Use leftover items from your home to create a parade float on a budget.
Participation in your town's parade celebration doesn't have to break the bank. Plan, organize and enlist the help of volunteers to prepare the float and give yourself a lot of time to take care of the big things and the last-minute needs won't be as stressful or expensive. Use your creative juices and imagination to make your parade float come to life with everyday household items that you may already have.
Floral Sheeting and Festooning Alternatives
Festooning is often a glittery accent piece resembling garland and is stretched over the ends of the float or to draw attention to special decoration pieces. During the after-holiday sale at the end of December or beginning of January, purchase a few strands of inexpensive Christmas tree garland. Most times you can get it for a fraction of a dollar. Use the tree garland to accentuate the float.
Floral sheeting is commonly placed on the flooring of the parade float vehicle and creates a shimmery effect. Instead of the sheeting, use a roll of plastic table covering from a party supply store and staple it to the wooden floor of a borrowed trailer. Lightly spray adhesive over the plastic and sprinkle transparent or silver glitter over it in lieu of expensive floral sheeting. An extra or unusable section of indoor/outdoor carpeting or turf may be used as grass for a reduced fee or free in some cases.
Float Fringe Substitutes
The long strands of fringe often used on the bottom of parade floats to give the appearance of the structure floating by and to cover up the unattractiveness of borrowed trailers can be replicated for a few bucks. Purchase plastic table cloths from the local dollar store and cut them in half lengthwise with a pair of sharp scissors. Use double-sided tape or temporary spray adhesive to attach them to the sides and ends of the trailer and cut 1-inch wide strands from the bottom up to create a fringed look to a party supply.
Creating Props
Don't be afraid to ask for help. Contact various roofing companies, construction firms and home improvement stores for lumber and supplies that are either leftover from previous jobs or that cannot be used due to warping. These scrap pieces may not be able to be used by them but could be a gold mine for a parade float planner. Enlist the volunteer consulting services of a construction supervisor to ensure that any built structure is safe and secure. Build a gingerbread house during the winter, a dog house for the Bulldog team mascot or a large heart in celebration of Valentine's Day or heart-health awareness from scrap lumber pieces.
Costume Tips
When brainstorming ideas for the float theme, keep in mind the costumes that you and your volunteers may already have on hand. Old Halloween costumes, Christmas play outfits and dance recital costumes may be taking up room in your child's closet and can be used to adorn the float. During a winter parade use an old ballerina costume; a pair of jeans, flannel and cowboy hat from a dollar store to create a cowboy costume; a brown furry jacket and sweats to create a teddy bear costume; and you may have a sack full of Santa's toys. Include a few pieces of burlap from old feed bags stretched over a few empty appliance boxes from a home improvement store and a parade float is made.
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