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Is every pre-school aged kid obsessed with trains? Okay my son is seven and he still loves a Long Island Rail Road train ride. This is also still his favorite book; he reads it at least once a week! But back in his pre-school days trains were literally the only thing he played with, talked about and had any interest in. His favorite outdoor activity was walking to the pedestrian bridge on 67th street in Queens, where the LIRR trains race underneath. He could stand there for hours watching the trains go by. So it was no surprise that for Halloween that year, he asked to be a “ding-ding crossing.” Which is a railroad crossing to you and me. A railroad crossing Halloween costume?
Seriously where does he think up this stuff?
RAILROAD CROSSING HALLOWEEN COSTUME
So I went to Pinterest, and inspired by this post, I made what I believe to be my most successful Halloween costume to date. And it was super easy- especially because I am going to give you all the instructions (and the two print outs you need) so you can make this awesome railroad crossing costume at home!
RAILROAD CROSSING HALLOWEEN COSTUME: Materials
For the RailRoad Crossing Shirt
A long sleeve white t-shirt (you can pick one at the craft store or just grab one here)
Iron-on transfers- I recommend these, I love Avery products
This is the printable you can use for the iron-on transfer, Stop Here on Red, I have already flipped it for you. But if you want the original image, click here. (Note: When I made the costume, I used Stop on Red Signal. Apparently I pilfered this off a website where someone in Australia was selling actual railroad signs. I can’t post that image here… but if you do a quick Google search, well you get the idea…)
Two bicycle reflectors – you can buy these off of Amazon OR I went into the neighborhood bike shop and asked if they had any extra laying around I could buy – and they let me just have some.
Black Foam Board (I had enough left to make this working traffic light costume as well)
For the Railroad Crossing Hat
This print out (Railroad Crossing)
Glue (PS. THIS is BY-FAR the best craft glue!)
RAILROAD CROSSING HALLOWEEN COSTUME: Directions
- First print out the Stop Here on Red sign on the Iron-On Transfers. The printable will print mirror image (or backwards) but when you iron it on, it will read correctly. Cut it to size before you iron on (the excess white on the sides of the square)
- Once you have printed to your iron-on transfer, follow the directions on the package to iron the STOP HERE ON RED onto the front of the white long sleeve t-shirt. Position the square towards the bottom, to allow room for the lights.
- Cut out two identical black circles from the black foam board. You can use the bottom of a can (like a can of beans) to trace and measure. The bicycle lights I was given allowed me to safety pin them to the black foam. I then used safety pins and a bit of hot glue to attach the black foam to the shirt. So easy!
- To make the “hat” I first cut a rectangular strip of poster board in the proper length to fit on my son’s head. Leave a little extra to be able to staple the two ends together to form a circle that fits easily on your child’s head. Not too loose, not too tight.
- Next, I printed the railroad crossing sign onto regular printer paper. I then backed the sign with poster board, glued it down and trimmed it. I used glue to fasten it to the headband and viola… easy hat!
RAILROAD CROSSING HALLOWEEN COSTUME: Pro-tips
Size up on the t-shirt so you can wear a light jacket underneath (if you will be trick or treating in colder weather). You can see my son is wearing a sweatshirt underneath. Here in the Northeast, its the annual struggle to have your costume on display, but stay warm for trick or treating.
What does your little one want to be for Halloween? Leave me a comment and let me know how your traffic light costume turned out (and definitely send me pictures!)
Happy Halloween!
hover over image to pin for Halloween:
SHOP THIS POST:
Other DIY Halloween Costume Ideas:
Traffic Light Halloween Costume
OTHER AWESOME FALL POSTS:
Fall Activities Your Family Will Love
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Railroad printouts courtesy of this site.
please share:
So cute!! I have never heard of the book before I will need to check it out!
That is a really adorable outfit that you made for halloween. Easy and quick to make.
So adorable! What a cute and super simple idea. And comfortable enough for trick or treating. Thank you for sharing!
That’s so funny that he picked that! You did a good job designing it for him though ?
This is such a cute idea! I love creative costumes! I wish I could get my kids to branch out a little!
This is so cute!! One of my twin daughters had a fascination with trains as well in preschool. Recently it has been replaced with a love for Paw Patrol.
This is so cute, my daughter wanted to be a power ranger this Halloween. But then when we went to the store she saw different costumes that she like. I am gonna check out these recommendations you have.
Haha! This costume is absolutely hilarious. I would smile pretty big if I walked down the street and saw a kid dressed like this. Thanks for sharing!
What a cute and creative costume.
Love this! LOVE LOVE! I love unique costumes like this one! Great work!
this is too adorable!! how creative!
This is a super cute idea! I love a good diy costume!