Halloween for wanderlusters – unique travel-themed costumes for kids

“The flag of China?,” I asked for clarification.

“Yes.  A China flag,” said my 7-year old son.

“Alright. I’ll get right on it,” I said, but in my head I’m praying that the costume fairies will fly over and sew a Chinese flag Halloween costume. And, I’m also thinking of alternative travel-themed costumes for kids that might be easier to make.

Leave it to my geography-obsessed son to come up with a unique and one-of-a -kind request for travel-themed kids costume. Of course, I encourage it as a mom deeply committed to our family’s explorations around the world. But, what did I get myself into?

For the last four years, my younger son has requested a travel-themed costume for Halloween. It’s no surprise as we do Amazing Race-themed birthdays and get geography games for Christmas gifts. The first two years were flag-related – the flags of China and Nepal. China was selected because he was born there and Nepal was chosen because it is his favorite (and mine) due to its unique shape. Plus, Nepal is on our bucket list. Last year he was a map of the world, and this year the best so far – he is a globe, all in its 3D glory.

I am not crafty at all. I’m creative, but execution is not my forte. My mom is incredible – she can sew, knit, crochet, craft, flower arrange and create pretty much anything you throw at her. The benefit is that she can help me; the detriment is that I got maybe one ounce of her skills.

But my desire to fulfill his wishes for his globetrotting custom outweighs my inabilities, so I hunker down and get crafty.

Even though our Halloween may look a bit different this year, the boys still wanted costumes, so I was all in for this year’s creation.

Here are three unique travel-themed costumes for kids and how to make them:

Flags:

For the non-crafty, I have learned that big bolts of felt are your best friend. I have fashioned rectangles with cut-out holes for a head into a leprechaun, St. Francis, flags, Peter Pan, a knight, and other costumes. They were the primary way I created the flags using the background color for the large piece and then cutting out the shapes and tacking them on with craft glue. I try to dress him in complementary colors underneath. The benefit of this outfit is that you can really tailor their clothes underneath to the weather. 

Doing flags with large, easy to cut out shapes isn’t that tough, but I just hope your kiddo isn’t a fan of Swaziland or Mexico as they both have intricate symbols in the middle.

World Map:

This also falls into the category of the cheapest costume I’ve ever made. As a card-carrying member of AAA, I was able to get two world maps for free. I had some left over foam core from an event I hosted and then created the straps out of elastic velcro. 

I unfolded the maps and put big books on them for a few days to try to get rid of the creases.  When it was time to adhere the map to the foam core, I used some tacky craft glue.  So, for about $8 for the glue and elastic, we had a costume!

Globe:

I had a bit of a headstart with this one, but I think I still get points for the idea. We have these crazy inflatable bumper ball things that kids wear and then crash into each other. They used them once and then I banned them because of potential emergency room visits.  However, I thought the blue one would make a fantastic globe (and perhaps as its last hurrah before being tossed out). All I needed to do was add the land masses.

So, to make this travel-themed costume, I invoked the help of my trusty old friend, felt, and cut out all of the continents except Antarctica and used double-sided tape to adhere them to the ball.

Globetrotters are sure to love these travel-themed costumes for kids, and non-crafty moms can actually create them. And, just think, there are more than 185 country flags to choose from, so there are almost endless ideas for future Halloweens.