It’s almost Halloween, no doubt one of your kid’s favorite holidays! And who can blame them? I remember loving it as a kid! It’s spooky, I mean, who doesn’t love the adrenaline rush and suspense of getting scared out of your mind and running away squealing?! Plus once you’re old enough you get to walk around in the dark with your best circle of friends, which was cool enough in itself, but BONUS: candy!
While you still have little goblins to follow around door-to-door, why not make the most of it? Get the whole family in on the fun with themed group costumes! Yes, I love that idea! Unfortunately, I’m also terrible at it. I can barely wrangle getting my 3 kids all costumed and hair and make-up’d and fed and out the door before everyone turns their porch lights off… I definitely do not have time for more than jeans and a T-shirt!
Lucky for me, I can live vicariously through my friend Olenka. She is AMAZING! Hard-working, hard-playing bossbabe momma of 2. When asked to describe her MomStyle, “I would say I’m a modern traditionalist. I have old school rules but keep things real, honest with lots of open communication. I believe my kids need to feel free to express themselves but they need to understand there is a time and place for everything.”
She has incredible style, runs her own interior design side-hustle (go check her out @olenkadesign) and every year she does the most Pinterest-perfect family costumes for her brood! Lucky for YOU, she agreed to write this piece with me and give you some of her best family costume themes along with why she loves them:
- Star Wars: With as many movies as they’ve made, over many generations this is bound to appeal to everyone! “There are literally dozens of characters to choose from! I found this costume to be the most affordable and relatively easy to create from loose-fitting nude-colored clothing and brown leather belts most can find in their homes.” The hardest part will be deciding between the classic ones that people of all ages will recognize, or newer ones that appeal to new fans.
Classic Star Wars 
New Star Wars - Nerd Family: This is one of the easiest costumes to put together, usually from a mix of things you already own! “What’s great is that this costume can literally translate to any age, so you can all match exactly! It can be easy and free!!! All you need is a brown pencil to create some freckles and accessorize the rest with merchandise from your home office. Matchy-matchy or mix it up, either way people smile when they see you!”
- Wreck-It Ralph: Everyone loves a good video game theme. This one’s going to require DIY creativity – but that’s part of the fun! Vintage or modern, odds are most everyone will know who you are. “It’s fun to be nostalgic – I think that’s what made us all love this costume so much! We were able to bring our boys back to our era of video games and they loved learning about the characters and then pretending to have those “super powers”, like Olenka and her Street Fighter family in the photo above “or, you can go more pop-culture like this Wreck-It Ralph cast ensemble.”
- Hotel Transylvania: “I love this one because it’s unexpected, these costumes are bound to receive appreciation for being unique! You can have some fun with it and the more random characters will use your best DIY skills. Your children will love choosing who gets which part of this family.” There’s a cult following to this franchise, not everyone will know who you are, but anyone with kids ages 4-12 most certainly will!
These ideas are so inspiring, I just might make an attempt. Especially when Olenka tells me:
“Celebrating Halloween together as a family is a perfect excuse to bring that kid out from inside, and it forces us parents to let loose and use our imagination! The children appreciate and find it fun to see us parents not be parents for one night! To get down to their level for a change!” She does make it sound fun, but just in case you’re still skeptical:
“Including the children in the entire process of making the costumes is key! Figuring out which character fits which family member best, hearing their ideas on how to design and create the costumes. You work together for weeks on this project and then you get to show it off together as a proud team. You’re left with a great bond and memories that last forever. Not to mention the excitement to do it again next year!”
I guess I can’t argue with that. Thanks, my friend!
Special thanks to Olenka Biltagi of Olenka Design
