DIY Light-Up Wizard’s Staff

Does your magician or wizard costume need a magical staff? Let’s make a super simple DIY light-up wizard’s staff with only a handful of materials. I get commissions for purchases made through the affiliate links in this post.

DIY Light-Up Wizard’s Staff

The Back Story for the Wizard Costume

This year my almost ten year old has chosen to be Jack from The Familiars book series. Jack is a wizard with a cat named Aldwyn. Aldwyn is Jack’s familiar. A familiar is a magical companion to a wizard or witch. The book series is written from the cat’s perspective.

Together with a tree frog named Gilbert and a Blue Jay name Skylar, Aldwyn sets out on magical adventures to save the kingdom. If your child is a fan of Harry Potter and animals, then I highly recommend reading this 4 book series. I actually started reading the series as a read aloud to my kids. Aiden has since read the series twice.

Related: Check out our Harry Potter birthday party.

Naturally, Aiden asked to be Jack for Halloween this year. The problem with a chapter book series like The Familiars is there aren’t a lot of pictures. We found only a few drawings of Jack in the entire 4 books. What we did find was this drawing of Jack flying through the air with his magical staff. (Instead of a wand, he has a staff.) We also found a drawing that showed his tunic and boots.

I was planning on sewing the tunic and finding a suitable pair of boots, but first I checked to see if there were any pre-made costumes we could use parts of to save some time. I found a Prince of Thieves Robin Hood costume at Party City that I thought might work. My only concern was the chain mail on the sleeves. Aiden informed me that Jack wears chain mail under his tunic during a battle that takes place in the 4th book. So the costume became perfect. We left the belt off and Aiden has chosen not to wear the gloves.

He wears a black shirt and pants along with tunic and boots. The boots are just cloth covers that go over your shoes.

How to Make the Magical Staff for the Wizard’s Costume

Our magical staff is simply a dowel rod with a plastic ball attached to it. Inside the ball are lights.

Supplies Needed for the Light-up Wizard Staff

Links below are affiliate links to Home Depot and Michael’s. I earn commission for purchases made through these links. Remember you can order online and pick up the item in store.

• 1 inch x 36 inch round dowel rod
• sand paper
• wood stain (optional)
• paint rags
• wood screw
• drill
• Halloween LED flashing necklace
• plastic dome treat container

I found plastic dome treat containers at Michael’s. They fit perfectly on top of an oak dowel rod that measures 1 inch in diameter by 36 inches in length. I picked this dowel rod up at Home Depot along with the LED Halloween necklace.

If you can’t find a Halloween necklace, you could use glow bracelets. I found some LED flashing necklaces and rings in Target’s Dollar Spot, but the colors and flashes just didn’t look good with the magical staff. An LED tea light is another option to try. Most battery operated mini string lights won’t work because the battery packs won’t fit inside the plastic ball. You need something powered by a coin cell or watch battery. We could wire something ourselves, but that’s for another day.

Sand and Stain

First, you’ll want to sand your dowel rod. Then, you can stain it. I used an ebony stain with the poly already included. Be sure to follow directions on the can and cover your work area properly. I wore gloves and used paint rags to apply the stain.

Once the stain is dry, you’ll need to sand the dowel rod again to make sure it’s smooth. You may want to add another layer or two of stain and sand again.

Drill the Holes

Drill a hole in the middle of the top of the dowel rod where you will be attaching the plastic treat container. You want the hole to be appropriate in size and depth for your wood screw. I used a fairly short wood screw, so it doesn’t really take much.

Drill a hole in the middle of the bottom half of the plastic treat container. The container already has 2 holes but they are not in the middle. You’ll want to make your hole about the same size as those – large enough for your wood screw to fit through.

Place the LED Halloween necklace inside the plastic dome.

Complete the Wizard Costume

Here’s the completed wizard’s costume with light-up wizard’s staff.

This is what the costume and magical staff look like in the dark.

Have a Happy Halloween!

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