Kids, Tips / How-Tos, Toddlers

How to Make a DIY Taco Costume for Kids

September 27, 2019

It’s no secret that we at Nurture Life love food⁠, especially when it’s time to choose our kids’ Halloween costumes. To make your own outrageously adorable (and surprisingly easy) food-themed costume, join us as we taco through the simple steps!

Using one of our kids meal delivery boxes, we made this DIY taco costume, and the results were so precious that we couldn’t resist sharing. The simple instructions can be adapted for babies, toddlers and kids of all ages—and even for adults if you’d like to turn the whole family into a walking, talking taco bar!  

Step-by-Step Guide to a Kids Taco Costume

Gather up the items below, and you’ll be just five steps away from a Michelin-worthy taco costume for your little one.

What You’ll Need for Your Taco Halloween Costume

• 1 cardboard box* (large enough for your child to step into)
• Yellow acrylic paint 
• Felt (suggested colors: red, brown, light green, dark green, yellow and orange)
• Ribbon
• Hot glue gun
• Paint brush

*For toddlers, Nurture Life boxes are the perfect size for this fun cardboard craft! Older kids may need larger boxes.

How to Make Your Kid’s Taco Costume

1. Create the taco shell. Trace a half-circle onto one side of the cardboard box. Trace the same half-circle onto the opposite side of the box. Cut these half-circles out, leaving the bottom of the box intact.
2. Make a hole in the bottom. Cut a hole into the bottom of the box, large enough for your child to step into.
3. Paint the taco shell. Using as many coats as necessary (and letting them dry in between), paint the exterior of the box yellow. 
4. Jazz it up with toppings. From the pieces of colored felt, cut out all the taco toppings: squares for diced tomatoes, circles for ground beef and thin strips for shredded cheese and lettuce. With hot glue, attach the toppings along the inside edges of the taco shell.
5. Add shoulder straps. Cut two pieces of ribbon and hot glue them across the top of the taco shell to serve as shoulder straps. (Length can vary based on your kid’s size, but around 27” should work well.)

For extra fun making your toddler taco costume, let your little one’s creativity run wild! Younger kids can help with the painting, while older kids can use fabric scissors to cut out their own toppings.

Our Favorite Taco Recipe Ideas

The only thing better than your kid dressed up as the world’s cutest taco? Your kid in a taco costume, eating a taco! For the most spec-taco-lar Halloween ever, round out the night with one of these nutritious yet kid-friendly taco recipes.

1. Pork Al Pastor with Veggies & Black Bean Rice

If you want an easy taco recipe, it doesn’t get easier than Nurture Life’s Pork Al Pastor. All you’ll need to add is your choice of corn or flour tortillas!

Just pop the meal into the microwave, toast tortillas on the stovetop and then scoop the succulent, slow-cooked pork onto the hot tortillas. Pile on the black bean rice and Southwest veggies for a burrito-esque delight, or serve them on the side for a more conventional taco plate. Your tacos, your way!

2. Classic Taco Bar Tacos

Tacos don’t have to be fancy to be a crowd-pleaser. Let your kids have fun making their own tacos by setting out a DIY taco bar, filled with nutritious alternatives to traditional taco ingredients:

• Whole wheat tortillas instead of deep-fried taco shells
• Ground turkey, ground chicken or tofu instead of ground beef
• Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
• Homemade spice mixes instead of pre-packaged taco seasonings
• No-added-sodium black beans instead of refried beans
• Chopped spinach or romaine instead of shredded iceberg lettuce 
• Fresh diced tomatoes instead of bottled salsa
• Lime juice and hot sauce instead of processed taco sauces

To prevent staining your homemade taco costume, be sure to take off the cardboard taco shell before letting your kid dish out their toppings!

3. Fish Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Who says that tacos have to be filled with ground beef and cheese? Tacos are so fun on their own that they’re a great way to incorporate less conventionally kid-friendly foods—even “grown-up” ingredients like salmon, halibut or tilapia!

Skip the deep-fried fillets and try these baked fish tacos instead. While the fish fillets of your choice are baking in the oven, create your own easy homemade salsa with fresh pineapple, red bell pepper and onion. 

4. Southwest Sweet Potato Bowl

Looking for a veggie option? Nurture Life’s Southwest Sweet Potato Bowl is another well-balanced, delicious, and ready-to-serve taco filling. 

Roasted sweet potatoes, rice and beans are tossed in cumin, paprika and coriander to create a lightly spiced yet fully flavored filling that’s perfect for tacos. Just heat the meal in the microwave and scoop it onto corn or flour tortillas!

5. Taco Pizza

Combining two classic kid favorites into one fun-sized meal, taco pizza is sure to be a Halloween hit! Tomatoes, lettuce, ground turkey and shredded cheese bridge the gap between Italian-style pizza and Mexican-inspired tacos—with refrigerated pizza crust and packaged taco seasoning to keep the meal prep quick and easy.

For a healthier twist, we recommend using whole wheat pizza crust and homemade taco spices instead. You can even add your kid’s favorite veggies before baking, too.

With these easy DIY taco costume instructions and even easier taco recipe ideas, you’re ready to turn your Halloween into a serious fiesta. Taco ‘bout a Halloween to remember! If you aren’t feeling the taco spirit, get instructions for more DIY Halloween kids costumes here.