Are you thinking about putting together family Halloween costumes this year?
One of the best ways to have a memorable Halloween is to put together family Halloween costumes based on a central theme.
Choosing costumes that everyone can agree on can be tricky. And if you’re like me, it can take lots of creativity to come up with a theme that works for lots of different ages and stages.
According to Marketwatch, Americans spend more than $3 billion on costumes for kids and adults every year!
If you’re going to spend the money on costumes, you might as well increase feelings of family unity by going with a family Halloween costume theme!
I’ve got a great list of Halloween costumes below that will solve any creativity issues you might be feeling.
Free Halloween printables
Before we dive into the costumes, I’ve also got an awesome and simple Halloween printable pack for you to download and print.
It contains printables for the Switch Witch and to help you start the Neighborhood Boo. These are both great ideas to help you make Halloween special during a time when you may not be celebrating in the traditional way.
To learn more about how to invite the Switch Witch to your house or start the Neighborhood Boo, read this post about Halloween traditions you can start this year!
Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that I may make a small commission if you click through or purchase at no cost to you. For more information, click here.
Okay, let’s get on with the ideas for family Halloween costumes, shall we?!
I know you’re a busy mama, so I’ve divided the list into five separate categories for you:
- Animal costumes
- Pop Culture costumes
- Historical costumes
- Food costumes
- Miscellaneous costumes
Scroll on through and see what ideas spark some excitement for you!
Also, at the end of the article, I’ve got some tips on how to help your family members choose their costumes according to the theme.
If your kids are like mine, they definitely want to have some input into their Halloween costume!
Animal Family Halloween Costumes
There are so many different variations for animal costumes that will work for a family!
One of the best things about this theme is that it works for any number of people in your family! If you have a lot of kids, you can just keep adding more animal Halloween costumes as needed.
1. Zoo and Zookeepers Family Costumes
Sometimes as parents we feel like we are running a zoo, right?!
This family Halloween costume is a perfect way to express that your family may be wild and crazy, but you are all kept well and safe under the same roof!
Parents can dress up as the zookeepers (or tiger trainers!), and your kids can be any type of zoo animal they’d like!
If you have kids who like to have a wide range of costumes to choose from, I highly recommend this theme!
2. Dinosaur Halloween Costumes
Do you have a dinosaur enthusiast at your house?
If so, nothing would make him or her happier than seeing his entire family in these awesome dinosaur Halloween costumes!
If parents don’t want to dress up as dinosaurs or you’re looking to save a little money, you could certainly come up with your own homemade costumes too.
You could wear hiking or safari clothes, throw a vintage camera around your neck, and proclaim yourselves on a safari through Jurassic Park!
3. Farmers and farm animals
Another great theme for family Halloween costumes can be found right on the farm.
Parents can dress as either farm animals or farmers.
Kids can choose almost any farm animal you can think of! There are even farm animal Halloween costumes available for your family pet!
4. Bees and Beekeepers
If you happen to have a family of all girls, a beehive theme could be just perfect.
Extra bonus: You’ll also be able to easily spot each other in a crowd!
Pop Culture Family Halloween Costumes
There are so many options for family halloween costumes in this category that there is no way you could list all of them!
Here are a few favorites that work well for families of different ages, numbers, and genders.
5. Harry Potter family Halloween costumes
This is our favorite family Halloween theme, so I had to put it first in the pop culture category!
In fact, we love it so much that we’ve done different renditions of it for several years now.
One year we were our favorite Harry Potter characters, then we did lesser-known characters (think Luna Lovegood, Professor Trelawney and the Golden Snitch), followed by the Triwizard Champions, and this year we are all being different Harry Potter villains!
Here are some great Harry Potter costume options:
6. Dr. Seuss family theme
This is a perfect Halloween costume theme if you happen to have twins in your family!
Dressing them up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 at least once in their lives should practically be a Halloween requirement.
If you have more kids, you could certainly add additional Dr. Seuss characters, such as the Grinch or Horton the elephant.
7. Flintstones family Halloween theme
The Flintstones are always a fun blast from the past!
This theme is less common and can be a ton of laughs IF you live in a warm climate! I wouldn’t want to be rocking that Wilma costume in anything less than 70*F!
8. Awesome Avengers
The Avengers are always cool!
With the passing of Chadwick Boseman earlier this year, be on the lookout for Black Panther costumes to be extremely popular!
The toddler Spiderman costume has been the top seller at HalloweenCostumes.com for several years in a row.
Grab yours here before they sell out.
9. Frozen family Halloween costumes
Your young Frozen-loving girls will be thrilled to see their parents dress up as their favorite characters from the hit movie.
(Bonus: if your kids already own Anna or Elsa dresses, have them wear those. That way you’ll only need to purchase costumes for mom and dad!)
The best historical family Halloween costumes
If you’re looking for an original family costume idea, definitely think about a theme based on a historical time period!
There are so many options here, but these are some that will work for families of all shapes and sizes.
10. Greek and Roman family costume theme
This is a fantastic theme for the whole family – especially if you have any kids who have been studying the ancient Greeks or Romans, or the ancient Olympics recently.
While you can always use old sheets and some decorative twine for togas, I love these Greek and Roman costumes for all of their fun details.
Grecian goddess costume for mom
Ancient Greek toga costume for dad
11. Fifties flashback family Halloween costumes
While 50’s costumes may seem old-fashioned, they can be so much fun to wear for all of your Halloween festivities!
To get your kids extra excited about these costumes, you could introduce them to some 50’s music, watch old 50’s movies, or stage a fun family sock hop or drive in movie!
If you have a little boy who wants to be just like dad, these identical Thunderbird jackets would be perfect!
12. 80s costumes for the whole family
If you love neon, tie-dye, and active wear, you definitely need to consider an 80s theme for your family Halloween costumes!
These 80s costumes are incredibly detailed. With their bright colors and lots of layers, all you need is a hair crimper and a giant boom box (or make a lightweight cardboard one!) – and you’ll be all set!
13. Egyptian family Halloween costumes
Similar to the ancient Greek and Roman costumes, an Egyptian family costume theme would be especially great if you have any kids who’ve been studying the ancient Egyptians lately in school.
With all the mummies, and hidden tombs, ancient Egyptian costumes definitely work well for a slightly creepy Halloween vibe.
14. Viking family Halloween costumes
If your family loves Game of Thrones or How to Train Your Dragon, a Viking family costume theme could be perfect for you!
To introduce this costume idea, consider having a family dinner without any utensils! Everyone will have to eat with their hands only – just like the Vikings did!
Viking warrior princess girl costume
15. Old West Halloween costumes
Old western cowboy and cowgirl costumes are another great history-based family Halloween theme.
You could certainly give this a Disney flavor and go with a Toy Story theme too – but if you want a more authentic cowboy and cowgirl look, give these great costumes a try!
Fun family food-based costumes
Think fruits and veggies theme, or fast food, or even candy!
There are loads of options for family costumes from the food category, and they are often considered fresh and original ideas too.
16. Candy family Halloween costumes
If you have a bunch of little sweethearts in your family, a fun candy theme could be great for you!
After your Halloween festivities, it could be a fun experiment to see how many matching pieces of candy each person gets for their costume.
Hershey’s chocolate mom costume
17. Fruit family costume theme
If you prefer a healthier option over candy, there are lots of cute fruit costumes available! Also, none of these costumes are gender-specific, which can make costume choices a bit easier too.
You could even call your family a walking fruit salad, or bring along a fruit-based dish to any Halloween party or event you attend.
18. Chef family costume theme
The chef family costume theme is always a big favorite! Mom and Dad can be the chef and sous chef (or vice versa!), and the kids can be different foods.
We did this theme years ago, and all of our kids had a blast with their pizza, hot dog, and cupcake costumes. I was the chef and my husband was a menu – which I made from two pieces of foam board and duct tape straps.
Miscellaneous family Halloween costumes
There are a few family Halloween costumes that were just too good to leave out.
But they didn’t really fit in any of the categories above, so here they are now!
19. Astronaut family Halloween costumes
If your family is really excited about the successful launch of Space X or the plans to return to the moon, an astronaut theme would be awesome!
These fun costumes are also perfect for finding each other in a crowd. You can’t miss each other – thanks to the super matching and bright orange color!
20. Rock, paper, scissors Halloween costume
Honestly, I’m not really sure why I love this group costume so much. But I just think it’s so great.
It might be that it requires all three costumes to really get it, or that it’s such a clever way to represent a simple game that everyone knows.
If you have a smaller family, or mom and dad don’t want to dress up, this rock, paper, scissors costume could be a fantastic option for any group of three!
21. Christmas family Halloween costumes
Dressing up as Christmas characters for Halloween will bring your family lots of smiles as it is such an original idea.
Another huge bonus is that these costumes can pull double duty and can be worn at Christmastime too!
Only one thing to beware of: kids who see Santa will either turn on their best behavior – or expect a little treat!
Final thoughts on the best family Halloween costumes
Dressing up as a family can be great for increasing feelings of family unity.
Although it may seem strange to dress up for Halloween as an adult, I highly recommend it! Your kids will love to see you getting into the fun spirit of Halloween.
Whatever you decide to wear for your family Halloween costumes, I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating – in whatever way you can!
Related articles about Halloween:
The Switch Witch (and 3 Ways to Not Miss Out on Halloween Fun)
11 Awesome Halloween Minute to Win It Games for Your Family
What to Do With Leftover Halloween Candy – 7 Awesome Ideas
Are you considering family Halloween costumes this year?
