How to Make an Astronaut Costume for a Child
When you ask children what they want to be when they grow up many respond in the same way: an astronaut. This is a dream job for many, as reaching the moon is something that people of all ages would enjoy. That is why astronaut costumes are very popular in celebrations like Carnival and Halloween in many countries.
Continue reading this oneHOWTO article where we explain how to make an astronaut costume for children.
You'll need:
- Papier mache or bucket
- Plastic bottles
- Silver paint and brush
- Scissors
- Boots
- Patches
- Tin foil
- Mop stick
- Crereal box
Steps to follow:
The first step will be to make an astronaut helmet for your costume. However, there are several options to do so:
- Make it from paper mache, by inflating a balloon or bowl as a base to cover with the paper and glue. Make sure you inflate the balloon as much as the size of your head or create two symmetrical parts to stick together if you've used the bowl. When dry, cut out a square so that you can see and cover with cling film. If you don't add enough layers of paper, when it dries the helmet may not have the consistency it needs to stay upright. In this case, we advise you to line the inside with some wire to hold it upright.
- Using a bucket with an opening through which the child can see. Create a hole too and add the cling film. You can cushion the inside of the helmet with kitchen paper or foam.
You can cover them helmet with tin foil once you have created the structure.
Now, let's do the astronaut's oxygen rucksack. Use two two-litre bottles to make the space backpack, like those worn by real astronauts to breathe.
Once clean and dry paint them with metallic grey paint and attach them to each other using white tape. Use a box of cereal to stick the two bottles to with super glue and paint the box in the same color.
Add ribbons for straps that will stick with adhesive glue, once the paint has dried. You can also get hold of some PVC corrugated tubes and stick one end on each of the tops of the bottles, and stick the other side to the astronaut's helmet.
For the spacesuit, you also have different alternatives:
- Use white clothes: pants or stockings/ tights/ leggings and a sweatshirt or T-shirt.
- Make a fitted suit with white cloth: if you have a sewing machine and some sewing skills, you can do this at home with the help of patterns. If not, it will have to be ordered at a dressmaker.
- Use a plain white onesie or boiler suit: you'll be able to find them in many work-wear specialised shops.
In order to make the suit more realistic, print the NASA logo and the American flag so you can stick them on your child's arm and chest. If you want more props, you can also get a mop stick and tie a US flag to one of the tips, to depict Buzz Aldrin sticking the pole on the moon.
For footwear we recommend using grey Wellington boots or gumboots, but you can also develop a cover for the children's shoes to simulate boots. Using foot covers like those found in hospitals can also do the trick.
Do you need makeup for an astronaut costume? The straight answer is, there's no need for it. However, if you want to enhance your face, then we advise going for very minimalist makeup, no need for colored lipstick, as most astronauts will not bother about looking beautiful in space.
If you want to go with a more fantasy-like version of an astronaut, you could apply a bold lipstick color such as blue or green. Check out the video below for more ideas on how to make a DIY astronaut costume for kids!
If you'd like to take a look at more ideas for children's costume, take a look at these articles:
If you want to read similar articles to How to Make an Astronaut Costume for a Child, we recommend you visit our Festivities & Celebrations category.
Tips
- Remember to also wear white gloves. Those used for motorbikes or gardening are best to depict an astronaut.
- Take an American flag with you if you want to look like Neil Armstrong arriving at the moon for the first time and posting the American flag on it.
