How to Make a Cardboard Box Train Costume

He is the cutest train conductor in the history of ever. This cardboard box train costume is even better than our cardboard box tractor costume we made for Halloween last year! When Elmer’s asked me if I’d like to team up with them for a holiday post I was stocked.

Elmer’s brand is my jam and a staple in Casa de Dorobek. Elmer’s makes such a wide array of products I was having trouble narrowing it down to just one project. The Polar Express book is a year round favorite in these parts, and after the tractor costume excitement, I thought it would be really fun to make Max the conductor of his very own Polar Express train!

Here’s what you need to make a cardboard box train

(Psst… This list includes affiliate links!)

Large cardboard box/ large diaper box
Small cardboard box/ shoe box
Plastic cup
Pillow batting/ for the smoke stack
1 Sturdy paper plate
Extra cardboard for the wheels or black plastic plates
Black spray paint
Gold Spray paint
Silver paint pen
Hot glue gun
Glue sticks (The long ones are my favorite!)
X-ACTO knife
Cutting board
Vinyl sticky letters
Kitchen bowl/ to use as a stencil for the wheels
A reusable bag/ to cut the straps off
Conductor hat & accessories

How to make a cardboard box train costume

Turn any cardboard box into magical diy train costume that takes kids to the North Pole! If you’re looking for a less Christmas-y version of a cardboard box train, don’t miss this red and turquoise diaper box train.

Step 1- Make the train body

First, use the XACTO knife to cut a square in the bottom of your diaper box. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just make sure that your kiddo can fit inside of the box.

Step 2- Cut wheels

Next, use a pencil and a kitchen plate or bowl to trace 6 circles on a flat pieces of cardboard. These circles will get spray painted black to be train wheels. I used the XACTO knife and a kitchen cutting board to cut these out. Depending on the thickness of the cardboard, scissors might work too.

Step 3- Hot glue train

Now, it’s time to form the train. Heat up the hot glue gun and get ready for business. Here’s the basic train set up. I’ve made a few trains over the years and I really like how I did the train wheels on this cardboard box train.

Step 4- Create the smoke stack

The picture above does not show how to make the smokestack. This is probably my son’s favorite part, so don’t skip it! I have an inkling your kiddo will love it too. Before you hot glue the plastic cup to the front end of the cardboard box, poke a small hole in the top of the cup with the XACTO knife, then fill the cup with batting or cotton balls. Now get the glue gun ready!

Step 5- Spray paint

Once you get the train hot glued together, it’s time for the paint job. I started by spray painting the side of the box gold since I knew I wanted the words “Polar Express” to be gold and I had black letters on hand. Basically, I used the vinyl letters as stencils. Worked like a charm and fun to know that you can make the letters any color you want very easily. Just let the gold spray paint dry and then apply the vinyl letters and use black paint in top. Then, peel the vinyl letters off and voila!

Step 6- Add details and straps

The last step is add straps and details to the cardboard box train. Hot glue ribbon or straps from a reusable bag to fit over the conductors shoulders. Then, add the silver wheel details with the paint pen. Lastly, dress the little conductor up in overalls and train accessories like a hat, red bandana, train whistle and the Polar Express is ready to pull out of the station! Choo choo! (Here’s a cute set conductor engineer set that includes overalls!)

Maxwell was in heaven when I told him we could take his train car and walk down the tracks!

Decorating train cars would be such a fun activity to do with a group of kids at a Christmas party. Can you image the cuteness if you had 10 train cars all lined up?

This cardboard box train could absolutely be used for trick or treating, but this POlar Express train costume doubles as a Chrsitmas dress up fun! This same Train design could easily be turned into Percy from Thomas the Train too. Here are 2 more DIY cardboard train costumes:

For more cardboard box costume ideas, don’t miss these:

Here’s what you need to make a cardboard box train