Alien Abduction Costume Tutorial

This alien abduction costume will stop people in their tracks with its awesomeness. It has it all – lights, flair, even a little alien! Here is the step-by-step on how to make this out of this world costume.

When we decided on a space-themed family Halloween costume ensemble, finding a costume that met my 11-year-old son’s approval was tricky. But then we discovered this man’s alien abduction costume and were sold! The costume took several days to assemble, so don’t wait til the very last minute to make it.

Alien Abduction Costume Supplies

Backpack
Four sheets of foam core from the Dollar Tree
Duct tape
Foam Sealant filler
Two wood dowels
Backpack
Silver spray paint
Clear bowl
Cardboard and paint to make little alien (or buy a plastic alien)
Adhesive LED lights with battery packs

Step-by-Step Alien Abduction Costume Instructions

To assemble the spaceship for the alien abduction costume:

Tape two pieces of the foam core together and then draw a circle spanning both.
Then divide into 12 parts
Cut all the pieces with an exacto knife

Throw one piece away. This is important, as it will ensure that you get a slight cone shape for the spaceship.

Duct tape all the pieces together to make the bottom of the ship. Then do the same for the top half. DO NOT tape together yet.

Your ship is going to be mounted into the backpack using two dowels.

Make two holes for the dowels to go into and then determine what the height needs to be of the ship when it is in the backpack.

Use a pencil to mark on the dowel where the ship should be attached.

This is where it gets a bit tricky. We nailed the dowels to our workbench to keep them steady for the next part. We then put the bottom of the ship through the dowels and used spray foam around the dowels to secure them in place. It then dried overnight. The foam expands significantly, so be prepared to have to trim some of it.

After the foam has dried, duct tape the top of the ship to the bottom.

Spray paint the whole ship and the poles with silver paint.

Once the ship is dry, put the poles in the backpack and use more foam to secure it in the backpack. You want to fill it with the foam so it doesn’t flop. The backpack doesn’t have to be anything fancy. I used a $3 clearance backpack from Wal-Mart.

Then it’s time to adhere the LED light strips. You will need to adhere them so that the battery packs can all be tucked into the backpack. I used eight packs.

After the lights are secured, add your alien and spaceship dome. I couldn’t find an alien that was the right size and proportion, so I painted a simple one on cardboard and added him to the top. Then I glued a clear plastic bowl for the dome to the top. This is part is critical to show the alien abduction for your costume!

Lastly add the green fringe to mimic the lights abducting you! You will need two packs. Trim it just a bit shorter than you think you should because it is easy to trip on while trick-or-treating.