Materials

• You will need several items to create a car costume. A large, rectangular cardboard box is necessary for the main body of the costume. Some items you may already have, such as five paper plates, four plastic milk jug lids, scissors and a screwdriver. At a craft store, you can purchase red and black spray paint, black marker, yarn, construction paper and glue.
  
  

Body of Car

• Spray paint the box red and the paper plates black. Let them dry completely. Fold the ends in on the top and bottom of the box. Using a screwdriver, poke two holes along the top of the short right side of the box and then two similarly placed holes on the short left side of the box. Then run strands of yarn from the holes on one side to the holes on the opposite side, tying them off when you've determined how long they should be. (You will want to leave enough yarn so that it will rest on your child's shoulders and the box will more or less cover her torso.) Glue the plates onto the bottom of the long sides of the box to look like tires.
  
  

Car Accessories

• Glue the milk tops onto the plates to look like hubcaps. Take the last paper plate and glue it on the inside of the shorter right or left side of the box, to look like a steering wheel. Make two taillights out of red construction paper and glue them onto the back of the car, opposite the steering wheel. Cut two more lights out of white construction paper and attach them to the front of the box to look like headlights. For an added touch, draw a grill on the front of the box with a black marker. Have your child wear a helmet and a race-car driver shirt to look as if he is driving the car.
  
  

Variations

• Use a bigger box and make a minivan. You can include a place in the back for a doll and go as a mom driving a minivan. You may want to make a school bus. Again, use a bigger box but paint it yellow. You can place a few dolls in the back as the kids riding in the bus. You can even make a semi truck. Use a small box for the cab and a bigger box stuck to the back. You will need extra plates for the wheels. Have fun and be creative.