Family Scary Halloween Costumes
With Halloween right around the corner, you might be looking for that perfect last-minute DIY Halloween costume. The pinnacle of spooky season does seem to have a way of sneaking up on us every year – just like all of the things that go bump in the night (we’re getting pretty into the spirit, if you can’t tell!). Unlike that unexplainable noise you just heard upstairs, though, finding a Halloween costume idea for 2022 shouldn’t be scary.
In fact, all you need to do to pull off the perfect Halloween scary look is look to your own closet, and to a few of those hair-raising flicks or characters that might be the reason our imaginations run wild this time of year. And what’s better than bringing a spooky character to life on Halloween? Well, joining forces with your brood to bring make the costume even better, of course! Read on for some easy DIY Halloween costumes that are perfect for the whole family.
The Addams Family
Creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky, you likely know these characters well. The Addams Family is a classic part of the creepy cannon, but with the right balance of charm and fun to make this iconic bunch the perfect option for a family-friendly costume.
You can really delegate any character to any member of the family, but you’ll want to make sure you have a Morticia Addams, a Gomez Addams, a Wednesday Addams, and a Pugsley Addams in the group. For Morticia, simply pair an all-black, floor-length maxi dress with a long black wig, parted down the middle. Complete her look with a fake rose and dark red lipstick. For Gomez, you’ll want to pair a black or pin-stripe men's suit with a white dress shirt, black bow-tie, and his signature thin mustache (you can find packs of mustaches at most stores selling costume accessories, including pharmacies!).
Onto the famous Addams kiddos, for Wednesday all you need is to layer a black long-sleeve dress over a white Oxford shirt with a collar, plus black tights, and black Mary-janes. Depending on the person rocking this look, you’ll want to give them two long braids or buy a Wednesday Addams wig if you have time. And for Pugsley, simply pair a black and white horizontal-striped tee with some black knee-length boys' shorts, black crew socks, and black dress shoes or loafers.
A Family of Zombies
Another family costume idea for 2022 is to transform your flock into a swarm of zombies. A zombie apocalypse would likely be no fun at all, but creating these looks from your very own wardrobes will certainly be a total blast.
The key here is to make sure you have some old shirts that you don’t mind letting go of (well, until next Halloween, perhaps!). Old t-shirts or worn-out dress shirts work great here, and all you have to do next is go about destroying them a bit. With some faux blood and some well-placed rips or tears, you can transform these tops into the stuff of nightmares.
Pair your zombie shirts with a simple pair of jeans or pants, and complete your zombie looks with some white face paint with black or dark blue face paint around the eyes, and faux dried blood around your mouths to create some spooky undead looks. This is a super-simple last-minute DIY Halloween costume, but one that can be so effective for a group. Bonus points if you all walk down the street trick-or-treating or into the costume party with that signature Night of the Living Dead zombie walk (ah, the good old days, before zombies learned how to run!).
Nightmare Before Christmas Characters
The last family scary Halloween costume idea on our list is another one that you can mostly DIY – although these characters will take a bit more effort to bring to life. The Nightmare Before Christmas has been a classic family-friendly Halloween flick for as long as we can remember, so you’ll be instantly recognizable as Jack Skellington, Sally, and the Mayor.
For Jack Skellington, you’ll need a black and white pin-stripe suit that you can pair over a white men’s dress shirt. Complete this look with some shiny black men's dress shoes and the iconic Jack Skellington face paint, which will actually just require a white base with some black lines for the mouth and black circles around the eyes. And for your very own Sally, you’ll want to make sure you have some light-blue face paint and some black “stitching” details, as a nod to how she’s always falling apart (poor Sally!). Next, take a plain cotton girls’ dress and cover it with patches of multi-color felt using felt a hot glue gun or fabric glue.
And what would the Nightmare Before Christmas be without the Mayor? For the Mayor costume, you’ll want to find a tall black top hat and then look to your closets for a gray or black blazer that you can rock over a white button-up shirt. With black leggings or black straight-leg jeans and an orange ribbon pinned to the front of the blazer, this look is almost complete. All you’ll need to do to bring it to life is create that two-face effect, with half of the face frowning and the other half smiling, using face paint.
These are just a few of our favorite family Halloween costumes for 2022. With a pinch of hair-raising scary inspiration and a dash of creativity with the clothes you have at home (plus maybe one trip to a costume shop or pharmacy!), you’ll be set to finish out spooky season in your favorite costumes yet.