Homemade Kids Star Wars R2D2 Costume DIY

When Max told us he wanted to be R2D2 for Halloween, we knew that it was going to have to be an R2D2 costume DIY for sure. Jamie has a history of getting ridiculously crafty, just look at Thomas the train costume from two years ago, or the Death Star pinata from Max’s 5th birthday. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when he started planning this one.

How to Make an R2D2 Costume DIY

After doing some research, we decided that a swing-top trash can would be the way to go; we got this one on Amazon, but you might be able to find a different one that would work as well.

He used Bondo to fill in the seams of the swinging part and cut the face hole out. A bunch of silver and white spray paint, several sheets of fun foam, a couple of sheets of two-inch thick styrofoam for the legs, and the basic Artoo was done!

To actually get the costume wearable for Max, we bought a plain white t-shirt and hot glued it into the top of the cylinder. The shirt is a kid XL, just the right size to fill the circumference of the can. We were able to slip the t-shirt on over Max’s head, so his shoulders carried the weight, but evenly distributed across his whole torso (unlike the Thomas costume, which balanced on two thin straps on his little 4-year-old shoulders!)

To help keep the helmet on his head, we hot glued a beanie into the top of the lid, so he wore the hat and it kept the helmet mostly balanced on top of his head.

I have to be honest… I’ve loved his last two costumes and how fun they’ve been to build, but they have NOT been trick-or-treating friendly, so I’m looking forward to this year’s Han Solo outfit. Pants and a vest? Easy.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about building this R2D2 costume DIY… I hope he *is* the droid you’re looking for!

I’ve assembled this Amazon list of most of the things you’ll need, and they are affiliate links, so I’d love if you click through to buy anything! 🙂