Vance Family Goes All In on Harry Potter Costumes
Parents planning Halloween can coordinate costumes around a book or film series their children already love.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Parenting
Vice President JD Vance dressed as Albus Dumbledore for Halloween, holding his infant son dressed as Dobby, and posted the clip and a Harry Potter-themed family portrait on social media. The family's costumes were inspired by the children's love of the Harry Potter series.
Why it matters
The post offers a light, relatable example of how families with young children are marking holidays with shared costume traditions. It reflects a common household pattern of building Halloween around a children's book or film series they already love.
Vance wore a long silver-gray wig, a matching pointed hat, and a silver robe with trim, while his baby son wore a knitted hat with big ears. The clip was filmed on a decorated porch and captioned 'Happy Halloween from the Second Family!'
The players
JD Vance
Vice President of the United States, known for his political career and a recent viral 'Fat JD' Halloween meme.
Usha Vance
Wife of Vice President JD Vance, a lawyer who appears in the family's public Halloween posts.
The details
Vance recorded a short clip on a decorated porch in the Dumbledore costume while holding his son. He also posted a family portrait in which one child was dressed as Harry Potter and another in a spider costume. The costume theme grew out of the children's shared love of the Harry Potter series.
Timeline
Last year, on Friday, October 31, Vance dressed as his 'Fat JD' meme for Halloween.
Alec Neel Vance was born on Sunday, July 19, 2026.
Halloween, October 31, 2026, is when the family posted the Harry Potter costumes.
The Home Front
Families with young children increasingly plan Halloween around a shared book or film franchise, with costumes coordinated across siblings and parents. The Vance family's theme follows that pattern, moving from last year's meme-based costume to a family portrait built around the children's favorite series.
If your children are into a book or film series, consider letting them pick the theme and coordinating simple costume pieces across the family. Plan costume materials and budget ahead of the holiday so the project stays manageable.
The takeaway
A shared theme built around what your children already love can make holiday costumes easier to plan and more fun for everyone. Keep a simple list of household costume pieces so you can reuse them from year to year.
Further reading
For more on how families plan holiday traditions around their children's interests, explore our Parenting coverage.
