Highlights Along the Way
Family Travel, Treats, Tips, & Traditions

Our DIY Olaf Costume for Halloween!

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DIY Olaf Costume

So when our son asked us last November if we could make him an Olaf costume we were all “Sure Buddy!” we had no idea how crazy complicated it was going to be to make a DIY Olaf Costume for Halloween.Had we known what a crazy endeavor this was going to be we might have steered him towards another homemade costume other than Olaf. But ignorance is bliss and we talked big about how awesome Olaf was going to be. We discussed how amazing he would look trick or treating at Mickey’s Halloween Party and basically just talked up this amazing costume we were going to make for Halloween. You guys. I’m gonna tell it to you straight; DIY Olaf was a pain in the butt.

awesome olaf costume

I am pretty sure my husband deserves an honorary engineering degree from Stanford for coming up with this crazy thing.  My mom deserves a long day at the spa for all of the sewing she did. We have all come to agreement that while this is super special, the boy will be wearing something we buy from the Disney Store next year. #easybutton

Olaf-Costume-etsy

Our DIY Olaf took quite a lot of time and it ended up costing over $60 to make. $60 TO MAKE YOU GUYS! We try to keep our costumes under $25 if at all possible and we blew this one out of the water. And this is me friends, you know we used coupons and sales for fabric and we even repurposed some things. When we first started we thought we might sell these to order on etsy, but we would see how difficult and time consuming it was before we decided on a price. We have decided on a price – three grand. Let us know if you want one.  Orders must be placed before October 1st and they include shipping. I’m not even kidding.

olaf costume close up

So anyway, my mom and Harry did an amazing job and we cannot wait to parade this kid around at Mickey’s Halloween Party and pretty much every rated G trick or treat option in the SoCal area.

Olaf-costume-homemade*please excuse the lack of smiles in a couple of these photos, it was so hot the day we took them, I promise we took pictures fast but he wasn’t up to gigantic smiles each time.*

It isn’t as heavy as it looks, but it is pretty warm.  We are crossing our fingers it isn’t quite as hot at Disneyland when we go at the end of the month.  If it is we suggested he maybe not put his costume on until the sun goes down.

olaf

Harry really wanted Olaf’s to be the right proportions. We have seen some really cool Olaf costumes out there; but something was missing for the animators that live inside Harry and I. Harry insisted that the Olaf head had to be just right or it just wasn’t worth doing. For those of you that did not see our sneak peek – check it out here – you can see he made several drafts on the computer, sketched out, and then several 3-D models with paper before using the pricey foam.

olaf

I know what you are thinking…. “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” A couple times I was like “Babe, seriously, this is ridiculous. Let’s just buy him a Batman costume.” and he was all “No way, I already got this far, I just need to figure it out.” This was his Everest. While it took a lot longer than we originally anticipated and it ended up being quite a bit more than we like to spend; we are all so happy he made this awesome Olaf costume. We know S feels super special that Grandma and Daddy spent so much time making him a costumes that everyone is going to think is so cool; but more importantly the costume that he has been dreaming about all year! By the time Halloween rolls around this kid is going to be eight years old. While he is still a bit more squirrely than his classmates we can see that he is starting to grow up. Far too soon the day will come when he won’t even want to Trick or Treat in a costume his Daddy made and he will think Olaf is for babies. While this costume took forever, this photo is so worth it for us.

Olaf-costume-with-dad

So a general ‘how to’ post is coming soon. I must warn you, this costume was crazy tedious and he is going to share some general info but not every teensie step. It will get you rolling though I promise.A full supply list and basic step by step as well as a bunch of pictures. He will also add in a few tips. He says now that he has done it he can think of quite a few things he would have done differently if he was to do it again (and I suppose he may still do it again if someone comes up with that three grand), he will add in those hot tips. Stay tuned, it will be up in the next week or so.

olaf close up

Yes it is hilarious and cute and I am SO glad he made this DIY Olaf Costume – and if you want to make your own DIY Olaf Costume you have all the fun instructions here – DIY Olaf Costume Instructions

But if that looks crazy to you – there’s also this route –

Until then, let me leave you with this video of Olaf bustin a move. I’m not sure if this is only amusing to me as his mom, but I cannot stop cracking up.  Look at that silly Olaf bootie shaking. LOL!

Until Next Time ~ Kate
Categories:  Costumes, Crafts, DIY
  1. Too cute! I would’ve ditched it too and gone for the Batman costume. LOL.

  2. Laura says:

    OMG this is AWESOME!! Great job!!

  3. Jen says:

    That costume looks amazing!!!!

    • Kate Hamernik says:

      thank you! I can’t believe how great it turned out! My husband has a back up plan in case teaching doesn’t work out 😉

  4. Maryann says:

    So cute– pinning!

  5. Mindy says:

    Oh my! The costume turned out AMAZING!!!! The head is amazing!!! You all are so generous to share your pictures and tips with us. Thank you so much! I’ll let you know if ours turns out…but I’ll keep a Batman costume waiting. Please thank your husband and his helper (grandma).

    • Kate Hamernik says:

      Thank you so much Mindy! I can’t wait to see yours – share a link here ok?! I was so impressed by what they did – I knew it would be cool but I could not believe how awesome it turned out (I can gush because I didn’t make it so it isn’t bragging 😉 )

  6. Rox says:

    Thank you for sharing this Olaf costume. I do believe it’s the best one out there. And I have been looking for different versions. I have a niece who wants to be Olaf for Halloween. Originally I was going to use a hoola hoop, but I like the foam idea better. I will be waiting for the step-by-step. One question: how did your husband put the foam together? Sewing? Glue? Thanks again.

  7. […] my son asked for a DIY Olaf Costume for Mickey’s Halloween Party this year we had no idea the beast of a project we were signing […]

  8. Kristen says:

    Oh my goodness! He is going to be so popular at Mickey’s Halloween Party. We are going in two weeks and I do not have costumes ready. Eek! Great job in Olaf!

  9. […] place.  This is my ‘so easy it is practically cheating’ trick or treat costume.  Sometimes our costumes are crazy complicated, but this is not one of those costumes.  This costume is super budget friendly and we like to do […]

  10. Sharon Keefe says:

    That costume is fabulous!!! would you be interested in renting that costume? I need one for our parade next Saturday Dec 13th. Have been trying to find one in a size 12 but have had no luck…. the little boy that will be Olaf in our parade looks to be about the same size or just a little taller…anyway just checking…I might even be interested in buying it if you are willing to sell.. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you

    • Kate Hamernik says:

      Hi Sharon – email me at kate ‘at’ highlightsalongtheway.com – let me know where you are located – we could rent it out for sure and I might be able to convince them to sell =) – my son is a size 9 but it was plenty roomy – a taller child could easily wear it =)

  11. Sharon keefe says:

    Kate…I sent u an email…I used a different email address than the one I sent u earlier. Hope u got it

  12. […] help her put it together.  After parading around Mickey’s Halloween Party in an over the top DIY Olaf costume last year my son has decided he’s not quite ready to spend a bunch of time on a costume just […]

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  14. […] may enjoy dressing up as different Frozen characters for fun themed sibling costume ideas. This Olaf costume is pretty darn epic and would make a fantastic Halloween or fancy dress costume for other events […]

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