48 Family Halloween Costumes That Are Scary Good
The family Halloween getup can be a glorious thing—just look at Neil Patrick Harris’ family Halloween costumes. Every year since their twins, Harper and Gideon, were born in 2010, the How I Met Your Mother actor and his husband, actor and chef David Burtka, have dressed up in some of the most spectacular group costumes. They’ve done spooky film icons, classic Hollywood stars, the characters of Peter Pan and the stars of Batman, and they’ve nailed it each and every time. But guess what? You don’t need to be famous to sport amazing family Halloween costumes! You just need the right inspiration, a few helpful hints and a lot of holiday spirit. Scroll to see some of our favorite family Halloween costume ideas.
In this article:
Best family Halloween costumes
Scary family Halloween costumes
Funny family Halloween costumes
Family of 3 Halloween costumes
Family of 4 Halloween costumes
Family of 5 Halloween costumes
The best family Halloween costumes are colorful, unified and fun. After all, a family costume involves adults and kids alike, so it’s got to make everyone happy. A good place to start? Look for family Halloween costume ideas in your kids’ favorite movies for inspiration.
Monsters Inc. Family Costume
This family went the DIY route with their group costume, which includes the Pixar film’s beloved characters, Mike, Sully and Boo, plus dad as Boo’s door.
Ghostbusters Family Costume
In this quartet, Mom and Dad donned the Ghostbusters uniforms, goggles and all, while their babies make for adorable ghosts.
Batman Family Costume
All family Halloween costumes get better when the family dog is included too. In this case, we’ve got Mom as Catwoman, Dad as the Joker, baby as the Caped Crusader and his furry friend as his sidekick Robin.
Willy Wonka Family Costume
The perfect costume for a family of three (four, if you include the furry friend) with one on the way? Willy Wonka. Here, Dad fronts as the chocolatier while Mom dresses up as Violet (who in the movie accidentally eats something that causes her to swell, hence the appropriateness of the bump). Baby plays a Oompa Loompa and even kitty gets in on the fun as a Wonka Bar.
Up Family Costume
There’s nothing like getting carried away with family Halloween costumes inspired by the Pixar movie Up. While dad is slaying as Carl, the grumpy old man whose house gets lifted up and carried off by thousands of balloons, baby is Russell, the eager wilderness explorer, and mom is Snipe, the most exotic bird in Paradise Falls.
Circus Family Costume
Let’s face it: Life with kids is often a three-ring circus. Which makes these family Halloween costumes totally apropos. Mom is dressed up as a concession vendor, their toddler as the star performer, Dad as a lion tamer and baby as a little lion. Too cute.
Gingerbread Man Family Costume
Looking to spice up your family Halloween costume ideas this year? Forget those half-baked ideas and snack on this one instead: Two bakers and their little gingerbread man!
Strawberries Family Costume
These outfits—a farmer and his strawberry patch—are among the sweetest family Halloween costume ideas we’ve seen. Can’t wait to gobble up this costume idea? We can’t blame you.
Harry Potter Family Costume
This mom spent Halloween as a Hogwarts student (complete with the Gryffindor scarf), carrying around her “pet owl” in a felt feather cape. The effect? Pure magic.
What’s Halloween without some spooky flair? While family Halloween costumes can totally scream “cute,” they don’t have to—they can just make people plain scream! If you want to straight-up terrify your neighbors or bring a little bit of villainy into the equation, these scary family Halloween costumes are for you.
Addams Family Costume
Brooke Shields knows how it’s done: She went bald to play the Addams Family’s Uncle Fester (even popping his trademark light bulb in her mouth), while her daughters, Rowan and Grier, went goth as Morticia and Wednesday.
Sary Characters Family Costume
We couldn’t have a roundup of scary family getups without at least one source of inspiration from one of Neil Patrick Harris’s family Halloween costumes—and this one is his family’s spookiest. Each dressed up as iconic horror characters: Frankenstein, the Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula and a werewolf.
Mimes Family Costume
The fear of mimes is real—there’s even an official word for it: metamfiezomaiophobia. And with how authentic these family Halloween costumes look, you’re bound to freak a few people out. Plus, this is an easy DIY option: All this family of four needed were some black-striped tees, suspenders and harlequin face paint to get the job done.
Skeleton Family Costume
Need a Halloween costume for a family of four (or more)? You can always pull more skeletons out of the closet. And with costumes this spook-tacular, you’ll actually want to show them off!
Halloween’s original goal may have been to scare off evil spirits, but today the holiday is all about having fun. And what better way to embrace the goofiness of the day than with hilarious group getups? Check out these funny family Halloween costume ideas that are bound to make you giggle.
Starbucks Family Costume
Parenting can be a tiring task—so this hilarious pair dressed as “a caffeinated couple to keep up with our little espresso bean.” Mom dressed in a white ruffled dress as a DIY Starbucks cup, while Dad is rocking the barista look with a branded green and baby is in all black as the coffee bean.
Bug Catchers Family Costume
As Mom put it in her Instagram caption, “We caught the cutest little lady bug there ever was!” We couldn’t agree more—just look at her little tutu ensemble, while Mom and Dad are dressed as bug catchers, in khakis, netting and all.
The Little Mermaid Family Costume
While The Little Mermaid isn’t exactly a comedy, seeing this mom dress up as a giant Sebastian the crab, one of the film’s tiniest characters, definitely made us giggle. Her partner plays King Triton and her daughter is Ariel—and with a little creativity, these family Halloween costumes could definitely be part of your world.
Ice, Ice Baby Family Costume
This family turned Vanilla Ice’s 1990 hit song into a literal representation: a bag of ice, another bag of ice and a baby. Too cute! If you’re ready to DIY it, instructions are available at ThinkingCloset.com.
Rain Clouds and Thunder Family Costume
These whimsical family Halloween costumes—with Mom and baby dressed as rain clouds and Dad as a thunderbolt—is sure to spark a smile. These outfits are also easy DIY family Halloween costumes: For Mom, take a gray dress and paint on blue raindrops, then added a white drawstring backpack with extra bulges for a cloudy finish. Baby and his leggings received the same treatment, while dad added a thunderbolt cutout to his gray tee.
Tacos Family Costume
For a truly tasty taco, you can’t forget the toppings! The avocado and hot sauce add just the right note to these hilarious family Halloween costumes. Taco-bout cute!
Cat and Mouse Family Costume
When trying to brainstorm the perfect family Halloween costumes, it’s easy to chase ideas around. Ditch the cat-and-mouse game—and just dress up as a cat and mouse! Add a wedge of cheese for good measure (great for a family of three).
Now that we’ve got the general family Halloween costume ideas out of the way, we’re getting into outfits perfect for the specific size of your family. First up: Halloween costumes for a family of three.
Toy Story Family Costume
This family of three takes their Toy Story—inspired costumes, featuring Jessie, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, to infinity and beyond!
Farmyard Animals Family Costume
We know who rules the roost in this house! While Mom and Dad are dressed up as cows in spotted onesies, their little boy is a rollicking cowboy, with a handkerchief, chaps and all.
Pokémon Family Costume
Mom and Dad are dressed as the video game series’ human heroes, Misty and Ash, while their little girl plays the cutest (and wiliest) little Pokémon of all, Pikachu.
Beauty and the Beast Family Costume
The tale that’s old as time makes for classic family Halloween costumes. Dad is rocking the Beast’s ballroom style, complete with a curly beard, while his daughter plays provincial-style Belle in a blue and white apron by Queen Elizabeth Aprons (the designer specializes in costume aprons). And mom? Why, she’s Mrs. Potts, of course, with an oversized 3D costume.
Alice in Wonderland Family Costume
This family went to Wonderland for their family Halloween costumes. While one mom is dressed as the Queen of Hearts, with a heart-shaped, rose-adorned headpiece, the other is working it as the Mad Hatter. And their little girl is Alice, of course, in a glittery, blue smocked dress.
Ratatouille Family Costume
The only mouse you wouldn’t mind in the kitchen! For their family Halloween costumes, this threesome was inspired by the Pixar movie about a mouse who’s also a gourmet chef. It’s super-cute and easy to recreate, as far as DIY family Halloween costumes go: Mom and Dad grabbed traditional chef’s hats and coats, while baby girl put on a fuzzy gray hoodie. All she needed was ears, a tail and a little face paint for whiskers, and the transformation was complete.
Barbie Family Costume
Leave it to Queen Bey to one-up your Halloween goals with this trio of DIY family Halloween costumes. While she and her husband, Jay-Z, slayed as vintage Barbie and Ken dolls, their daughter Blue Ivy was an adoring mini-Barbie with plenty of retro flair.
Friday Night Football Family Costume
Three cheers for the home team—and for these adorable family of three Halloween costumes! This referee, cheerleader and baby football are ready for the big night.
Peter Pan Family Costume
Good news: Just because you’re all grown up doesn’t mean you can’t get in on the Halloween fun! Take it from these folks, who nailed their costumes as Captain Hook, Tinkerbell and of course Peter Pan.
The Office Family Costume
Looking to do a funny family Halloween costume for the three of you? You’re sure to get some laughs with a reference to the cult classic show The Office. Best of all, you just need to root around your work wardrobe to pull this look off.
Basketball Family Costume
Parents certainly jump through hoops for their kids—especially when it comes to Halloween. Luckily, this dad found a family Halloween costume for three that’s as cute as it is simple to put together.
Chefs Family Costume
This group costume of two chefs and a lobster is deliciously cute. It can be hard to pull off a Halloween look with baby strapped to your chest, but this family costume idea makes great use of a baby carrier!
When you’re a family of four, you need the perfect quartet of costumes to bring the look to life. Luckily, these five fantastic family Halloween costume ideas do just that.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears Family Costume
Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Baby Bear and little Goldilocks, out for a little trick-or-treating fun! What’s great about this group outfit—other than the fact that you can easily incorporate a baby into it—is that it’s easily customizable. While all the bears have matching shirts, they each got playful with the rest of their outfits. Meanwhile, little Goldilocks is dressed in gold, all making for easy DIY family Halloween costumes.
Star Wars Family Costume
This family embraced the latest Star Wars characters, dressing as badass heroine Rey, her friend and fellow fighter Finn, Darth Vader (#throwback) and baby as the breakout droid, BB8.
Wizard of OZ Family Costume
Does it get any more classic than The Wizard of Oz? The great thing about these family of four Halloween costumes is that each of them—Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lion—can be made at home or easily found in stores.
101 Dalmatians Family Costume
They didn’t name her Cruella de Vil for nothing! This is for the family of four that’s looking for just a little bit of villainy. You can add as many dalmatians (er, kids) as you’d like, but extra points if you have an actual dalmatian to add to the mix.
Sesame Street Family Costume
Can’t choose between all the great family Halloween costume ideas? Don’t get grouchy. This family of four won Halloween by going as Elmo, Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch!
Astronauts Family Costume
These family of four Halloween costumes are out of this world! With the help of cereal boxes, plumping supplies and a stroller, these crafty parents were able to make their family’s space explorer outfits a reality.
Owls Family Costume
“Whoo” is the cutest of them all? These family Halloween costumes—owls in trees—definitely give the competition a run for their money. After all, when it comes to family, birds of a feather flock together.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Family Costume
This DIY family costume, including the caterpillar and the strawberries, cake and watermelon he devours, gives a nod to Eric Carle’s children’s classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. With such a broad menu of the caterpillar’s snacks to choose from, you’ll have no shortage of costume options!
Super Mario Brothers Family Costume
In the race to find an awesome Halloween getup, this family costume deserves a trophy! This costume idea can easily work with larger families of four or more, thanks to the video game’s large cast of characters.
Baby Shark Family Costume
Doo-doo we love this family costume idea? You betcha! (And we’re guessing so will you.) Take inspiration from the hit children’s song “Baby Shark”—and if Grandma and Grandpa want to get in on the Halloween action, even better!
And finally, family Halloween costumes made for a party of five. The great thing about nearly all of these? Thanks to the large cast of characters they were inspired by, you can easily add one (or two or three) more to each of them, customizing them to your own unique family.
Powerpuff Girls Family Costume
If you have three daughters at home, odds are you won’t have any problem convincing them to play three of our favorite cartoon sisters, the Powerpuff Girls. Mom and dad fit in easily as the supporting characters: the girls’ father, Professor Utonium, and the evil monkey, Mojo Jojo.
Superheroes Family Costume
There’s a seemingly endless lineup of superheroes in our world. (Just look how many Marvel movies are out there!) Which makes it easy for kids (and mom and dad) to each pick their favorite hero costumes and still look like a united bunch, like this family. Perfect for a family of five—or six or more!
Jurassic Park Family Costume
For a roaring good time, this family of five went with the original Jurassic Park characters, including two little dinosaurs and a baby dino hatching out of his egg.
Harry Potter Group Family Costume
This family of five dressed up as four of the most beloved Harry Potter characters: Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Professor Trelawny and Fluffy, the three-headed dog. (Tip: A lot of their accessories came from Pip & Bean.) As for the fifth member of the family? As the Instagram caption puts it, “When your entire family wants to be Harry Potter characters for Halloween and then someone switches to Michael Jackson at the last minute.” Do you, little man!
Disney Villains Family Costume
These family of five Halloween costumes are devilishly cute. Sure, Disney heroes are awesome—but even the bad guys need some love. Here we have Gaston, Mother Gothel, Scar, Maleficent and the Queen of Hearts ready for some trick-or-treating.
It can be tricky to come up with a family costume idea fit for a family of five or more—but these zoo keepers and their menagerie have certainly figured it out. If you already have a house full of little animals, this Halloween getup will be second-nature.
Updated September 2019
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