Costume Ideas Starting With The Letter H

Giving your guests a letter as a costume theme is quite common and can make for some very interesting ideas for costumes. You have a few options...

• Allow guests to dress up in a costume related to their initials (or just first name if you want to narrow their choices)
• Ask guests to dress up in costumes related to your initials
• Choose 1 or 2 letters that they have to find a related costume for.

To be honest, when you first send out your invitations, many of your guests will be very confused as to what you are asking. I would suggest that in the invitation you do give them a good explanation. If your guests are confused, they may not even attempt to dress up, or worse, not attend your party.

I would inlcude some costume suggestions for various letters, just to get their brain cells working a bit. If you really want to help, why not print out this page, and my other hubs so you have a complete A-Z list of possible costumes.

So, this hub will concentrate on costumes beginning with the letter H. Look further down for links to my other alphabet hubs. If you have any great ideas for costumes for a letter, pop them in the comments box at the end and I will add them in.

Hamlet. Lead character is Shakespeare's play of the same name. Wear any medieval doublet and hose style costume, rapier and a skull.

Han Solo. Star Wars Character played by Harrison Ford. Wear light brown trousers, tunic and dark brown hooded cape. Licensed costumes are available for this character.

Hangman. Wear black tunic and trousers and wither a full face hood (with eye holes) or a mask to hide your identity. Accessorise with an axe.

Hannibal Lector. Character from 'Silence of The Lambs' starring Anthony Hopkins. Wear an orange boiler suit (prisoner uniform) and a mask with mouth guard. You can also use a strait jacket - see image below

Hot Dog - Great novelty foamed costume - will provide many laughs

Handel - George Frideric Handel 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759 - wear a Georgian style costume with wig

Hansel. Woodcutter's son from Hansel and Gretel. Wear a German or Austrian style costume (shirt, lederhosen, long socks and a Bavarian hat).

Harem Girl. Wear a belly dancer costume, although you can wear more veils to look more alluring! Eyes should be dark and smouldering.

Harem Guard. Usually portrayed as Arabian men and look very similar to male genie (waistcoat and harem pants) can wear a turban but would have a sword.

Harlequin. Also known as Arlechinno. From the Italian Commedia D'ell Arte, he is the hero of the Harlequinade and lover of Columbine. Wear a one piece body suit decorated with a diamond pattern, a black bi-corn hat and black eye mask.

Harley Quinn. From the Batman cartoons, partner and confidante of The Joker. Wears a black/red jester style costume with matching hat. Wears either a black eye mask or joker style make up.

Harlot. Another name for a prostitute, usually associated with Biblical times.

Harpo Marx. One of the famous Marx Brothers (1930s family comedy group). Harpo was the silent one. Wear a long, light coloured coat, reddish-pink hair and top hat and carry a motor horn.

Harry Potter. Famous child wizard from Hogwarts. Wear black rimmed glasses, a lightening scar on the forehead and a black robe. Licensed robes, glasses, broomsticks, owls and wands are all available to purchase.

Normally a summer theme in the UK in the everlasting hope that it may stay dry for an outside barbecue/party! An easy theme to put together as you can purchase garlands (leis), grass skirts, coconut bras etc... very cheaply.

Costumes for both men and ladies are available on the market, but most people do tend to just accessorise their own beach/summer wear.

Hawaiian Chief. Use fake fur, bone necklaces, grass skirt and face paint to create an Hawaiian chief/Witchdoctor type of character.

Hawaiian Tourist. Bad taste shirts and shorts, sunhat and camera. Using face paint create a 'sun burnt' look (don't forget to leave the eyes white as if you have been wearing sunglasses)

Heathcliffe. Character from Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights'. Dark, brooding, Gypsy look.

Heavy Metal Fan. Suitable for both men and women. Wear leathers, or black clothing, ripped jeans, spiked or gelled hair, eyeliner. Tattoos and instruments and optional extra.

Heidi. Alpine heroine by Johanna Spyri. Wear Bavarian style dress or short, gingham dress. Blonde hair in plaits.

Helen of Troy. Wife of King Menelaus, and reputed to be the most beautiful woman in Greece. She eloped with Paris, son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy and this event caused the Trojan War. Wear any Grecian style dress. Many are available on the market to purchase.

Helga. Assistant/Secretary/Lover of Herr Flick, the Gestapo officer in the popular UK television series 'Ello 'Ello. Blonde hair rolled up in to side plaits and a German uniform.

He-Man. Cartoon hero of the 1990s. He-Man is a very muscular chap with bulging biceps (a muscle chest is available to purchase if you are lacking in this department!). Red shorts and boots with a leather chest piece. Blonde bob hair.

Henny Penny. Character from children's book who believed the sky was falling in. Chicken costume.

Henchman. Characters seen in Pantomime. A gangster costume could suffice.

Herr Flick. Another character from 'Ello 'Ello. Wear a long, black, trench coat, wire rimmed glasses and a trilby hat.

Henry Cooper. English heavyweight boxer during the 1960s. Boxing gloves are available to purchase, just add a pair of over sized shorts.

Henry Ford. Inventor of the modern day motor car. Wear traditional Victorian costume.

Henry II. (1133 -89). Father of Richard I and King John. Caused murder of Thomas a Beckett. Wear medieval dress.

Henry VII. (1485-1509). Wear typical Tudor style costume.

Henry VIII. Probably the most famous, or should that be infamous, English Monarch. Wear ornate tunic and over robe, hat. Ginger beard.

Hiawatha. Character from Longfellow's romantic poem. Indian brave costume and Indian brave headdress.

Highlander. Although there was a film series 'Highlander' this name usually associates with a Scotsman or the Mel Gibson character, Braveheart. Strictly speaking a Braveheart costume would not have had the traditional Scottish tartan as this was imposed by the English much later. A Braveheart 'tartan' should be more earthy tones.

Highwayman/woman. Dick Turpin is probably the most famous Highwayman. Trademark look is a frock coat, cape, jabot, shirt, tricorn and pistol. You can also wear an eye mask or a handkerchief covering the lower part of your face.. Highway robbing was also rife amongst the ladies of the day. These ladies would have dressed as the men, for a disguise.

Hilda Ogden. Character from Coronation Street. Wear a housewife apron or overall and hair in curlers, covered with a headscarf or net.

Hippolyta. Queen of The Amazons from Shakespeare's 'A Midsummers Night Dream'. A Grecian style dress will suffice for this character.

Hippy. From the 60s and early 70s you can have a lot of fun with a hippy costume. There are many costumes on the market for both men and women, and a huge range of accessories to make your own outfit. Long hair, men wearing moustaches, CND medallions, Spliffs, wacky weed, beads, flares, kaftans and flowers are all suitable for a hippy costume.

Hitler (Adolf). Grey or black German uniform with slicked back hair and small moustache.

Hobbit. Character from JRR Tolkien's 'Lord Of The Rings'..Wear a basic Saxon/Medieval costume with a dark cloak. Hobbits had big hairy feet. Maybe use a pair of novelty slippers and cover them with theatrical hair to get the effect.

Holly Golightly. Character played by Audrey Hepburn in the 1962 film 'Breakfast At Tiffany's'. Black beehive hairstyle, elegant black, gown, choker and a cigarette holder.

Hollywood Starlet/Film Star. Most people would tend to use a well known actor or actress in a famous film. Marilyn Monroe's white halter neck dress or Richard Gere's white Naval Officer.

Home Guard. Dad's Army style 1940's uniform. Probably will need to hire.

Homer Simpson. Dad from The Simpsons.

Horatio Nelson.(1758 - 1805). A costume you will probably need to hire. Frock coat, shirt, cravat, breeches and bi-corn hat.

Horse. Probably easiest to use a Pantomime horse costume, although masks are available for the brave who want to make their own costume.

Horse Rider. Riding hat, jodhpurs, boots and optional jacket are required for this look. Jockey costumes are available to purchase.

Huggy Bear. Character from the 1970s television series, Starsky & Hutch. Often depicted wearing a purple, pimp style costume. any pimp costume will suffice.

Hula-Hula girl. From Hawaii. Grass skirts, garlands and bra tops are available to purchase, but novelty fat suits are also available to purchase.

Hulk (The). Green sci-fi character from the Television series and film of the same name. Costumes are available to purchase.

Hunchback of Notre Dame. Character also called Quasimodo. Wear a peasant costume with stuffing on the back to create the 'hunchback'.

Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957). Famous film star srrn in films such as 'The African Queen' and 'Casablanca'. Wear a dinner suit or trench coat, with a fedora hat and a cigarette for an easy costume option.

Humpty Dumpty. Nursery rhyme character. Difficult costume to make as it will require a fair amount of padding to create the round egg shape.

You may also want to check out eBay to find yourself a costume...