Whether for World Book Day, Halloween or a kids’ fancy dress party, costumes are an inevitable part of childhood. As many parents of dinosaur-crazy kids will know, getting the perfect T-rex outfit at the last minute can be harder than it seems. But if you have a few cardboard boxes around the house, it’s easier than you think to whip up a dino head - or even a whole-body costume. Here’s how to create the perfect cardboard dinosaur costume for your family day out to a birthday party or your Halloween trick-or-treat trip. 

You will need:

1. 3 cardboard boxes - 2 small ones for the head and a large rectangular one for the body

2. Paint

3. White card for the teeth and head band

4. Scissors and glue or tape

What to do:

1. First paint your cardboard boxes in whatever colour your child has chosen. This is a great opportunity to have fun together with the design. Allow the paint to dry before proceeding.

2. Cut a neck hole and two arm holes in the large box. You may also need to cut the box down a little so that your child can move around easily with it on. 

3. Next take some card and measure it to go around your child’s head as if you were going to make a crown. Glue it together and then apply a second strip over the top, going from one side of the band to the other. 

4. To create the jaws, cut off one of the short sides of each small box so that they are a squared-off U shape. Then cut off the bottom of the box that will be the lower jaw. For the box that will form the upper jaw, cut off enough of the bottom that it can be attached to the headband in a way that is still comfortable for your child to wear. Fix both jaws to the headband so that your child can see out between them. 

5. Once the jaws are in place, cut out some teeth from white card and glue or tape them around the edges.

6. With an offcut of the cardboard, create the dinosaur’s face. Glue or tape a piece of square or rectangular cardboard to the top of the upper jaw, then attach it to the top strip of the headband.

7. Finally, add details such as the eyes, some scales or patterns, or any spines you want to include on the body. You may even want to add nose holes to the ‘snout’ of the box that forms the upper jaw.

Discover Dinosaur World Live

If your kids are wild about dinosaurs and you’re looking for a family fun day out, don’t miss Dinosaur World Live. Touring the UK from February, this show uses stunning puppets to teach little ones about their favourite prehistoric beasts, from the gigantic T-rex to the tiny Microraptor. Search ‘dinosaur attractions near me’ or book through your local theatre’s box office to discover this roarsome adventure, which is suitable for kids aged three and up.