Halloween is the perfect holiday to transform a wheelchair into the ultimate Halloween costume. We’re inspired by creative parents who up the ante and make over their children and wheelchairs to be fierce superheros, vehicles, whimsical animals and more. Not only is it fun for the whole family, but it’s also a creative way to raise awareness for special needs children.
Non-profit Magic Wheelchair thinks that Halloween is the ultimate holiday where being wheelchair-bound is an asset, not a limitation. This Oregon-based company makes elaborate costumes that incorporate wheelchairs into their creative design. Founder Ryan Weimer has three children diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and he factors in both child and chair into his elaborate costumes. Past designs include an elaborate pirate ship, Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, and a Mario Cart.
My kids are seen as superstars and not looked at with sympathetic eyes or sadness,” said Weimer to BuzzFeed News.
Even if you’re not a master builder, you can create fun costumes for children in wheelchairs using little more than what you have laying around the house. Use cardboard and poster paint to transform wheelchairs into ice-cream trucks, pizza delivery , animals and more. Halloween is all about transformation and fun. Celebrate your child with a costume that not only compliments the wheelchair but makes it the centerpiece as well.
Here’s 15 suggestions for Halloween costumes ideas for children in wheelchairs:
- Fred Flintstone in his car
- Snoopy in his doghouse
- Viking in a Viking Ship
- Hello Kitty in a kitty car (see directions below)
- Batman in his Batmobile
- Aladdin on his Magic Carpet
- Bee in a Beehive
- Cinderella in her Carriage
- DJ at the turntable
- Pizza Delivery
- Ice Cream Truck Driver
- Farmer on a Tractor
- Hockey goalie guarding the goal
- Drummer with Drum Set
- Neighborhood trolley from the classic children’s show Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood
DIY: How to Construct a Hello Kitty Car Costume for Halloween
Materials:
- Cardboard
- Poster board (pink, white and black)
- Hot glue gun
- Glue sticks
- Spray paint (pink, white, red)
- Zip ties
- 2 dowel rods
Assembly:
Start by sketching a design of one side of the car on cardboard, measuring the approximate length needed to accommodate the wheelchair. Repeat for the other side. Next, measure and cut out pieces of cardboard to form the front and back of the car.
Use a circular object to sketch circles on black poster board for the wheels and cut them out. Next, sketch out smaller circles on white poster board and glue them inside the black circles. Then paint the cardboard for the car body pink and glue it together. Make small red bows to decorate the wheels, mirrors and door handles and a large red bow to embellish the front of the car. Use cardboard to create tail lights and paint them red. You can also make a license plate and steering wheel to add to the whole experience.
The eyes and whiskers for Hello Kitty were cut out of black poster board and affixed with glue. White posterboard was folded and painted pink for the ears. White poster board, colored yellow, works perfectly to form the kitty nose. We also used pages from a Hello Kitty coloring book, colored and cut them, and attached them to the car for decoration. We sculpted a dash from a piece of cardboard Lastly, use white poster board or cardboard to construct the front fender and bumper.
When it’s time to don the costume, use 2 dowel rods and zip ties to fasten the car to the wheelchair. Glue the dowel rods to the cardboard car to keep it in place in the back. Then zip tie it to the handle bar. Lastly, use zip ties to secure it on each side of the wheelchair.
Feel free to use your creativity and build your Hello Kitty Car out of materials you have around the house. This Hello Kitty Car Costume will transform a wheelchair into mobile awesomeness.
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