Search Results for: blog haunted halloween games and crafts

Last-Minute Halloween Ideas

Halloween is right around the corner. Does your house look haunted yet? Mountains of dirty dishes, piles of soiled laundry and black rings around the toilet don’t count. If you’ve waited until now to get into the Halloween spirit, don’t fret. There are a slew of simple ways you can create a spooktacular holiday display without breaking the bank: Sweet Treats on a Stick: With a little patience and a few cheap materials you can make a sweet treat on a stick. Halloween topiaries are a cinch to make. All you need are your favorite candies, such as gum drops, … Continue reading →

Kid-Friendly Halloween Happenings

My 5-year-old’s favorite theme park is Six Flags Great America. However, she won’t go near the place this time of year. Her fear of all-things ghoulish makes the amusement park’s popular Fright Fest off limits during the weeks leading up to Halloween. Fortunately, there are several scare-less Halloween events taking place through October at other parks around the nation. Some kid-friendly favorites include: HallowBoo at Idlewild in Ligonier, Pennsylvania is perfect for your littlest ghosts and goblins. The theme park’s Halloween events include trick-or-treating through Storybook Forest and meeting Ricky Raccoon and other characters. There are also Halloween-themed rides and … Continue reading →

Do-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes for Boys

Part of the reason I allow my 5-year-old to attend so many Halloween-related events is that I want to get the most out of the money I dropped paying for her overpriced costume. However, if your son is content with using a costume simply to trick-or-treat, then you might consider making your own. After all, why should you drain your bank account if your little guy is only going to dress up for a couple of hours on Halloween night? Save your money, and instead, rummage through your home for the materials needed to make these simple, yet creative costumes: … Continue reading →

Simple No-Sew Halloween Costumes

Whereas my mother could sew a bridge to connect Hawaii with California, I struggle to reattach buttons to blouses. If you are as bad a seamstress as I am, then you might have never considered making your own Halloween costume. Fortunately, there are a myriad of spooky getups you can create without having to sew a single stitch. Here are some ideas: Spider: Use a pair of black sweats and a black sweatshirt. For the spider’s legs, use old black pantyhose and stuff them with anything lightweight such as tissue paper or fiberfill. Then, staple or glue the pantyhose shut, … Continue reading →

Coordinating Halloween Costumes

I’m not a matchy-matchy kind of mom. I’ve never once considered buying coordinating mother/daughter dresses, nor have I ever honored the request to dress my child in an outfit that complemented her cousin’s. However, when it comes to Halloween costumes, I’m a little more flexible. For some reason, I have a soft spot for matching Halloween costumes, especially when children are involved. To me, nothing is more adorable than seeing two kids standing at your front door wearing coordinating costumes. If you want your kids to complement each other this Halloween, then consider the following costume ideas: Elmo and Cookie … Continue reading →

Cheap and Easy Halloween Costumes

Don’t let the slumping economy put a damper on your Halloween festivities. Just because you don’t have $50 to shell out for an elaborately designed costume from the Halloween store, doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of the haunted holiday. Simply gather materials from around your home and get your creative juices flowing to make the following cute and comfortable Halloween costumes: Bunny: Find a pink, brown or white sweatsuit and add a large pom-pom to the backside. For the ears, simply glue construction paper to a plastic headband. Skunk: Use a black sweatsuit and add a strip of … Continue reading →

Affordable Halloween Couples Costumes

I recently suggested to my fellow blogger Andrea that her husband and her daughter should consider dressing up in coordinating Halloween costumes before heading out to trick-or-treat. After all, you don’t have to be married to dress up in couples’ costumes. Brothers and sisters, two friends, classmates or a pair of cousins could easily pull off the following looks: Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm: This is a cute idea for kids of the same age and height. If you don’t have another child to pair up with, you could use the idea for a parent/child costume and have mom or dad dress … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Halloween Costumes

Are you that mom? My fellow blogger Andrea is not. At least not when it comes to Halloween costumes. Interestingly, I was not raised by that mom. My mom is extremely crafty, and throughout my childhood her exceptional creativity gave birth to many homemade Halloween costumes. Like Andrea, my mom designed dozens of funny, scary, cute and crazy getups for her children each October. The following costume ideas are oldies but goodies and are just as easy to make today as they were decades ago. What’s more, they are a lot cheaper than the overpriced store versions: Clown: Dig around … Continue reading →

Kid-Friendly Halloween Decorations Using Acorn Squash

My daughter’s cooking class teacher provided the directions to this next kid-friendly Halloween craft. In fact, she tailored an entire lesson around it. She had the kids decorate acorn squash to look like black cats and then they used the leftovers to make a yummy (and healthy) acorn squash veggie dip. The cooking class is geared towards kids ages 3-5 so keep that in mind when you are getting your children involved. The students did such an incredible job on their acorn squash cats it’s hard to believe that the project only requires a few short steps. All you need … Continue reading →

Simple Crafts to Add to Your Halloween Buffet Table

Over in the FOOD blog I have been sharing dozens of simple, affordable and extremely festive recipes to feature on a Halloween buffet. But, devilishly tasty dishes are only part of a spooky spread. To make your table look as festive as possible you need some equally creative pieces to accent the bloody bites and Kitty Litter cakes. The following are a couple of easy crafts you can make a few days prior to your Boo Bash that are sure to have your costumed guests moaning with delight. PAINTED CANDY CORN CLAY POTS This craft is as straightforward as they … Continue reading →