Boys Rule!
Girls always have all the fun princess sleepovers and makeup parties. In my house Boys Rule! I have the best and most EPIC all boy sleepover parties in the neighborhood. It's EPIC (according to the boys) because every year it gets better and I come up with more fun and crafty ideas for them to do; from fishing derbies and scavenger hunts to Pokemon battles. Since it's Halloween time of year I thought I would share with you one of my EPIC Warrior Costume parties. All you need is a bunch of rowdy boys with way too much energy, paper, duct tape, glue, cardboard, aluminum foil, markers, party streamers, ribbons and a pocket full of warrior mommy magic dust.
Before we begin you will need to prepare some items in advance, prior to your party, for safety reasons. Cardboard is difficult to cut and I don't want the kids to handle sharp knives so I made sure all of the cutting was done earlier. Also have all the drawings printed and ready so it is easy and fun for the kids to color, glue and begin to battle. I purchased most of the materials from Michaels Art & Craft store and Party City.
Step #1 - The Theme
Use any free clipart you can find out there for your theme or simply purchase them at some low cost clip art bank such as: www.clipart.com, www.vecteezy.com. or fotolia.com. I used a gothic frame, a fancy ribbon, a metallic round border and some animals. I chose the viking warrior theme and since there were 4 boys I had a specific color and animal for each viking clan. The Lion Clan in purple, the Eagle Clan in red, the Stallion Clan in blue and the Dragon Clan in green. I also purchased the same color duct tapes, streamers, party dots and ribbons to use as part of assembly and decorations.
Step #2 How to make the Chest Plate
Use cardboard, matte board or foam core for the chest plate. Cut two pieces to the desired size; approximately 11" x 15". One piece for the front of the chest area and another for the back. Attach the two boards with two long pieces of duct tape; approximately 10" long. I used colorful duct tape for the top and just regular gray for the reverse or inside. Also use either rope or ribbons to tie the front and back sides together. Place the ribbon on the lower end of the boards on each side and tie together after the kids put them on. This will keep the chest plate in place while they run around and stops the plates from flopping. I printed out two identical chest plate designs and some smaller dot buttons. The kids colored them, cut and glued them to the black matte board chest plates. They also added some party dots, streamers and ribbons.
Step #3 How to make the Shield
Use cardboard, matte board or foam core to create the shield. I used a 16" circular pizza cooking pan to draw the circle on my board and cut. In order to hold the shield you need to create a handle and an arm band. This will make the shield very easy to handle. For the bands cut your boards approximately 14" x 5" and crease them so the arm fits through the board and tape it to the inside of the plates. Cut a second band at 14" x 2" and crease it but this time cut a slight semi circle on the inside for an easier grip. Again this was too complicated for the kids so I had it already taped and ready. The kids had to use aluminum foil to cover the entire shield. They colored and glued the printed design in the center of the shield. They also used colorful duct tape around the edge of the shields and some party dots for decoration.
Step #4 How to make the Sword
Use cardboard, matte board or foam core to create the sword. I drew my sword on paper and used it as a guide to draw and cut out the cardboard. The sword was approximately 26" long and the handle was about 7" wide. The kids covered the swords with aluminum foil and used duct tape on the handle. They also colored and glued their decorations on the handle portion of the sword. Note: in order to make the handle stronger I added another strip of cardboard in the center of the sword so it would not bend easily when the kids battled.
Step #5 How to make the Helmet
Use paper or card stock for the helmets. You need a band to go around their forehead and one to go across on the top. The top band will keep the helmet from falling through and you can keep the band that goes across their forehead somewhat loose. The band across the head is approximately 22" x 2" and on the top 9" x 2". The viking horns are 2" x 6" and made of cardboard. I had the helmet bands already duct taped and ready for the kids to assemble. They used aluminum foil to cover the horns and duct taped them to the helmet. I used the colorful duct tapes for the top portion of the helmets. They colored the printed designs and glued the decorations to the helmets.
After dinner when the kids had finished their costumes they actually used them and battled for hours till dark. They all got to take their costumes home and I hope that the memory of that day will stay with them for years to come.
I hope you enjoyed this little demo on how to make a warrior costume for your kids. They grow up fast so I hope you have the opportunity to plan this party for your kids and their friends. Have a safe and happy Halloween.
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