Halloween is just a couple of weeks away, so ghouls and goblins everywhere are getting ready to put on fabulous costumes and party it up ’til way past the witching hour. If you haven’t finalized ideas for your own family-themed costumes, don’t fret! There’s still plenty of time to put some great outfits together. In fact, here’s a look at some of the best family get-ups we’ve come across in recent years, from the Simpsons to the cast of Beetlejuice. It’s pretty amazing what you can assemble with a few household items and a bit of creativity, so hopefully these images will inspire someHalloweeny ideas for your own crew.
Nightmare Before Christmas
Jack Skellington, Sally, Lock, Shock, and Barrel are all ready to celebrate the spookiest night of the year. If grandpa wants to get in on the fun as well, you can toss a burlap sack over him and have him growl all night as Oogie Boogie.
Photo via Events to Celebrate
Van Gogh and Starry Night
This adorable duo channels Van Gogh and his most famous paintinginto a spectacular costume pairing. If parents and other siblings want to get in on the fun too, there can be additional paintings, or even a giant disembodied ear trundling around.
Labyrinth
This one’s a bit more involved, but if you’re handy with papier mache and have an old 80s prom dress on hand, you can totally channel Ludo, Sara, Jareth, and goblin ball attendees for a crew that’s fit to run through any Goblin Kingdom.
The Simpsons
What better way to get five kids into the Halloween spirit than dress them up as some of the world’s favorite, yellow-hued characters? Some bright yellow shirts and tights, some foam headpieces and styrofoam glasses, and voila!
Star Wars
Could this Star Wars-themed family be any more awesome? They converted a stroller into R2-D2 so their little padawan could climb in and rest whenever needed.
Gnomes!
Some plaid shirts, red paper cone hats, and felt flowers are all you need to transform into a ridiculously adorable garden gnome family like this one that the Kammans put together.
The Incredibles
This costume setis as unbelievably cool as it is easy to make! Red tights and shirts are worn beneath black shorts, and then gloves + basic masks complete the look.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!
This wasn’t one of our previous year’s entries (unfortunately!) but it’s absolutely brilliant. The Maitlands, Lydia Deetz, and Beetlejuice are all out in fine form, with costumes that are likely a combination of thrift shop finds and some papier mache sculpting.
Via College Humor
Walking Dead Family
Photographer Carmen Farrell captured her family’s zombie-licious costumes on film. These will be great to show the kids once they’re in high school!
Nesting Dolls
Amber Sharipov came up with a brilliant ode to her Ukrainian heritage, dressing the whole family like an arrangement of traditional nesting dolls. To replicate this timeless ensemble, outline a dress shape from an already existing dress and a triangle for kerchiefs onto an old red flannel sheet and cut it out. Sew the sides, cut shoulder straps, and glue on embellishments. Paint on some rosy cheeks and you’ll have the most adorable ‘Matryoshkas’ on the block.
Tetris
This coordinating Tetris set is just brilliant. Not only are these costumes super-simple to make (just paint a few boxes and duct-tape them together), but every member of the family can be a piece that suits their size and shape… right down to the littlest cube.
Creating family-themed costumes is a great way to celebrate this marvellously creepy holiday together, and for most outfits, all that’s needed is a bit of ingenuity and craftiness. If you can slap together some papier mache, knot some yarn into a wig, and go nuts with a little stage makeup, you can come up with some pretty spectacular results. Be sure to take some fabulous photos if you’re planning to submit your group’s costumes to this year’s costume contest (high-res, landscape pictures that are at least 728px wide are best!) so get crafty and get your Halloween faces on!
+ Enter Inhabitat’s 2016 Halloween Costume Contest
