Environmentally friendly Halloween costumes for 2012

Be kind to the environment and to your bottom line this Halloween with these amazing costumes made from corrugated cardboard boxes. The ubiquitous cardboard box can be sourced from your local grocery or electronics store.

The main idea is that you will go inside the box, so start by cutting holes for your head and arms in the bottom and on the side. If you have a rectangular box, made sure that the arm holes are on the short sides. On the large side of the box that will be in front you can cut out a large rectangle, leaving about 5 inches around the edge for reinforcement. Cover this rectangle with clear plastic. Now all you need to do is add a little pizzazz…

The claw arcade game: Take a trip to your local dollar store and get stuffed toys and other items you can use as prizes. Tape the prizes to the sides of the box with a small piece of tape (they must come away easily when pulled). Make a slot in the front of the box where people can put quarters in and tape a plastic container inside the box to catch the coins. Cut a flap out of the front where you can drop prizes should you deem someone worthy enough to win one. When someone puts a coin in your slot, use your hand as the claw and decide if they get a toy or not.

Zoltar the fortune teller: Wrap a towel around your head and draw a moustache on with eye liner. Create a slot for coins with a container to catch them just like in the example above. You also need to cut a slot through which you can pass fortunes printed on cards or strips of paper. When someone puts a coin in the slot, slip them a fortune.

Something fishy: Create an aquarium inside your box by cutting out pictures of fish and coral and gluing them to the inside walls. You can use plastic fish or draw your own if you’re artistic.