DIY Cardboard Coal Car Halloween Costume

Because of how much my son loves trains, deciding on our Halloween costumes was a no-brainer! We did a train theme, and it is such a great choice because there are so many great train cars to dress up as, including the caboose, the boxcar, gondola, coil car or even a covered hopper. Clearly, the options are endless. So, since my little guy went as a train engine, I joined in on the fun as a tender or a coal car. Last time, I did a how-to post on how I made a train engine out of a cardboard box and today, I am excited to share how to recreate this cardboard box into a train coal car Halloween costume. 

Let’s go!

Medium cardboard box

Tape 

Scissors

Box cutter

1 can of black paint

Paintbrush

Red tape

Black tissue paper

Glue

Glow in the dark paint

Printable/Stencil

Red paper

Yellow paper

Velcro

To start, you will need one medium sized cardboard box. Next, I measured myself against the cardboard box to determine the length and width of the opening for where I will stand inside. Then, I cut out the opening using a box cutter.  

Afterward, I had the little guy traced just the bottom portion of a small plastic circle on the bottom panel of the box for the wheels. He did two on each side. Then, I cut off the excess cardboard. Repeat on the opposite side.

Once you have your general train coal car body shape, you can paint it or decorate it with the color of your choosing. We chose black. We only needed one coat and it was enough to cover the finish of the cardboard box well. Then, we set aside our coal car and let the paint dry completely.  

While the paint is drying, figure out what designs you want on your cardboard train coal car. Since my son’s train engine had adorable pumpkins and spiders, we decided the coal car needed some cute ghosts. After all, is it really a Halloween costume without ghosts?

After you’ve figured out what designs or details you want on your cardboard train coal car, it’s time to print and cut! 

Again, this process was done per image, but it’s not as nearly time-consuming as the pumpkins and spiders that we used on the train engine. Why? There’s no coloring involved just cutting. 

Next, once the box is covered in paint and completely dry, start adding your designs or details to your DIY cardboard train coal car Halloween costume. For these next steps, unless it involves tape, just run a little of glue all around the paper and stick it down.

First, let us start off with the wheels. 

Secondly, attach red tape to the sides of the coal car to create visual interest. In hindsight, if I were to make another cardboard coal car Halloween costume, I would add red tape all around instead of just the sides.  

Next, move on to the letters. Apply the red letters first then the yellow. Do make sure that they overlap so that it adds contrast to your train coal car. 

Then, it’s time to add some adorable ghosts!

After that, we crumpled black tissue paper and added it to top of the box to create coal. It’s such an easy way to add texture and a fun dimension to the overall look. 

This step is optional but if you want your costume to stand out from the crowd, I highly recommend painting parts of your train with glow in the dark paint. For us, we chose to paint the name of our train, “Boo Express” and I just love the extra oomph it gave my Halloween costume.  

Lastly, you need to add straps. We used Velcro but you can use a ribbon or fabric strap - you decide! To do this, have the person wearing the costume put it on. Then, look at where to place the straps and how long to make them. Afterward, attach them to the cardboard coal car with glue or tape.