Carnival costumes for children

With simple DIY instructions, transformation fun is guaranteed for perfect carnival fun

Text last updated: 2024-01-18

These children's costumes are quick to make and not expensive at all!

All children like to dress up in colorful and imaginative costumes. Carnival time is a great occasion for this. Are you looking for imaginative ideas to make yourself? In "Kreativzeit" you will find fun costumes for children that are quick and easy to make yourself with just a few materials and a little attention to detail. With the simple step-by-step instructions, success is guaranteed and fun for the whole family!

Let's go to the masked ball!

Material for the mask:

  • Clay paper in the color of your child's choice
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Colored pencils
  • Straw a straw
  • Adhesive dot
  • Tape

Here's how:

Fold the construction paper in half and fold it in half. Draw your hand on the sheet so that the hand contours are not separated at the fold. Cut out a hole in the middle to look through. When unfolded, two equal halves will unfold along the fold and you don't need to glue anything together. Paint with colored pencils. Fix the mask in the middle (fold) with a dot of glue or adhesive tape. Attach a straw to one of the backs with adhesive tape or hot glue. The mask for the masquerade ball is ready.

Houston: Ready to launch into space!

Material list for the astronaut

  • Two 1.5 liter plastic drinks bottles
  • Paperboard
  • Scissors
  • Cord
  • Craft crepe in yellow, orange and red
  • Double-sided tape
  • Bicycle helmet
  • Aluminum foil
  • Hot glue

How it works:

Remove the stickers and paper from the bottles and rinse the emptied bottle well. Then wrap it in aluminum foil, press it down firmly and stick it in a few places.

For the rocket engine, cut out a rectangle from sturdy cardboard, slightly smaller than the two bottles and also wrap with aluminum foil. You may also have the lid of a shoe box that would be suitable. The size of the rocket rucksack should suit your child. Poke holes in all 4 corners of the box and attach the cord as a shoulder strap so that your child can carry the propulsion unit on their back. For the jet engine, glue the two bottles to the cardboard with hot glue, with the opening facing downwards. If you want it to be very stable, fold a narrow strip from a sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap 1 x around the bottles and glue to the underside of the cardboard.

For the flames, cut 16 strips each from the crepe strips to a length of approx. 40 cm. Twist the colored strips together and stick them into the bottle openings using the double-sided tape.

For the astronaut helmet, cover the bicycle helmet with aluminum foil. You can also use double-sided tape for this.

As colorful as a bird of paradise in the jungle

Materials list for the bird of paradise:

  • Cardboard
  • Scissors
  • Packaging tape
  • Craft crepe
  • Hot glue
  • Paints and brushes
  • Cord

How it works:

Help your child cut the cardboard to size. It is best to use a shipping or moving box. A medium-sized box is sufficient, the size should suit your child. Cut off the flaps. Cut out the bird's head and beak from the leftover flaps; your child can paint both in bright colors.

Cut a vertical slit in the cardboard front and push the bird's neck through. It should protrude about 5 cm on the inside. Make a small cut in the middle of the neck and fold the ends over. This will give the neck more support. Stick the neck flaps to the inside of the box with adhesive tape.

Cut out two large wings from the cardboard scraps and attach to the top edge of the cardboard with adhesive tape. The wings can also be painted in different colors.

Now add feathers to the wings: To do this, cut colorful strips from craft crepe and glue them on. Glue on extra-long strips of craft crepe for the tail feathers. Glue a few small feathers to the head too.

Punch 2 holes in the cardboard on the front and back and attach the cord so that your child can carry the bird of paradise on their shoulders. Adjust the length to the size of your child.

This goes well with a gray or light-colored jogging suit or tights plus a T-shirt or sweater.

Transform yourself into a buzzing fly

Materials for the bow tie:

  • White A1-sized construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Black pen or marker
  • Cord
  • Sunglasses

Here's how:

Fold the white construction paper in the middle, draw a wing with a pencil and then cut it out. Use a saucer or small plate as a template for the fly eyes. Cut out two small circles to look through. Cut out a few eyelashes from black card or construction paper and stick them to the back of the eyes.

Urban the edges of the wings and eyes with black marker or a black pen.

Then draw the veins on the wings, also in black. Poke holes in the wings and attach the straps for the back using a cord.

For the eyes, use an old pair of sunglasses (or a cheap model from the supermarket) as a base. The lenses can be easily pressed out. Then glue the eyes onto the sunglasses using hot glue.

These look great with black leggings and a T-shirt or sweater.

As fluffy as a sheep

Materials for the sheep:

  • Lots of white cotton balls
  • White T-shirt
  • Hair hoops
  • Black construction paper
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • Pencil

Here's how:

Cut the sleeves off the T-shirt and glue on the absorbent cotton balls using a hot glue gun. Glue the front and back close together until everything is covered with the absorbent cotton balls.

Cut out the sheep's ears from black construction paper. Bend the ears in the middle, apply glue to the middle and attach to the side of the headband. Glue more absorbent cotton balls in the middle of the headband.

Match with black leggings and a black long-sleeved T-shirt.

The rain cloud goes splish-splash

Materials:

  • A simple, inexpensive fancy dress hat
  • Wadding
  • Glue
  • Blue, gray or white wool threads
  • Blue construction paper or felt in blue

How it works:

Cover the hat with craft glue or have hot glue ready. Then glue the absorbent cotton generously and in a cloud shape onto the hat. If you like, glue on a few larger balls of absorbent cotton to create a lot of volume.

For the raindrops, fold the blue paper or blue felt in half and cut out raindrop shapes, for example 12 medium-sized drops and 6 large drops. Place the wool threads between the two layers and glue the drops together with the hot glue gun. For some, add a second raindrop about halfway up.

Glue the wool threads to the brim of the hat using the hot glue. Leave the front free so that your child has a clear view. The rain cloud is ready.

A colourful raincoat and wellies go well with it.