger, elephant, and at least one Safari explorer to tie it all together.
Pokemon. You can have one trainer, Pikachu, Charmander, Bulbasaur, etc. Let the kids choose their favorite Pokemon characters.
The Avengers - Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, and Hulk.
Ninja Turtles - Leonardo, Donatello, Rafael, and Michelangelo.
The Simpsons - Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.
Family Guy - Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and Brian.
Taylor Swift eras. Chances are you don’t have a family full of Swifties, but just in case you do, you can dress everyone up as a different “era” of her discography. Such as “Speak Now,” “Red,” “Reputation,” etc. Back in 2021, I dressed up as her Reputation era (my favorite, personally).
Justice League - Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, and Aquaman.
X-men - Professor X, Wolverine, Jean Gray, Beast, and Colossus.
Cinematic family - Someone can dress up as a camera, a bucket of popcorn, an Oscar, a director, and a famous and recognizable movie character.
Monsters, Inc. - Mike, Sully, and Boo.
Spongebob - Spongebob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and Plankton.
Dressing up for Halloween as a family can be so much fun and can create wonderful memories for your children to look back on. Not to mention adorable photos that you can cherish forever. However, just like many other things, it’s no longer fun if you have to force it. If your spouse is a grumpy Gilligan and doesn’t like to dress up (like mine is) and all of your children want to dress up as entirely different things, it’s best to let it happen. Either way, the most important part is for everyone’s personalities to shine through their costumes and to have lots of spooky, sugary fun.
XOXO, Alexis.