DIY, Inexpensive and Unique Halloween Costume Ideas Using a Cardboard Box: Be a Laptop or a Television

It's never to early to start planning for Halloween. That is the time to show off your creativity as parents! Don’t let another day pass before you make a fun and unique costume for your children. Help your little girl or boy win their class’s Halloween costume contest as having the most original costume in the class with one of these cute, one of a kind, box outfits.

These instructions are easy to follow and will help you stay within your budget this Halloween. Purchase just a few things to shine up these boxes to make them technologically-advanced, and you will have an adorable television set with your kid’s favorite cartoon playing or an up-to-date computer showing their favorite website or computer software program. Have fun with color and creativity this holiday.

This article will show you how to make 2 neat Halloween Costumes.

Supplies Needed

• 4 Paper Towel Cardboard Inserts
• A Large Cardboard Box
• 1 or 2 Large Rolls of Foil
• 1 Large Piece of Black Cardboard Paper
• A Large Knife and Construction Tape
• Colored Construction Paper
• Colored Sharpies or Permanent Markers
• Double-Sided Tape or Craft Glue

Easy, Step-by-Step Instructions

Step One: Tape together a large cardboard box so it is whole. Pick a moving box that is almost as big as your child!

Step Two: With a large knife, cut big circles in the top and bottom of the large cardboard box. These holes will be used for your child’s (1) head and neck, and (2) bottom and legs. Make sure that the bottom hole is big enough for your child’s body to squeeze into the box. Also, make sure they can comfortably walk!

Step Three: In the same manner as the larger circles, cut medium sized circles on the sides for your child’s arms. Be sure to give them wiggle room so their arms can carry their pumpkin or candy basket for the treats they get.

Step Four: Tape two of the Paper Towel cardboard inserts together. Do this with the other two. Glue foil on the outside of the cardboard inserts. These will be the antennas for the television. Securely attach them to your big box at an angle on each side (about where your child’s shoulders will be). However, make sure they can see clearly to ensure they do not run into traffic when they are going door to door!

Step Five: Glue the Black Cardboard paper to the front of the big box, cutting off the edges as needed to keep it in line with the front of the box. (Do not cover the entire front of the box, because this is your television screen).

Step Six: Appropriately cover the rest of the box with foil using glue to make it look like a television. It should mostly be silver with a black square in the front where the television would be playing.

Note: If you want to really get creative, try these ideas:

1. Using a black one-inch head-band, glue the “antennas” (the paper towel rolls) to the headband if you wish, so your child can wear that part of the costume on her head!
2. Let your child pick a cartoon he or she loves. Using construction paper and colored sharpies or permanent markers, create a cartoon picture on top of the black cardboard paper (the inside of the “television”).

Have Fun!

One of the most diverse cartoons is Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. The main character “Bloo” would stand out great against the black “television screen.” With the colors in cartoons, you can get really creative! Here is a sneak peek of that particular cartoon:

Supplies Needed

• A Large Cardboard Box
• A Pizza Sized Box
• 1 or 2 Large Rolls of Foil
• 1 Big Black Sharpie or Permanent Marker
• A Can of Black Spray Paint
• 1 Large Piece of White Cardboard Paper
• A Big Kitchen Knife
• A Hot Glue Gun and Glue Stick
• Heavy Duty Kitchen Scissors
• Double-Sided Tape or Craft Glue
• Sturdy Construction Tape

Easy, Step-by-Step Instructions

Step One: Tape together a large cardboard box so it is whole using sturdy construction tape. Using the kitchen scissors, cut the pizza box off if you wish to make your “keyboard” shorter. Next, attach it to the front of your box, “your computer,” to make it look like the keyboard.

Step Two: With the big kitchen knife, cut large circles in the top and bottom of the large cardboard box. These holes will be used for your child’s (1) head and neck, and (2) bottom and legs. Make sure that the bottom hole is big enough for your child’s body to squeeze into the box. Also, ensure they can walk with ease while they go door to door.

Step Three: In the same manner as the larger circles, cut medium sized circles on the sides for your child’s arms. Be sure to give them wiggle room so their arms can carry their pumpkin basket for candy.

Step Four: Glue the foil around the sides of the big box. This is the main part of your “computer.” If you would rather not have a silver computer, spray paint the box (and pizza box) black, or cover it with black construction paper.

Step Five: Glue a medium square from the white cardboard paper. This is your “computer screen.”

Find an old floppy disc or a CD for your computer that you do not use because it is old or broken. With a hot glue gun, attach the floppy disc or CD to your little girl’s hair rubber-band. It will be a great accessory to her cute little outfit!

Get Creative!

On the white cardboard paper, “the computer screen,” you can use a black permanent marker to write computer jargon, or with your colored printer, get fancy with what you print off your computer. You can have your “computer” show whatever you want it to! Let your children color a pretty picture with permanent markers or pieces of cardboard paper. Pick a colorful article out of the newspaper.

For the Costume’s Attire:

• In order to keep with the tech-y theme, have your child wear white, silver, or black sweats under their box. This will keep your child warm while they are outside as well. If you live in a climate that is too warm for sweats, find them some cute tights in white, silver, or black at a second-hand store.

Step Six: Depending on what color you made your keyboard (black or silver), attach either:

• Foil across the top (where the keys will be). With a big black sharpie, write on top of the foil. Make sure to make squares with letters or numbers inside of them so that the houses will understand that it is a keyboard. You don’t have to do this for all of the keys that a computer has - just enough to make it clear it is a keyboard.
• A black rectangle made from pieces of black construction paper or cut from a piece of cardboard paper. Using white paper or by cutting a piece of white construction paper, create a smaller rectangle and attach it with glue to your black rectangle. (If you want to make it easier, skip the black rectangle, the base of your keyboard, and just attach the white rectangle). Now, on the white rectangle with the black sharpie marker or other kind of permanent marker, do the keys in the same way as if you had made the base out of foil.
• Use fun keys such as:

1. Arrows
2. #
3. %
4. &
5. Tab
6. Enter
7. Space Bar
8. Alt
9. Ctrl
10. Shift
11. Numbers
12. Letters
13. Backspace
14. Home
15. Delete
16. ( )
17. [ ]
18. @
19. *
20. \

With every trick-or-treater competing for the most popular costume, you are sure to see some glitter in your child’s eyes when he or she thinks of coming up with a truly original idea, especially if they are attending a school or church Halloween costume party. With a costume of a boxed television or a boxed computer, your kid is sure to outshine them all!

You may even have a few jealous parents who wish they had been as creative! Isn’t it great when you can simulate an entire costume with things you have at home for less than twenty bucks when the store-bought costumes cost a fortune? Have a safe and fun holiday with your children making these costumes together as a family. Enjoy yourself! This is the time of the year to be silly!

Pictures: The images provided in this article were created by Michele Jones.

Video: The video clip provided in this article was provided by YouTube.com.

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