2020 Pandemic Survival Kit Costume

We love to dress up in handmade family themed costumes each year, but this year called for something really special. We decided to go with a 2020 Pandemic Survival theme! Our crew includes a face mask (little brother, age 5), a bottle of hand sanitizer (big sis, age 8), a Zoom meeting (big bro, age 8), a roll of toilet paper (dad), and an official true to size 6 foot length social distancing ruler (mom)! Since it was quite a unique theme, coming up with the designs for each costume was a bit of a challenge, but a fun challenge at that!

The toilet paper costume was made using a large wire DIY wreath base as a frame. I then took an extra twin mattress pad that I found in the house and hand sewed it by wrapping the long edge around the wire wreath frame and tacking it in several spots. I sewed an extra piece of white fabric I also had at home to the outer edge to make it look like the toilet paper was slightly hanging off the roll. A set of suspenders attached to the top worked perfectly to hold the costume up!

For the hand sanitizer, I covered a long box with white wrapping paper and printed and glued the logos to the front. I glued clear glass stones to the box to represent the air bubbles inside the bottle. For the pump, I used an old hat for a headpiece. I cut cardboard pieces and hot glued them together, then painted the top and sides with white craft paint. I added velcro to the hat and the cardboard pump to attach them together.

For the zoom meeting, I used a piece of black foam board. I printed 4 photos of our family members and glued each to their meeting spots - the 5th group had connection problems and is "reconnecting." I made and printed all of the required icons to match, glued them to their proper locations, and then cut an opening in the foam board to fit our son's head. I then glued the foam board to a box and cut head and arm holes in the box.

For the face mask, I put my newly acquired during pandemic sewing skills to use! I sewed a giant pleated style face mask out of blue and white fabric and hot glued it to the front of a box. I made the ear loops out of two small pieces of rope and inserted a piece of floral wire in each to help hold the shape. I also cut a large piece of foam to create a nose underneath the mask - but made sure to keep the mask COVERING the nose! Then, I cut a head hole and arm holes into top and sides of the box .

For the ruler, I cut a section of a long cardboard moving box. I cut 3 strips of white foam board and then glued them to the cardboard box. I then measured and labeled each of the ruler markings for the 6 foot long ruler -and added the "BE SMART...KEEP 6 FEET APART!" PSA message to the bottom.

Our family (and our neighbors) had a TON of fun with our homemade 2020 Pandemic Survival costumes, and they were made mostly with items we already had at home! It was definitely a Happy Halloween to remember!