Family Halloween Costume Theme Ideas

I personally love doing family theme costumes for Halloween. Some years, I know exactly what to do and others I struggle coming up with an idea. As my kids get older I’m sure it will get harder to find a theme everyone agrees on. There are so many theme option ideas out there to choose from. These are some things I think about when trying to brainstorm and find a good Halloween costume theme that we can do as a family.

TV/Movie Theme

This is my favorite way to find a theme when I’m thinking of costumes. Disney, Marvel, and Nickelodeon are all common characters people typically choose from. It’s a common occurrence to see princess and cartoon character costumes in stores (plus kids love them). You could also go the classic route and think of some older entertainment like The Wizard of Oz, I Dream of Jeannie, etc. The options are really endless when it comes to movie and TV characters.

Book Theme

Is there a book that you or your kids love? Why not do a book inspired theme? My kids love the Biscuit dog books and I always thought it would be cute to have one of them dressed as Biscuit the dog and one as his owner, the Little Girl. You could also do Madeline, Huckleberry Finn, Nancy Drew, etc. Take a look at what books you’re kids love and see if you can create a theme around it.

Sports Theme

Do you have a favorite sport or team? Do you already have jerseys for the said team? Put them to use. You could go as generic baseball players or a specific team. You could have a mix of football players and cheerleaders. You could have referees or umpires. You could have some people selling the snacks in the stands. You could also go as the US Olympic team. There are actually a lot of sport themed options.

Song Theme

Think “ice, ice baby” which consists of ice bags and a baby or “Baby you’re a firework” where everyone is a firework. There are so many songs and ways you can get creative by making them come to life. You could go the humor route with “I’m a Barbie Girl” or playoff of “Wrecking Ball”.

Food Theme

Do you have a favorite type of food or restaurant? You could be a Subway sub with sides and condiments. You could have someone be a Starbucks drink, a barista, cream, sugar, etc. You could have some that go together like a hamburger and french fries. You could have each person be a piece of a S’more (i.e. chocolate, graham cracker, marshmallow).

Activity Theme

What is your favorite family activity? You could have a zookeeper and zoo animals, a ringmaster and circus characters, a yoga instructor and students, etc. Think about a fun activity you enjoy doing as a family and use that idea to bring a costume theme to life.

Things That Go Together

And speaking of things that go together, why not go with a theme consisting of things that go better together? Think peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, ketchup and mustard, a phone and a phone book, rock paper scissors, etc.

Similar but Different

Think of something that you can tie together in a way but still have it be different. For example, you could do all blonde celebrities and each person picks who they want to be that is blonde. Or you could pick a certain time era but have everyone dress in a different outfit that fits that time.

Another idea to consider is having everyone wear the same type of costume but with different themes to make it unique. For example, one year we didn’t want to do much for Halloween so we just bought zip-up onesies at Walmart. They were the same look but different themes. I was a Ghostbuster and my husband was a Ninja Turtle. Even though we weren’t the same theme, it still went together because they were the same style outfit.

Go With What Your Kids Love

Simply ask your kids what they want to be. Include them in the process. Now that my kids are getting older they love to help pick out our family theme. This year I asked them both which theme they liked best out of what I was considering and they helped pick it. If you notice they have a particular liking to a certain show or character, just run with that.

Choosing a family Halloween costume theme doesn’t have to be as hard as it may seem at times. By using these theme ideas to brainstorm you can come up with a fun family costume theme. Don’t want to have a super popular theme? Get creative and think outside the box. There is no limit to what you can come up with if you just use your imagination. And if you don’t want to spend a fortune making your theme come to life–check out these ways to create your costumes without breaking the bank. Happy brainstorming!