Hot Air Balloon Halloween Costume

Up, up, and away to trick-or-treating you’ll go! This costume idea will have you flying high on design, but won’t take the wind out of your sails with a big price tag. Repurpose your cardboard moving boxes and take flight with this addition to your Halloween festivities.

What you need:

• Tools: scissors, utility knife, paintbrush
• Materials: Cardboard moving box (large enough for the person wearing it to fit inside), wide ribbon, thin plastic ribbon, 4 small paper bags, around 20 helium balloons, twine, paint, 4 long wooden dowels, wood glue, tape, natural rope (enough to cut to size around the perimeter of the box), dark and light brown paint

How to make it:

Step 1:

Cut off the top and bottom flaps of the cardboard moving box with scissors. If the box has markings on it already, cover it with dark brown paint. Let the paint dry.

Step 2:

Measure 4 inches on the bottom of the box and cut off all the way around, keeping the 4 sides of the section connected. This will be used for the top of the hot air balloon to secure the balloons.

Step 3:

Use light brown paint to create a basket weave pattern on the outside of the larger box piece. This will be the basket of the hot air balloon.

Step 4:

Take the 4 wooden dowels and affix them inside of each of the corners of the larger box piece with wood glue (with 5 or so inches of the dowel glued to the inside of the top of the box in the corners). Make sure that the tops of the dowels are even with each other.

Step 5:

Take the smaller box piece and decorate with markers and paint for a decorative border.

Step 6:

Attach the smaller box piece to the top of the wooden dowels, using wood glue to secure the dowels inside of each of the 4 corners of the smaller box piece with wood glue. Make sure the top of the dowels are level with the top of the smaller box piece.

Step 7:

Take the natural rope and wrap around the outside top of the larger box piece. You could also drape it between the corners of the larger box for a decorative effect. Use tape to affix to the larger box.

Step 8:

To add shoulder straps to the costume, poke 2 holes about 6 inches apart on each side on opposite sides of the top of the larger box piece. Cut the wide ribbon into 2 pieces long enough to create straps to suspend the costume over the wearer’s shoulders. Take one piece of ribbon and thread it through one hole in the front of the box and tie a knot on the outside of the box. Repeat through the hole on the back of the box. Do the same with the other piece of ribbon and holes to affix the shoulder straps.

Step 9:

To attach the “sand bags”, poke holes in the bottom of the larger box piece near each of the 4 corners. Use a marker to write “sand” on each of the 4 small paper bags. Stuff the paper bags with extra paper (or packing paper from your last move!). Tie the bags closed with pieces of twine, leaving one end of the twine long. With the long end of the twine, thread the twine through the holes on the bottom of the larger box piece to attach the bags to each corner of the “basket”.

Step 10:

Use scissors to cut thin plastic ribbons of different lengths and tie them to the helium balloons. Tie the other end of the ribbons to the top of the hot air balloon “basket” (smaller box piece).

Now you’re ready to take flight!