Every year towards the end of summer I like to start thinking about what we’re going to be for Halloween. For the past couple of years those thoughts have included wagon costumes!
Fall is one of my absolute favorite times of the year. I love the cooler, crisp weather, the colors of the leaves changing, and I especially love Halloween and all of the festivities that surround it.
Since becoming a Mom my enthusiasm for this holiday has only intensified. There’s something about reliving the holidays through your children’s eyes that make them even more special.
My son is a July baby, so our first Halloween with him we were still in the throes of new baby-hood and opted for simple Mickey and Minnie Mouse costumes. 
While super cute, I didn’t get to flex my creative muscles as much as I would have liked but by the next Halloween we were in a better routine and I was ready to get a little more creative.
When I saw an ad in the paper for a baby wagon parade and contest I knew I wanted our family to participate and make some great memories while doing so. We are now prepping for our third year and in the process I want to revisit our first two costumes and outline our steps for making a super cute wagon/family costume!
My formula for coming up with our costumes is simple:
- Decide on a theme
- Pull inspiration photos from various sources
- Design and build
Decide On A Theme
First things first. Deciding on a theme is half the battle. Part of it comes from what you “feel” like being and of course your kids should have some input too! If your child is old enough to tell you, asking them is a great way to determine your theme. If not, a good place to start is with things that they like, for example a favorite movie, toy, or book.
Our first year doing a wagon costume we went with an aviation theme. Will was a Hot Air Balloon rider, my husband wore his Navy flight suit, and I wore his bomber jacket. My inspiration for this costume came from the print on our Hot Air Balloon Tula that I carried my son in almost daily. He was too young to actually tell me what he wanted to be so I thought that going with something related to an item he loved would be the next best thing.
Our second year I decided to use my son’s favorite movie as our inspiration and I let Will decide who he would be. He chose Buzz Lightyear so naturally I was Jessie, and my husband was Woody. This year we have a new addition to our family so I needed a costume for four! Our family feels a bit like a circus lately so that is the them I chose.
Pull Inspiration Photos From Various Sources
Inspiration can come from many places. The actual things you are emulating can be great places to start for inspiration, for example, our first year we participated in the wagon costume parade I looked to actual hot air balloons to determine our design. The following year when we were Toy Story characters I used the actual characters as inspiration for our wagon and costumes.
Next, it’s great to do some additional research and see if you can find anyone who has done a similar theme. My favorite websites for this are Pinterest and Google Images. You can usually find some great starting points for your costumes there and then you can of course add your own spin to it. Once you gather your inspiration photos it’s time to start designing your costume.
Design and Build
Finally, you can take those inspiration photos, design your wagon costume and gather any needed materials. Once you have your design down, you can start building your costume! Some might like to sketch it out but my family and I usually just dive right in and start experimenting with our materials.
I’ve had so much fun designing and building our wagon costumes over the past couple of years. We have created some great, long lasting memories that I will cherish forever!
Year 1 – 2015, Hot Air Balloon Rider/Aviation Theme
Photo credit: Kellyanne Adams Photography
Year 2 – 2016, Buzz Lightyear Riding RC/ Toy Story Theme
Photo credit: Alyssa I. Compa
Year 3 – A Family Circus Wagon
Our Family Circus Wagon!
If you have liked this post, follow me for in depth tutorials on our last two costumes and to see what we’ve come up with for this year!
