Each Halloween we have family themed costumes. Last year, my son chose our theme – Scooby Doo. This also included dressing up his baby sister as Scooby, but I vetoed putting her in a dog costume.

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I put together the kids’ Velma and Shaggy costumes from clothing I found at a consignment sale the month before. I got really lucky with my son’s shirt - it was brand new with tags for $3!

Velma’s glasses I found at the dollar store in the kids’ toy section. They were labeled “Nerd Glasses” and had tape on the middle section that I peeled off. I bought them well in advance and we practiced with her putting them on several times a week. My goal? To get her to wear them long enough for photos. We did have to fix them mid-shoot as she pulled them off.

My husband’s Fred costume was our one full costume purchase.

I pieced together my Daphne costume from multiple stores. Originally I planned to reuse the dress I wore for my Boo costume the year we did Monsters, Inc. It was a bit too big now and, lazy of me, I didn’t feel like seam ripping off the sleeves I had added for that costume. A last minute (as in the day before Halloween!) shopping trip and I found the perfect dress. It was a “splurge” at $25 for Halloween, but I justified it pretty quickly since I could wear it on other occasions.

The wig I ordered from Zulily. It looks nothing like the photo. It’s much redder and poofier in real life. That turned out to be a plus because I think it actually looks more “Daphne-like” than the online image. The headband I picked up from Michaels for about $2.50 after using a 40% coupon and the scarf was a Target clearance find (70% off!).

Altogether, we spent under $50 (not counting my dress) for all 4 of us. Honestly, I should subtract the kids’ clothes from that as well since they have worn theirs several times since. That skirt my daughter had on? A gorgeous velvet red she most recently wore in April for a Christmas party (yes, a Christmas party in April - I have fun friends!).

Our family theme for this year? Ghostbusters! The 1980s versions, that is. Now, to finish those costumes ...

A version of this post originally appeared on 2pawsdesigns.com on November 2, 2015.

Looking for more family themed costume ideas? Check out our past Halloween fun: Pumpkin & Farmers | Monkey & Zoo Keepers | Toy Story | Monsters, Inc | Sharknado | Minions