This costume was built with a box (obviously) PVC tubing (for the skeletal body), newspapers, zip ties, duct tape,shoulder straps, a suit from the Salvation Army and hours of engineering to create the best illusion of a skeleton carrying me in a box.

Submitted by Jason Dudzic,

We purchased the costume last Halloween, but my son insisted on being “himself” this year, so we talked him into wearing the UPS uniform again. To make it more fun, I created a UPS “Big Brown” truck for him to ride in, using a cardboard box, spray paint, construction paper, and craft foam. The entire thing fit perfectly over his wagon. I printed out UPS logos and colored them with markers to make the truck complete. I also used wire rolled up in black paper, with tape wrapped around it to form door handles. The wire helped keep the rounded shape of the handle. I used a glue gun to attach the handles. Instead of a treat bag, he carried a “package”. I used the box of something we’d received from UPS by taping it closed, then cutting a small, rectangular opening that could be open and closed while trick or treating. It looked like he was delivering packages, when in fact, he was picking up!

Submitted by April Austin, South Carolina

Transformers that actually Transform…we actually built these costumes in a week it took lots of cardboard, masking tape, 2 different colors of duct tape, clear packing tape, about 5 different colors of spray paint, 2 different colors of acrylic paint, and aluminium foil. I’m Optimus Prime and I transform into a Semi-truck and my Girlfriend is Bumble bee and she transforms into a Car…well we had fun building these and I hope you have fun looking at them. Thanks a bunch Shemarah

Submitted by Shemarah Tucker & Ryan Gallegos, Radcliff, Kentucky

I began making the costume around October 1st, I had a lot of extra pizza boxes laying around the garage and my mother was bugging me to do something with them. So I started making the shape of a velociraptor head whilst watching tv. Before I knew it, I was getting more and more detailed with the head that I decided to not only finish the head but that I should make the body as well for a Halloween costume. I spent up until Halloween day finishing the costume. After using up all the pizza boxes, I went over to places like Sams Club and Costco where precious cardboard was just laying around for free.I used a drill and zip ties to hold most of the cardboard together, but for other parts good ol’ fashioned duct tape worked really well.

All together I would spend about 50 bucks for the costume. Most of that being on the tape. I started thinking about the skin and what I would be using to get that nice dinosaur texture. I looked around for something light, but moldable.At Home Depot I discovered Gap and Crack foam. It was a foam in a can that I figured was worth a shot. It worked out very well, but the stuff is a nightmare to remove from skin and impossible to remove from clothes. I used a dremel to carve in the scales

Finally i used acrylic paint on the dried and hardened foam.

I could not transport the costume to the west Hollywood Halloween parade in one piece So i designed it to be “some assembly required” It took about 15 minutes to assemble the pieces.

As for now the costume stands in our garage as a constant reminder to my mother to be a little more specific about what to do with the empty pizza boxes laying around in the garage.

Submitted by Michael Acosta, Chino Hills, CA

This is a working replica of the Zoltar fortune telling machine from the movie Big. Is worn like a backpack, and has working lights, sound, ramp movement, and card dispenser just like in the movie.

I included a YouTube video of the costume in action for your view pleasure!

Submitted by Jonathan Perkins, Los Angeles, CA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj61ImGvauU

I turned our Radio Flyer wagon into a lighted city of Metropolis to be saved by Superman and Supergirl. 14 buildings, including the Daily Planet, The Church of I Pray it Doesn’t Rain, a phone booth (Superman’s changing room), and Luthorcorp are lit with 240 Christmas lights plugged into a portable power source.

Submitted by Rachel Peres, San Jose, CA
www.etsy.com/shop/HeartFeltArt

This year my daughter wanted to be one of those claw games that pick up the stuffed animals. So we went to work transforming a UPS box into The Kooky Claw. We used the following: large and small box, paint (yellow & black), black duct tape, double sided rug tape, foil wrapping paper, metal coat hanger (claw), tin foil, suspenders, printed letters and pics to decorate, many stuffed animals/coin slot& $ feeder from a toy ATM game/video game joystick (found all at yard sale). It was a huge hit in her school parade!

Submitted by Kate, Canton MA

Some friends and I spent hours and hours dumpster diving, cutting cardboard, taping, and painting to create these costumes. We created a replica of the Harry Potter, Wrestler, Pirate, Princess Leia, and Spaceman Lego minifigures!

Picture taken by Michelle Taulbee

Submitted by Shelley Boozer, Mobile, AL

This was my 6 yr old Dante’s costume for this year. It is a transforming Optimus Prime. It is constructed of a few different sized boxes, duct tape and spray paint. (and a hand me down store bought character suit from last year. My son loved it and so did everyone else. The best part was that he would transform into a truck and we would ring the doorbell, when they answered my son transformed and yelled, Truck or Treat!!!!”

Submitted by Cara Oreta, Crossville, TN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHs0MUiTYXQ

My child loves to play with LEGOs so this year why not be one…We worked hard on this one using cardboard, styrofoam, poster board, paint, and our agent lego minifigure (the one that has two faces) so we could copy it. We needed a lego minifig with a large mouth so he could see out of it!

Submitted by Dianne Faintich,