Circus Wagon Costume

Over the past couple of years we have created two Wagon Costumes for my son. First, a Hot Air Balloon and then an RC Car for Buzz Lightyear to ride in. After our first year we quickly decided that we wanted to keep this tradition alive year after year, at least while we still had little ones small enough to ride in a Wagon Costume. By adding a wagon to your costume you can make Halloween night a breeze by containing your little ones safely in a wagon and also as a resting place for tired feet.

This year we had a very special new addition to the family and now had a second rider for our wagon. While brainstorming and deciding on our theme I had to think a little differently this year. I needed a theme for two little riders. I think many Moms will agree with me that once you add a second child to the family it feels almost as if you’re living in your very own circus, so that’s what we were, our very own circus!

The Wagon

In the past, instead of using a wagon, we have used our son’s Mickey Mouse push car as our wagon. With two riders I knew that wasn’t going to work, especially with one of our riders being so little. So this year I opted for a classic red [amazon_textlink asin=’B01MYEVS63′ text=’Radio Flyer Wagon’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’beautifullybe-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8369ae3b-be58-11e7-8694-77a192a14951′] that could fit the two of them.

*Disclosure: Some of the links in this  post are affiliate links which means if you purchase the products through my link I will receive a commission.

The Materials

This wagon turned out to be one of the easier wagon costumes we have made.

For this Wagon Costume we used:

  • Radio Flyer Wagon
  • PVC Pipe, Fittings, and Pipe Cutter
  • Oatey All Purpose Cement
  • Spray Paint
  • Cardboard
  • Red Felt
  • Gold Cord
  • Hot Glue Gun and Glue
  • Loctite Spray Adhesive
  • Iron On Velcro
  • Scotch Fasteners

 

The Cage

We started this Wagon Costume by creating the “cage” for our little lions. First, we took our measurements. Next, we measured the inside of our wagon to get the measurements for what would be the base and the top of the cage. We made the bars for the frame 31 inches long 13 inches wide and decided to make the height of our wagon bars 38.5 inches high.

Measurements

Once we took all of our measurements my son Will, and my dad started cutting the pipe. This is actually my favorite part of creating the wagon costumes, the time we get to spend together as a family and the memories that we make.

Next, we made two identical rectangular frames with the PVC pipe and pipe fittings, which would be the top and bottom of our cage.

We then placed one of the frames on the inside of the wagon to make sure that it fit.

We placed fittings on each corner so that we could attach the poles that would be our bars of the cage.

After we created our matching bottom and top pieces we recut the pipe that was forming our top and bottom frames so that we could add in T fittings for the cage bars to attach to. We placed these 7.75 inches apart and had 5 bars on each side. One bar was placed directly in the center of the front. We left the back open.

Painting

Before we could paint the cage we needed to glue the pipe together so that it could last through all of our Halloween events. We carefully pulled apart each point of connection, one by one, and then brushed on the [amazon_textlink asin=’B000BVS08W’ text=’Oatey All Purpose Cement’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’beautifullybe-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b953a433-be5a-11e7-bd4e-455c35c2ae4f’]. After adding the glue we then put each piece back in place.

Next, we primed the cage. We used [amazon_textlink asin=’B01CT1XD8I’ text=’Rustoleum Ultra Cover Flat Gray’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’beautifullybe-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’7f1915b1-be54-11e7-b243-3153d9cdbafa’].

After the paint dried we completed this cage’s transformation by painting the cage with [amazon_textlink asin=’B00KXWTLFA’ text=’Rustoleum Bright Coat Metallic Spray Finish.’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’beautifullybe-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b1c8187c-be6e-11e7-a90a-fbae3829df40′]

The Embellishments

To create the covering for the wagon I knew I would need a top and a bottom that were roughly the size of the wagon. Fortunately, I still had my wagon box as this was new wagon. If you no longer have your box, measure the sides of the wagon that you have and grab some cardboard that is the length of your wagon sides. If you can’t find your exact length you can always tape multiple pieces of cardboard together.

First, I cut the seam of the box and opened it up.

Next, I used the natural folds of the box and cut it into sections.

After cutting the box I was ready to wrap the box with my felt. No sewing involved! For the bottom of the wagon I chose the two skinnier pieces and then laid them next to each other on top of the felt.

Then, I taped the two ends together with packing tape.

Following that I sprayed the cardboard with [amazon_textlink asin=’B009YO7XL2′ text=’Loctite Spray Adhesive.’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’beautifullybe-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’18a1c424-be5d-11e7-8f33-e361569b9047′]

I then folded the pieces over and glued the edges with my glue gun.

Finally, I secured the edges with the glue gun.

To attach the felted cardboard to the wagon I first wrapped the cardboard around the wagon. While doing this I measured out where the two ends connect.

I then used iron on velcro to fasten the ends of the felted cardboard together.

To make the top of the wagon I followed the same steps that I used for the bottom piece of the wagon except when making the top I traced the top into a scalloped edge to mimic a real Circus Wagon.

To give the design as much symmetry as possible I cut the left side of the design and then flipped the piece I just cut over to the other side and then retraced the pattern on the right side.

Once I cut both pieces of cardboard I taped them together and then cut the fabric leaving an extra inch of fabric on all sides.

Next, I folded the fabric over and glued the edges to the cardboard. After that, I cut a piece of fabric to cover the remaining area of cardboard. This time I did not leave extra fabric on the edge.

Finally, I glued the edges and ironed on my velcro closures.

I also needed a way to attach the top of the wagon to the cage so that it could be easily removed to be transported. After some trial and error I found the best way to do this was to iron on velcro pieces where the bars were and attach sticky velcro Scotch Fasteners to the bars. This made it easy for me to take the top on and off quickly.

Finally, I hot glued my gold rope cord to the top edge of the bottom box.

I also glued the gold cord to both edges of the top piece of felted cardboard.

 

The Kid’s Costumes

I really wanted the kids to match this year so I scoured the internet for lion costumes that came in both infant and toddler sizes. This proved more difficult than I had anticipated so I headed over to my favorite website, etsy.com, and found the perfect handmade lion costumes made by BooBahBlue that came in both sizes. These were the perfect addition to our Wagon Costume.

The quality of the lion costumes was amazing and they were so warm and soft for the kids. The infant costume came with gloves sewn into the costume and luckily I had brown felt gloves already for my son’s toddler costume.

My daughter wore my son’s old felt reindeer slippers on her feet and I purchased my son [amazon_textlink asin=’B001L1EGQQ’ text=’Dawgs ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’beautifullybe-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c8f654da-be4f-11e7-94e7-bd63dcdc0741′]which are basically imitation Uggs from amazon.com. I was pretty happy with the quality. For around 25 dollars I received a super cute soft boot that could be worn even after Halloween. Before ordering however, I did read the reviews and took the advice of others who had purchased this item and I ordered two sizes down. My son is a size 9 and I ordered a 7. They fit perfectly!  Finally, I added some face paint and their lion costumes were complete!

 

The Parent’s Costumes

What would a circus be without a Ringmaster and a Strongman?

The Ringmaster

As a former “pageant girl” I am happy and also a little embarrassed to say that most of my Ringmaster costume came from my closet. I wore a red jacket from one of my talent routines and a red corset from my 2011  Miss Midstate Tap Routine (side note: my corset was made by the same Costume Designer that makes the costumes for Dancing With the Stars and is a replica of the one Mel B wore on the Season 5 Finale). For pants I wore a pair of black leggings and black boots. I topped this all off with a [amazon_textlink asin=’B06X1B81BN’ text=’top hat’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’beautifullybe-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’fed8e55e-be5e-11e7-b470-d50c04a6fcc9′] that I ordered from Amazon.

To complete my look I created a “Ring of fire” using a hula hoop and some felt!

Ring of Fire

Materials used:

  • Hula Hoop
  • Black Spray Paint
  • Red Felt, Orange Felt, and Yellow Felt
  • Glue Gun and Glue

First I spray painted the hoop black.

Next, I cut my flames in two sizes; 6 inches and 8 inches. I made 12 of the larger flames and  19 of the smaller flames. For the large flame the yellow center measured 7 inches long and the orange piece  measured 7.5 inches long. For the smaller flame the yellow center measured 5 inches long and the orange piece measured 5.5 inches long.

To cut them I folded my fabric and made a tear drop shape cut. I then layered my pieces and glued them together. After I glued them together I wrapped them around the hoop and glued them alternating in  pattern from one small flame to one large flame and then two small flames and then repeated that pattern until I made my way around the hoop leaving a small area for my hand.

The Strongman

We purchased my husbands strongman costume from eBay.com and purchased his mustache from amazon. The [amazon_textlink asin=’B00UN0DRHU’ text=’mustache’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’beautifullybe-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’91ed783b-be66-11e7-8e34-6d82efaa2e31′] was self adhesive and lasted a few wears. For his boots he used his black military boots.

The Barbell

The barbell is very easy to make!

To create the barbell we used:

  • PVC Pipe
  • 2 Smooth Foam Balls
  • Black Spray Paint
  • Hot Glue Gun and Glue

First, I painted the PVC Pipe and styrofoam balls black.

Next, I made a hole in each of the Smooth Foam balls using the pipe and then glued the pipe in place.

We had such an amazing time putting together our Circus Wagon Costume and made memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.

Have you ever made a Wagon Costume? Leave me a comment and let me know!