[Creative DIY]Halloween Transformation: Kids' Hero POLI

Having made last year’s Halloween costume, I (Mommy) started thinking about what to make this year not long ago—(this mommy really prepares way too early, doesn’t she?)—and just recently, I saw other moms in the group sharing how to repurpose cardboard boxes. I quietly tucked the idea away for myself, because it perfectly matches what Nana has been into these past six months: the Rescue Heroes’ Poli.

With the costume chosen, it’s time to gather the materials.
1. Cardboard box
2. Wallpaper or cloud-patterned paper in blue tones (you’ll need around four sheets for the main car body blue—about the equivalent of two full sheets when combined)
3. Various sticky glues (I used double-sided tape + glue stick + kraft paper tape + hot glue gun)
4. Craft knife and scissors
5. Popsicle sticks (how are they used? Keep reading to find out)
6. Most importantly, your all-purpose hands
Once you’re all set, let’s get started crafting.

First, take apart the cardboard box, observe and trim it, cutting off any unnecessary “faces.” I cut off the entire bottom, and for the top part, I left some to create Poli’s front windshield (as shown in the picture below).
Actually, while cutting the bottom in the previous step, I left part uncut for the tires. I used Nana’s bowl to draw circles for the tires. Since the tires have folds from the cardboard, I was worried they might not stand steadily and could tip over, so I reinforced the inside of the tires with popsicle sticks and hot glue. I had collected popsicle sticks of various sizes, so both thick and thin ones came in handy. After gluing, I used kraft paper tape to secure them again—not only does it look neater, but it also prevents the bamboo splinters on the sticks from poking anyone.
Next, it’s time to paint the car. I wrapped the cardboard with wallpaper or cloud-patterned paper—I applied it piece by piece.
After wrapping the body, I added black tires and white doors (are they doors? I guess so). The size of the doors was based on photos of Poli and Mommy’s own sense of proportions.
The above steps were done while Nana wasn’t home—just me, the dutiful mommy, crafting alone. But since it was a holiday and my crafting spirit kicked in, I got to work with Nana this time. I handled the cutting, and Nana did the sticking. That day, we made two windows + stars on the tires + the letter P.
Then, for the folded areas inside the cardboard box, I also reinforced them with popsicle sticks and kraft paper tape, so the car windows wouldn’t collapse. Using glue stick for the windows helped avoid too much mess. For the front and back body painting, after I cut the pieces to size and applied the double-sided tape, I had Nana peel off the tape—it was great finger muscle training. Any extra paper at the corners of the car body could either be glued inside or trimmed off.
For the front windshield, I attached the window, then cut out the eyes and eyebrows—Nana insisted on a fierce-looking Poli. Then came the bumper and headlights. The bumper can be made with white poster board or cloud-patterned paper, and the headlights were made using yellow paper and aluminum foil (if you don’t have foil, gray or white will do, Up). Of course, this sticky finger work was handed over to Nana.
Finally, the top part of the car. I had kept the cardboard I had cut off earlier, cut it to the right size for the roof, and used dark blue cloud-patterned paper along with parts of the cardboard folded into rectangular shapes, which I also wrapped in dark blue cloud-patterned paper. The front windshield and sides of the car were secured with a hot glue gun, and I intentionally left the front windshield slightly slanted. The roof was also glued on with the hot glue gun—and that completed it, Up.
Then, considering that Nana would be “wearing” the Poli car to go trick-or-treating on Halloween, holding the car with both hands would be quite inconvenient. So, I drilled holes on both sides and borrowed the straps from my bag for her to use. Because the holes were drilled near the edges (they had to be close to the edges for the straps to pass through) and needed to bear some weight, I reinforced the inside with kraft paper bags.
Now that Nana could wear the Poli police car with the straps, her free hands could hold a police baton (I made it from the inner tube of a used cling wrap roll, and decorated it with black and red paper), and of course, the other hand would hold a candy container (made with leftover colored paper)—ready for candy, Up.
When Nana came home from school, I immediately asked her to try it on. At first, she was actually shy—was it because she saw her idol? The straps allow for adjusting the height of the car, and once she was all dressed up, beep beep—I’m going out to catch the bad guys.
While I was making the candy container, Mr. Chen couldn’t wait to try it on himself?! Halloween costume fun really is for all ages.

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