RIP the Opponent’s Morale with a Tombstone Float!

Bury the opponents in school spirit with this tombstone float design for your homecoming parade! This float design also works well for Halloween parades.This tombstone float is designed for an 8’ x 16’ farm wagon with the back removed. A similar sized trailer might be borrowed or rented from a local construction company or hardware store. The float could also be built on the back of a flat bed truck. Be sure to adjust your measurements and quantities of supplies according to the size of your base.

Build a light wooden frame from approximately 140’ of #2 1×3 pine to surround the wagon. The frame should extend from the top of the wagon bed to 15” from the ground. You can find wood for the frame at your local lumberyard.

Staple waterproof, flameproof floral sheeting to the frame to create the classic “floating” look. A float this size requires 16 yards of yellow vinyl floral sheeting for the sides. To calculate how much floral sheeting you need for your float, measure the distance around the float in feet and divide by three to get the yardage. Floral sheeting is sold in square yards and made of heavy plastic backing with rows of sewn-on scalloped plastic flower petal shapes. The floor requires 126 square feet of green indoor outdoor carpeting or grass mats.

Attach 14” high dark green vinyl fringe to the frame where the floral sheeting stops. Fringe is sold in 10’ long packages. This size float requires five 10’ packages of dark green vinyl fringe. Outline the sides of the float with dark green vinyl festooning. Festooning is available in 48’ long rolls. This float requires three rolls (for the size base indicated). Floral sheeting, festooning and fringe are made from waterproof, fade-proof and flameproof plastic and are reusable for other floats.

Display your float slogan using Styrofoam letters or numbers, each measuring 8” high. You can leave them white or paint them with interior latex paint. Nail the letters to plywood behind your floral sheeting or hot glue them directly to the sheeting.

To create the 10’ high x 1’ thick tombstone you will need approximately 40’ or #2 1×3 pine with the curved top made of plywood on the front and back. Cover the wood frame with chicken wire with 1” openings. The tombstone requires approximately 60’ of 18” chicken wire, which can be found at many hardware or farm supply stores.

Once the frame is built, stuff parade pomps tissue squares into each opening in the chicken wire. The tombstone requires approximately 70 packages of white tissue pomps. Be sure to use pomps paste to keep the pomps from blowing away or falling out. You’ll need about four 1 pint cans of pomps paste. The paste cleans up easily with warm water.

Make a 6’ wide x 10’ long grave with 40’ chicken wire and about 40” of #2 1×3 pine boards. Place a few boards under the chicken wire to give it a mound shape. To make the dirt, stuff the chicken wire with brown tissue pomps (about 40 packages), using a one-pint can of pomps paste. Create flowers out of colored poster board.

Finally, use a cardboard carpet roll, which you should be able to get free at a local floor-covering store to make the shovel handle. Form the blade of the shovel out of cardboard and spray paint it silver.

For more tips, check out the How-to-Build a Float book!