The Boy's Garbage Truck Costume

I am not an innovator. Every time I think I have an original idea, one Google search shows that 5 other people had the idea before me. Such is the case with my son's Halloween costume. You see, he is obsessed with “trash trucks”. I thought, why not make a garbage truck costume for him. A quick internet search showed me several examples of what I was aiming for. Glue gun in hand and a large selection of cardboard boxes, I got started. Once I found the properly proportioned cardboard box, the hopper portion of the truck was really simple to shape. To create the beveled edges of the hopper, I used the pre existing creases that form the box bottom and top. I cut a couple inches off each flap, both top and bottom, to make more space for the torso and the legs.

One of the outstanding Google-garbage-truck-costume-pioneers had drawn diagrams of their costume design and shared it on their blog. While I didn't use their method for the hopper, I did follow their pattern for the cab and the built-out portion of the hopper back. I figured, why reinvent the wheel? Especially when that one looked awesome. My husband had the idea to use plastic from a toy package for the windows and windshield. I think the effect is really stunning. I had planned to paint the logos but I ran out of time and ended up printing the WM decals and I found the MACK grill again, thanks to Google. I could have gotten more detailed but again, I ran out of time. The entire costume was made from things we had around the house, except for the paint. In the end. My little guy wasn't over-the-moon with the idea of wearing the costume. He willingly wore it to take pictures and get candy. The toy trash cans, bought on Amazon, really made the costume more appealing to the little guy. I glued a bag in the trash truck in the space behind where the boy was meant to stand. The idea was that he would collect candy in the little can and then dump it over his head and pour the candy into the hopper. THIS aspect of the costume was a hit. Ultimately, I was really surprised by this lack of enthusiasm considering he loves to pretend to be a trash truck. He sets up buckets in the yard and runs a “route” picking up trash. He even makes sound effects complete with hydraulic hisses and beeping when he backs up. It really doesn't matter, because I had so much fun making this costume. It is the first creative project I have done in a while.