My son Nicholas absolutely loves emergency vehicles, the lights, the sirens, everything, so it was no surprise that he requested to be a fireman for Halloween. I thought I was doing well by finding a black firefighter suit that I enhanced with yellow reflector tape, however once I showed him them the finished product, he looked at me and asked “That’s great Mom, but where’s the truck?” Truck? I needed a truck for his costume too?
With less than a week before Halloween (and living in Wyoming where resources are sparse), I decided to look in the garage. We had a few larger boxes and I saw some foam hose insulation that I thought I could use. I decided I could tape the boxes together to “create the basic shape and have fun my son and daughter to “enhance” the truck. You know, I anticipated spending a few hours to tape and decorate, however I had no idea that this little red jewel would take over my kitchen, and even my sleep! I never imagined that it would be me searching junk drawers, garage doo-hickis and strolling the aisles of our local hardware store to find the finishing touches to accessorize this Nick’s truck. Nick visited the firehouse prior to the parade and had a great time “rolling” down Main Street. Overall, Nick’s truck took about four evenings spending 3 or so hours a night. It was a fun project that led to the following year’s police car, and this year’s ambulance!
Gather Large Boxes:
First I found large boxes that could somewhat construct the proper shape of the firetruck. I cut box A and slid it into Box B so there was more support and so eventually I could add suspenders and Nick could carry on his shoulders.
Visiting the Dollar Store:
I needed to smooth out many tape lines, so I contemplated spray painting, but painting in Wyoming in 14 inches of snow was not what I had in mind, so I purchased a roll of red wrapping paper at Dollar Tree and wrapped the boxes. I also used Velcro to attach the upper and lower boxes for easier transport and just in the event Nick needed a “convertible” to lessen the weight.
Accessorize:
The kids and I had fun cutting out paper for the windows, dowels for the side mirrors and a used old hose and insulation to accessorize the truck!
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