101 Halloween Costumes that Teach Greatness Instead of Prompting Fear
We’ve put together 101 awesome Halloween costumes that teach greatness instead of prompting fear! From historical pioneers to famous literary characters, this list can help encourage kids to dress up for Halloween as positive role models rather than ghosts and goblins.
Halloween Costumes for Girls:
1. Abigail Adams
2. Amelia Earhart
3. Ann Frank
4. Betsy Ross
5. Carrie Chapman Catt
6. Florence Nightingale
7. Gertrude Ederle
8. Harriet Beecher Stowe
9. Harriet Tubman
10. Helen Keller
11. Hilary Clinton
12. Isadora Duncan
13. Jane Addams
14. Joan of Arc
15. Madam Curie
16. Mother Theresa
17. Queen Elizabeth (or any of her female predecessors)
18. Rosa Parks
19. Sojourner Truth
20. Susan B. Anthony
21. Catherine Ernshaw, Wuthering Heights
22. Dorothy, Wizard of Oz
23. Elizabeth Bennet, Pride & Prejudice
24. Emma, [Jane Austen’s] Emma
25. Eowyn, Lord of the Rings
26. Eponine, Les Miserables
27. Hua Mulan, The Battle of Mulan
28. Jane Eyre, [Charlotte Bronte’s] Jane Eyre
29. Janie Crawford, Their Eyes Were Watching God
30. Juliet, Romeo and Juliet
31. Laura Ingalls, Little House on the Prairie
32. Lilly Bart, House of Mirth
33. Lucy or Susan, Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe
34. Margaret, Josephine, Elizabeth or Amy March, Little Women
35. Mary Lennox, The Secret Garden
36. Much Afraid, Hind’s Feet on High Places
37. Sarah Crewe, The Little Princess
38. Scartlett O’Hara, Gone with the Wind
39. Scout Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
40. Wendy, Peter Pan
41. Lucie Manette, A Tale of Two Cities
Halloween Costumes for Boys:
1. Abe Lincoln
2. Albert Einstein
3. Amerigo Vespucci
4. Andrew Jackson
5. Ben Franklin
6. Christopher Columbus
7. Constantine
8. George Orwell
9. George Washington
10. George Washington Carver
11. Louis Pasteur
12. Mahatma Gandhi
13. Marco Polo
14. Martin Luther
15. Martin Luther King, Jr.
16. Napoleon Bonaparte
17. Neil Armstrong
18. Nelson Mandela
19. Thomas Edison
20. Winston Churchill
21. Alladin, The Arabian Nights
22. Charles Darnay, A Tale of Two Cities
23. D’Artagnan or the Mustketeers, The Three Musketeers
24. David Balfour, Kidnapped
25. Captain Nemo, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
26. Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo
27. Henry Fleming, Red Badge of Courage
28. Huckleberry Finn, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
29. Jack, Swiss Family Robinson
30. Jim Hawkins, Treasure Island
31. Lancelot, Knights of the Round Table
32. Oliver, Oliver Twist
33. Peter, Peter Pan
34. Phileas Fogg, Around the World in Eighty Days
35. Prince Hamlet, Hamlet
36. Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
37. Queequeg, Moby Dick
38. Sherlock Holmes, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
39. Tiny Tim, A Christmas Carol
40. Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Heroic Literary Characters: Animals (some of these are scary, but at least the kids will learn a literary character):
1. Aslan the Lion, Chronicles of Narnia
2. Chance the Dog, Homeward Bound
3. Ticking Crocodile, Peter Pan
4. Monkey, Curious George
5. Goose, Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs
6. Horse, Black Beauty
7. King Babar the Elephant, Babar
8. Octopus, Twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea
9. Peter, Peter Rabbit
10. Pig, Animal Farm
11. Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland
12. Seagull, Jonathan Livingston Seagull
13. Spider, Charlotte’s Web
14. Tigger, Winnie the Pooh
15. Toad, Wind in the Willows
16. Turtle, Tortoise and the Hare
17. Unicorn, Little White Horse
18. Whale, Moby Dick
19. White Fang the Wolf, White Fang
20. Wolf, Peter & the Wolf
Why Kids Love to Dress Up
Putting on a costume on Halloween – or anytime for that matter – engages kids’ imaginations. They can imagine themselves as that other person and will try to act like they think that person acts. They will imagine that person’s life. Kids stretch and grow from these acts of imagination that dress-ups and costumes encourage.
How We can Make the Most of Halloween as Christians
Therefore, it is important for parents to encourage kids to dress up as someone they admire and want to be like. Don’t let Halloween be an excuse to dress as something scary. Remember, kids will imagine and “become” what they are wearing!
We ought to even encourage parents to be careful about superheroes. Granted, many kids imagine themselves as the superheroes, and it does seem to empower them sometimes, in situations where they might feel nervous. However, the
downside is that many of these kids end up kicking, punching, karate chopping, or being rude in school and getting in trouble.
Create Memories by Reading Together about Famous People
Parents can help their kids find someone to admire by visiting the biography section of the children’s library together or revisiting their own bookshelves. Children’s versions of literary characters can be read in a night or two; capsulations can be found online.
Time Spent on Halloween Costumes Beats Money Spent
Parents and kids can spend time together visiting thrift stores or cutting up old clothes to make the perfect costume. Kids don’t need lots of money spent in order to imagine. Newspaper and cardboard can be shaped into just about anything, and a little paint will work wonders.
Parents may ask at first, “How do I make Moby Dick??” A head shaped out of newspaper and painted grey works fine! Just cut out the eye holes, staple, and paint away. For the body, an old gray t-shirt of dad’s, stuffed with newspaper, and gray pants works great. Wrap Moby Dick in lots of fishing line with a few spears in him, and tangle Captain Ahab (any old doll) into the fishing line!
By the time Halloween is over, parents will not only have taught their child about someone important in history or literature, but they will have spent some quality, memorable time together that they’ll both remember for years!
Looking for more great Christian Halloween costumes, activities and ideas? Be sure to Become a Fan on Facebook, Follow Us on Twitter and Come Hangout with Us on Google+!