Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Inspiration
  3. Evergreens

6 family-themed Halloween costumes everyone will love

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

Before you know it, Halloween will kick off the holiday season. At this time of year, your family can make the most of this special day by choosing a memorable costume. One way to make this holiday even more fun is by wearing family Halloween costumes. So go all out and have fun with selecting (or creating) the best disguise. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

children with faces painted for Dia de los Muertos
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Family-themed Halloween costumes

Dia de los Muertos theme

Why not explore another major holiday from another country? Dia de los Muertos is considered one of the most important holidays in Mexico because it’s the day when families pay tribute to their loved ones who have gone before them. One aspect of this holiday that has also grown popular in the U.S. is the elaborate face painting.

Recommended Videos

Therefore, you can search the internet to find an instructional video on how to re-create the intricate patterns or find a kit with instructions online or at your favorite department store. In addition to the face painting, your little girls would enjoy having their hair styled with brightly colored ribbon braided through it and maybe some colorful flowers. Little boys can dress up in a suit or vaquero (Spanish for “cowboy”) style.

Ghostbusters

When you’re coming up with ideas for a unique, family-themed Halloween costume, “Who are you gonna call?” These guys (or gals from the 2016 reboot) may not have been related, but they had quite a bond and some really amusing uniforms and gadgets.

By looking online, visiting a DIY store, or a second-hand shop, you can probably score some khaki coveralls in various sizes. On the pocket of these uniforms, you’ll just add some name tags with the characters’ last names. The proton packs that the Ghostbusters carried on their backs can be fashioned out of empty cardboard boxes and detailed with duct tape, tubing, and black marker. (And don’t forget a smaller box for the containment unit.) Or another idea is to order the props online. Either way, the most complicated part of this will be deciding who is going to be which character. With two reboots and the original, you have many characters to choose from. If you have toddlers, then you can find or create some super cute costumes for Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Kylo Ren with storm troopers
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“Star Wars” characters

Another theme that gives you a broad list of characters to choose from is the “Star Wars” series. In fact, you can select from the characters featured on the Disney spin-offs or the ones from the movies. For instance, if you have a baby or toddler, you can opt for an Ewok, Baby Yoda (The Child), or a Jawa costume. Adults and kids alike can choose from a repertoire of their favorite heroes or villains from Anakin to Darth Vader or Rey or Kylo Ren. The Skywalker/Solo family may have had its issues, but you have to admit that you have a great array of characters with cool costumes from which to select.

Also, if you’re having difficulty finding a toy lightsaber online, you can take a thin, brightly colored pool noodle, place it over a dowel, and add duct tape and black electrical tape for the handle.

two siblings with royal, homemade costumes
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Your own royal family

You don’t necessarily have to go with a family from a movie or cartoon—although costumes inspired by Mufasa, Serabe, and Simba would be adorable.

Anyhow, you can create your own brand of royalty by creating or obtaining costumes that depict kings, queens, princes, and princesses of centuries past. Along with the costumes that often depict royal figures from Europe, you can also select a set that’s reminiscent of ancient Egypt or Rome. Other ideas include indigenous royalty from the Aztec or Incan cultures. Whatever you and your family choose, you’ll learn a lot about history from researching royal families. Otherwise, you can also have a lot of fun going through an online or brick-and-mortar store to find intriguing family-themed Halloween costumes.

The Munsters Family

You may have caught just a few of the reruns on streaming services, but the Munsters are still popular when it comes to family Halloween costumes. And this masquerade would be super easy to pull off with the Frankenstein costumes being widely available and long black wigs with a touch of white for Lilly Munster. You might even be able to find or recreate the short-sleeved, full, middy dress that Marilyn, their niece often sported along with the perfectly coifed blond hair or wig.

The Ingalls Family

If you’d like to go more for the pioneer look, then watch a rerun or two of “Little House on the Prairie.” For the guys, wide-brim hats, suspenders, and boots would complement the long-sleeved shirts and trousers. (Picture Charles, the dad, and Albert, the son the Ingalls family adopted.) For the ladies, long, floral print, long-sleeved dresses, and bonnets make up the attire from this classic that is set in the late 1870s. You can also duplicate Laura’s signature braids, Mary’s half-updo, Carrie’s long, straight locks, and Caroline’s low bun. The combination would definitely be one of the most unique family-themed Halloween costumes.

Now that you have some ideas for family Halloween costumes, perhaps you, your partner, and kids can narrow down to a couple of choices and flip a coin. As mentioned, half the amusing challenge is searching for and/or creating the characters’ attire and props. Plus, you might even be able to get the pets in on the fun.

Topics
Ear piercings for kids: A complete guide for parents
Thinking about ear piercings for your children, read this first
cute baby sitting in a box with pierced ears

Do you have ear piercings? Many people do. Most get their ears pierced for the first time as teens. For some, ear piercings are typically dictated by family and cultural traditions. Some parents believe strongly in getting their child's ears pierced as infants or toddlers.

While others wouldn't consider it until their children are older. For parents who don't have ear piercings, the decision may not even come up until your child asks. So, if you have questions about when, where, and how to go about getting your child's ears pierced, we've got your go-to guide.
Ear piercings for kids

Read more
Do you agree with these unpopular parenting opinions?
Everyone has an opinion on parenting styles, what's yours?
Parent scolding teen about electronic device

Pretty much everyone has an opinion on parenting kids and the boundaries children and teens have or don't have, including people who aren't parents. Sounds crazy, right, but it's true. Some of the most opinionated people on parenting don't actually have kids to worry about. E

veryone has an opinion,n though. A recent Reddit discussion focused on unpopular parenting opinions that ran the gamut from screentime to letting kids do as they please and quite a few controversial things in between. So, what do you think? Do you agree with these unpopular parenting opinions or think they're too extreme?
Sounding off with unpopular parenting opinions

Read more
Do men get paternity leave? Here’s what you need to know
We know women take time off for having a baby, but do men get paternity leave?
A parent holding a newborn baby in the hospital room

When a woman finds out she is pregnant, part of the initial planning is figuring out maternity leave, from when it will start to how long it will be. While we immediately think of the time the mom will take off work for the baby, what about the dad? Do men get paternity leave? Here's what you need to understand about dads taking time off work for the birth of a child.
If men get paternity leave, here's how they can take it

There are a few options for the dad to take time off work for the birth of a baby, and it's all pretty similar to how a mother would take maternity leave. There are types of leave dads can't take since they aren't the ones having the medical procedure or going through the actual birth, but there are some workarounds.
Take FMLA
FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) allows mothers, fathers, and non-birthing parents to take up to 12 weeks off work to care for a new child. The time off is unpaid, but your position will be there for you when you return. There are rules and stipulations to use FMLA depending on where you work and for how long, and you may not qualify to use it under certain conditions, so talk to your employer as soon as you find out your partner is pregnant to know your options. FMLA is amazing if you qualify, but please remember it is unpaid. 
Use your PTO and vacation time
Another way to take some time off (and still get paid for it) is to use your PTO and vacation time. The second you know your partner is pregnant, start saving up your time. Talk with your HR department to see how much time off you can stack together and see if they will work with you on how to best use your time. If you can't use it all at once, see about peppering days off throughout the week to get you down to only working one to three days a week so you can still be home quite a bit.
Use unpaid time
Another option is to talk to your HR department about unpaid time off. Depending on how long you have been with the company, you could be entitled to an extended unpaid leave or a sabbatical, or your work will let you take time off for certain things like a medical issue or the birth of a child. This is another unpaid way to take time off, so you need to plan appropriately. 
What is paternity leave?

Read more