Halloween: beloved by children and college kids everywhere for being the one time a year where it is perfectly acceptable to dress up in bizarre outfits and stuff yourself silly with sugary candies.
As Halloween draws closer and closer, the costume planning stage is almost in full effect. Of course, we all know how expensive Halloween costumes can be. So why spend the money on something you or your child will only wear once when you have all of these perfectly acceptable cardboard boxes just hanging out waiting to be useful? Why not turn cardboard into a killer Halloween costume? Not only will you save some pennies by forgoing the store bought costumes, you’ll also have a fun way to recycle cardboard.
Check out the list of our 5 favorite cardboard costumes below!
1. Lego: All you need is a rectangular box, six small cottage cheese or sour cream containers, and some paint. Glue the small containers to the front of the box, cut arm and leg holes, paint, and you’re good to go! Come to think of it, this costume would be awesome if you arranged for a bunch of people to dress as Legos. Then you’d have a collective box of Legos. Maybe you could even build something out of the costumes; it’d be a great party trick.
2. Popcorn box: Everyone loves popcorn, so who wouldn’t love a dressing up as a box of popcorn? This is an overwhelmingly simply costume to create. Just cut arm and leg holes, paint on some red and white stripes, and a popcorn logo on the front and you’ve got yourself an outfit. If you want to go the whole nine yards, you could even glue on actual popcorn, though I wouldn’t necessarily suggest it, as the temptation to eat it could be pretty high, and ingesting glue certainly isn’t the best for anybody’s system.
3. Robot or Knight: Robots and knights might be a little more complex to put together considering that you have to make arm and leg pieces. But with a little bit of creativity, this is still an easy, fun option. For the knight, all you really need is spray paint and a cardboard sword cutout. For the robot, consider using things you can find around the house for the nuts and bolts, such as aluminum foil, buttons, duct tape, etc.
4. Race car: For this one, you’ll need a box, five paper plates (one for the steering wheel, four for the car wheels), paint, five milk jug lids (again one for the steering wheel horn, four for the wheel hubcaps), and construction paper (for the headlights and tail lights). Put it all together and you or your child will be ready to ride in no time.
5. Dice: This undoubtedly the easiest costume on our list to make. Just cut arm and leg holes, paint the box black or white, and use the contrasting color to paint the dots. Talk about a time efficient costume!
The possibilities are endless! If you looking for even more cardboard inspiration check out this fantastic flickr search filled with crazy cardboard costumes! Feel free to share any other ideas in the comments section below, or on our our Facebook page. And of course have a happy and safe Halloween!
(Photo by Amber Croxall)
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