I am participating in Housewife Bliss' Holiday Workshop. She will be hosting several wonderful bloggers every Thursday to write about various entertaining aspects through the holiday season. Be sure to visit her and all the other wonderful people participating in this series!
Halloween is just a few weeks away. I know my children have been planning their Halloween costumes for several months already. It's a Holiday they adore. I think they might actually like getting candy for Halloween more than they like their Christmas presents!
This weekend we'll retrieve our collected Spooky and whimsical Halloween goodies and place them strategically around the house. I tend not to go crazy this time of the year, but the children do enjoy seeing a witch's hat here, a broom there... a scary rat or bat strategically hidden by one sibling, taken and moved by another... watch out because it will be sure to give you a fright!
First of all, with any decorating - sprucing up the house - I love to involve the children. Since they are such a grand part of our lives it is important that their presence is felt. I love these votive Jack O Lanterns that they made. They couldn't be more fun and they couldn't be easier to make!
For instructions please visit here!
I also love seeing dancing ghosts all over the place during the holiday season. This is another fun activity you can do with your children to dress up your front lawn.
To learn how to make these cute spooks, visit this site.
As always Martha Stewart has the cleverest ideas. I love these gourd bird feeders. They add a subtle holiday touch to your outdoors. Fill them with birdseed and you'll have a wonderful bird oasis. Small pumpkins can be hallowed out and substituted.
If you plan on having an evening gathering there is no more delightful way to light your walkway than with these pumpkin or gourd luminaries.
If you are going to have a family friendly party you'll need to have some activities to keep the children entertained. Depending on the ages of the children attending, you may want to hire a local teenager or two to help with babysitting so that you and the other parents can enjoy yourselves.
I love a scarecrow making contest! You'll need a bale or two of hay and some old jeans or overalls, flannel shirts, hats, bandannas... If you have none of these items at home, you'll be able to pick up these items from your local Goodwill store for practically pennies! You'll divide all your guests into two or three teams (or as many as you'll need depending on the amount of guests and the ages of your guests) and make sure to have mixed ages on these teams. The goal is to stuff the hay into the clothes and create a scarecrow. The team that does it the fastest wins!
Or you could have a scarecrow relay race! Instead of hay team members dress in the overalls, shirts, bandannas, etc and race across the lawn, then disrobe and pass the clothes on to a team mate until all members have dressed, raced and undressed. This is loads of fun!
I still love the concept of apple bobbing. I know this worries some parents, and of course you'll really need to make sure that whoever is participating is free of any cold or other virus. Add a bit of Clorox to the water (as done in preschools and day cares) to remove potential germs. This will not harm the apples or the bobbers. Place the apples in a large, low bucket and let the fun begin!
Eating hanging donuts while suspending from a string is fun as well. You'll need some donuts (if you have access to some apple cider donuts, get them... they are so yummy and festive and lend themselves perfectly to an Autumn Harvest Party! You'll need some string to tie around the donuts, and something to hang them from so that they are dangling. The object of the game is to get your donut and eat it first!
How about some bowling using some gourds?
Part of the fun of the Halloween season are all the wonderfully sinful, devilish and delightful little treats, and as with anything Halloween, there ought to be an element of surprise! Perhaps serve up these scary chocolate critters?
I made a Spooky Centerpiece for the children last year. They adored it and everyone asked for more eyeballs! The rat disappeared and we ended up playing Find The Rat for the next couple of weeks!
EntertainingMom loves her cocktail napkins. I collect everything from Target brand to Caspari!
It would be remiss of me not to offer a spooky cocktail. Is our little creepy, crawly friend sweet or scary?
When the party is over, if children are invited, you may want to send them off with Halloween goody bags. I prefer not to give out candy, as children get enough during the holiday season. My children and I made some wonderful Pumpkin Spice Play Dough last year. The gifts, the play dough wrapped in cellophane, came with directions for making more and with a special Halloween cookie cutter.
For how tos and instructions visit my post here.
Halloween is just a few weeks away. I know my children have been planning their Halloween costumes for several months already. It's a Holiday they adore. I think they might actually like getting candy for Halloween more than they like their Christmas presents!
This weekend we'll retrieve our collected Spooky and whimsical Halloween goodies and place them strategically around the house. I tend not to go crazy this time of the year, but the children do enjoy seeing a witch's hat here, a broom there... a scary rat or bat strategically hidden by one sibling, taken and moved by another... watch out because it will be sure to give you a fright!
First of all, with any decorating - sprucing up the house - I love to involve the children. Since they are such a grand part of our lives it is important that their presence is felt. I love these votive Jack O Lanterns that they made. They couldn't be more fun and they couldn't be easier to make!
For instructions please visit here!
I also love seeing dancing ghosts all over the place during the holiday season. This is another fun activity you can do with your children to dress up your front lawn.
To learn how to make these cute spooks, visit this site.
As always Martha Stewart has the cleverest ideas. I love these gourd bird feeders. They add a subtle holiday touch to your outdoors. Fill them with birdseed and you'll have a wonderful bird oasis. Small pumpkins can be hallowed out and substituted.
 |
| Image, Martha Stewart |
If you plan on having an evening gathering there is no more delightful way to light your walkway than with these pumpkin or gourd luminaries.
 |
| Image, Martha Stewart |
 |
| Image, Martha Stewart |
 |
| Image, Martha Stewart |
If you are going to have a family friendly party you'll need to have some activities to keep the children entertained. Depending on the ages of the children attending, you may want to hire a local teenager or two to help with babysitting so that you and the other parents can enjoy yourselves.
Fun activities for all ages include potato sack races, three-legged-races, autumn related scavenger/treasure hunts, pumpkin decorating, pumpkin carving, pine cone hunt (much like an Easter egg hunt!) and mini pumpkin toss (in lieu of an egg toss).
I love a scarecrow making contest! You'll need a bale or two of hay and some old jeans or overalls, flannel shirts, hats, bandannas... If you have none of these items at home, you'll be able to pick up these items from your local Goodwill store for practically pennies! You'll divide all your guests into two or three teams (or as many as you'll need depending on the amount of guests and the ages of your guests) and make sure to have mixed ages on these teams. The goal is to stuff the hay into the clothes and create a scarecrow. The team that does it the fastest wins!
Or you could have a scarecrow relay race! Instead of hay team members dress in the overalls, shirts, bandannas, etc and race across the lawn, then disrobe and pass the clothes on to a team mate until all members have dressed, raced and undressed. This is loads of fun!
I still love the concept of apple bobbing. I know this worries some parents, and of course you'll really need to make sure that whoever is participating is free of any cold or other virus. Add a bit of Clorox to the water (as done in preschools and day cares) to remove potential germs. This will not harm the apples or the bobbers. Place the apples in a large, low bucket and let the fun begin!
Eating hanging donuts while suspending from a string is fun as well. You'll need some donuts (if you have access to some apple cider donuts, get them... they are so yummy and festive and lend themselves perfectly to an Autumn Harvest Party! You'll need some string to tie around the donuts, and something to hang them from so that they are dangling. The object of the game is to get your donut and eat it first!
How about some bowling using some gourds?
Part of the fun of the Halloween season are all the wonderfully sinful, devilish and delightful little treats, and as with anything Halloween, there ought to be an element of surprise! Perhaps serve up these scary chocolate critters?
I made a Spooky Centerpiece for the children last year. They adored it and everyone asked for more eyeballs! The rat disappeared and we ended up playing Find The Rat for the next couple of weeks!
EntertainingMom loves her cocktail napkins. I collect everything from Target brand to Caspari!
It would be remiss of me not to offer a spooky cocktail. Is our little creepy, crawly friend sweet or scary?
When the party is over, if children are invited, you may want to send them off with Halloween goody bags. I prefer not to give out candy, as children get enough during the holiday season. My children and I made some wonderful Pumpkin Spice Play Dough last year. The gifts, the play dough wrapped in cellophane, came with directions for making more and with a special Halloween cookie cutter.
For how tos and instructions visit my post here.