So, ok. I know the world divides into two camps: those who love Halloween, and those who loathe it. And though I promised not to proselytize about much, I do ask the loathers: What with all the hate? I mean, this is a holiday filled with kids having a blast, stuffed silly on candy and looking adorable. It's a holiday that's an occasion to be creative, witty, attractive, (but please, can we stop with sexy Halloween?) and a little different than your every day self. Plus, it's a great excuse to get together with friends, drink, and eat candy. What is not to love?

Perhaps it's the stress of choosing a costume. If that's the case, let me help! I love costumes. The cleverer, the better, but since that probably adds to the pressure, forget I said that. I figure the month of October is a good one to devote to the idea of costumes, so here we go, starting with family costumes!

Family Halloween Costume Ideas

Is it weird to have a costume design for the whole family? Who cares? It's awesome. Having a little prop is, like, the best reason to have a kid. Here are some ideas to try out:

1. If there are 3 of you - try Rock, Paper, Scissors.

I was pretty sure I was among the first to think of this, but shockingly, no: All these people did too. So did Spirit Halloween. For $60 for all three costumes, it's actually not a bad deal, as far as these things go, but they're all for adults. To customize, it'd be easy to make your own, like the gals above (who I don't know) - a sandwich board with lightweight foam core for the paper, a paper mache rock attached to shoulder straps, and scissors cut and painted from cardboard. I like the idea of using pool noodles as scissor handles, which one of the people in the above-linked mydisguises.com roundup did. Truly not too hard, and sorta funny, depending on who beats who.

2. If you have more than one kid and one's a baby - go with Matryoshka - Russian Nesting Dolls!

You have to admit, this is brilliant. I did a searchy, and of course others have executed it, but none better than these ladies in Australia. But they're not really nestable. The thing that makes this adorable is having a baby at the end! That teeny tiny doll you can't believe is so tiny! Though these women are all dressed alike, I think a lot of Russian dolls actually sport different costumes, and it's fine to throw a few men and boys in there, if your family has some of those. I think just dressing everyone up in sort of Eastern European peasantry style with red cheeks and head shawls for the ladies would get the point across.

3. If you happen to have three kids, just do the Incredibles.

Photo from Hello Kids; Disney Pixar copyright.

Just do it. My aunt, uncle and cousins did a few years ago, and they were Spot. On. That's them: kids are so cute when they're small. I got such a kick out of it. Of course, no need to be perfect; it works well with any configuration. And the costumes are available at Party City, among other places. They're a bit pricey (especially for the whole family), but I think you would have good luck with making your own: Iron, glue or sew the pretty simple Incredibles logo onto some red long-sleeved shirts, add leggings, black overshorts/undies, black masks and black boots, and you'll nail it.

4. If you have a ton of kids, do the Von Trapps.

Oh,Von Trapp Family. You have such a place in my heart. I almost want to have seven kids just to do this right. It doesn't look like purchasing costumes like this is too easy, (though the originals were apparently for sale last year). If you can sew, you're golden, of course, and can re-enact the drapery clothes thing, or any of their costumes. Check out how Jessica Quirk of What I Wore did Leisl, and see Edelweiss Patterns for more ideas. But if you don't sew and despair of finding 7 matching, affordable curtain-based costumes, don't stress:They sometimes wore things much easier to recreate, like the sailor costumes in the Maria introduction scene. (DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT). And, they didn't always dress alike; just your standard lederhosen for the boys, dresses for the girls, habit + straw hat + guitar for Maria, military uniform for Captain Von Trapp, and you've got yourself some family singers. All the better, I say, if your family hails from somewhere other than the Austrian Alps.

And that's it for the family costume ideas today. If more pop up, I'll share - I've also got ideas stewing for couples, singles and groups. You know, to cover all the bases. And if you have an awesome costume from days of yore, will you please share it with us? And I'll trade you three good 'n plentys for one snickers. Have a great weekend!