Halloween is quickly approaching and it’s time to start planning costumes! I always look forward to this time every year. It’s the one day everyone can be creative and play dress up. Part of the fun is thinking about how Halloween costumes can work for the family.
Our family has been dressing up in themed costumes for the past 4 years – it’s been the highlight of our Halloween! Every year has been a different theme and it’s so satisfying to see how everything comes together.
I like to buy parts of the costume and add some DIY to make it unique. If you’re feeling crafty, all these family Halloween costumes can be handmade. If DIY isn’t your thing, there’s plenty of party stores and shops you can buy costumes at.
Sharing the Halloween experience with your kids, no matter what age they are can be such a fun experience. If you’re looking for a family Halloween costume this year and need a little inspiration, look no further! Below is a how-to of my family’s costumes through the years and a round-up of my favorite family costume ideas.
Peter Pan, Peter Pan’s Shadow, and Tinkerbelle
For our first Halloween with my daughter, I dressed as Peter Pan, my husband was Peter Pan’s shadow, and my daughter was Tinkerbelle. My daughter was almost 1 ½ years old and I thought it would be a cute costume for her to prance around in. Being an avid DIYer at the time, I made all of the costumes. The Peter Pan and Peter Pan’s Shadow costume took about an hour to make. The Tinkerbell costume took 3 hours to make.
Peter Pan (woman)
With a dark green crew neck bodycon dress, cut zig-zags on the sleeves and the bottom hem. Then cut a 4” slit down the front middle of the neckline to create a collar. Pair it with light green tights. Make a green felt hat using this tutorial. Make the belt by cutting a 2” strip of brown felt to the circumference of the waist. Glue a piece of velcro to the ends for easy wearing. Using brown and yellow felt, cut out the shape of a dagger and handle. Use a piece of velcro to attach it onto the belt.
Peter Pan’s Shadow (unisex)
With a t-shirt that is 2 sizes bigger, cut zig-zags on the sleeves and the bottom hem. Then cut a 4” slit down the front middle of the neckline to create a collar. Make a black felt hat using this tutorial. Make the felt belt by cutting a 2” strip of black felt to the circumference of the waist. Glue a piece of velcro to the ends for easy wearing. Using black felt, cut out the shape of a dagger. Use a piece of velcro to attach it onto the belt. Wear with a full black body bodysuit underneath.
Tinkerbell (child)
Cut a bodice shape out of green felt and sew or glue it on a white onesie. Alternatively, you can skip this step and use a green onesie instead. Sew green EL wire around the perimeter of green wings. Make green tutu by tying strips of tulle onto an elastic band with this tutorial. Add fairy lights in between the tutu and secure with glue or thread. Add DIY pom poms onto green socks. Make a headpiece by gluing a DIY pom pom and felt leaf onto a headband.
Related costume ideas:
Wendy, John, Michael, Captain Hook, Lost Boys, Tiger Lily, Alligator, Smee
Super Mario Bros. – Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Toad
This was a fun costume idea and we were so excited to dress up as a new family of four. I was dressed as Mario, my husband was Luigi, my daughter was Yoshi, and my son was Toad. We wanted the Mario and Luigi costumes to fit well, so we made our costume with our own blue jeans and red/green shirts then paired it with Mario/Luigi hats and gloves we purchased. We bought the cutest Yoshi costume for my daughter and I made my son’s Toad costume because I couldn’t find a costume that would fit a 3 week old. We all wore matching Adidas Superstar sneakers and it really tied everything together.
Mario
Pair a red long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and blue suspenders with a Mario hat and white gloves.
Luigi
Pair a green long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and blue suspenders with a Luigi hat and white gloves.
Yoshi
This is the Yoshi costume we used.
Toad
Make a DIY mushroom hat by using this tutorial. To make the DIY vest, use blue felt to cut out the shape of the back and front of a vest. Connect the front and back of the vest by gluing the sides and shoulders. Using yellow felt, glue yellow boarding around the vest. Alternately, you can use an existing blue shirt and cut off the sleeves to make the vest. Pair it with a white onesie and white pants.
Related costume ideas:
Princess Peach, Wario, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Boo, Waluigi
Superheroes – Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman
This was by far the family’s favorite costume theme and the easiest to execute since almost everything was purchased. We were in character and fully dressed the part. I was dressed at Batman, my husband was Spiderman, my daughter was Wonder Woman, and my son was Superman. I wanted to be Batman and not Batgirl, so I used some Batgirl props to create my costume. The Spiderman and Wonder Woman costumes fit my husband and daughter perfectly. My son was only 1 year old so we wanted something comfy and went with a Superman pajama set.
Spiderman
Batman (woman)
Black bodysuit, black boots, Batgirl props, Make the Batman logo by printing the logo onto paper and gluing it onto a sturdier surface like cardboard or foam board. Stick it onto the chest of the bodysuit with tape.
Wonder Woman
Toddler Wonder Woman, lighted lasso
Superman
Related costume ideas:
Captain America, Catwoman, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Wolverine
Insects – Caterpillar, Bee, Ladybug, and Spider
The kids were learning a lot about bugs in school so dressing up as one for Halloween was an easy choice. Our entire family’s costumes cost less than $20, with most of the items found from the Dollar Store. I was a bee, my husband was a caterpillar, my daughter was a ladybug, and my son was a spider. The bee and ladybug wings, antennas, and skirts were from the Dollar Store. The caterpillar costume was made almost entirely out of felt. The DIY spider costume is easy to make and so cute. I received a lot of compliments on my son’s spider costume at the school’s Halloween parade.
DIY Bee
Pair a black long-sleeve shirt with black leggings. Cut two kids bee skirts in half and sew them together to make one adult bee skirt. Add bee wings and bee antenna.
DIY Caterpillar
Round the corners of 5 green (use two shades for contrast) 11×8 felt sheets with scissors. Glue the felt sheets together by overlapping each one to create the body. Cut 8 or more legs out of brown felt and glue them to the sides of the body. Add an elastic band around one side of the body so it can be worn around the neck. Cut eyes out of yellow and green felt, and a nose out of brown felt then glue onto a red beanie. Wear an antenna headband on top of the red beanie and pair it with a black shirt and pants.
DIY Ladybug
With a black shirt and black leggings, add ladybug wings, skirt, and antennas. Add black gloves (optional)
Spider
Use pillow stuffing to lightly fill 3 pairs of black knee high socks. Position the socks under the arm sleeves of a long-sleeve black shirt so there are 3 legs on each side. Glue or sew the open end of the sock to the back of the shirt. Connect one arm sleeve to the nearest leg with black thread with approximating 1.5-2” space, so the legs move when the arms do. Repeat for the rest of the legs. With a hot glue gun, glue various sizes of googly eyes onto the front of a black beanie. Pair it with black pants.
Related costume ideas:
Scorpion, butterfly, snail, beetle, grasshopper, dragonfly, ant, firefly
Other Family Themed Costumes
Movies
The Greatest Showman
Harry Potter
Game of Thrones
Addams Family
Wizard of Oz
Flintstones
Incredibles
Star Wars
Power Rangers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Toy Story
Trolls
Smurfs
Pokemon
Food
Pasta
Sushi
Tacos
Others
Burglars
Astronauts
Aliens
Army Figurines
Robots
Stick Figures
Crayons
Monsters
Ghostbusters
This year’s family’s DIY costume is from the list of ideas. What will your family be dressing as this Halloween?
