Archives for May 2010

Halloween Games for Adults

May 22, 2010 by halloween 2 Comments

Halloween games for adults are the best way to add some entertainment to your holiday soiree. While it seems only the costumed kids get to have fun during trick-or-treat this time of year, parties are the perfect celebration for adults. The costumes might get a bit more risqué and the mood a little bit more frightening, but it can be a good way for adults to enjoy the holiday. If you are planning a Halloween party you’ll need to do a little planning to make it memorable.

Bobbing for Apples

A classic game for all ages, really. This Halloween favorite may not be adored by anyone with excess Halloween face makeup, but everyone else should have a blast. Using a large metal basin tub or a plastic kiddie pool, you’ll want to play either outdoors or somewhere you don’t mind the floor getting wet. Add your water and your apples and then let everyone take a turn at dunking their heads in the water and trying to retrieve an apple. Players are not permitted to use their hands. Usually, a small group competes and whoever gets the first apple or the most apples, wins.

“Witch Hunt” Scavenger Hunt

This is generally more enjoyable if you can use more than one room and possibly even the outdoors. Make a list of five to ten things guests are supposed to find and try to weave in the Halloween theme. So, for instance, if you have “something you might find in a graveyard” guests can do their own interpretation by bringing back a rock, a worm or a handful of dirt.

This can also be played more like a version of an Easter egg hunt. Hide clues in plastic pumpkins and plan out where guests should go during the hunt. Each team starts with a clue that is meant to lead them to the next hidden clue. The first team to get all of their items or clues wins.

Mummy Wrap

In this game, couples work together to beat out all the other couples playing. Using toilet paper, one person wraps and the other person is the mummy. The first team to wrap their mummy completely from head to toe is declared the winning team. Other variations of this game include having more than one person wrapping or using a blindfold on the wrapper so the mummy has to verbally lead the couple to victory.

Pin the Tail on the Devil

As one of the Halloween games for adults, this can be changed to anything Halloween related. There’s pin the nose on the jack-o’-lantern or witch, for example. You can use any decoration from a Halloween store and either cut a section off, or trace and make your own body part to get pinned. Blindfold the guests, spin them a few times to disorient them and let them take off in the direction of the wall. Whoever gets closest, wins the game.

Pass the Organ

Using a good sized sponge or partly peeled orange, the object is to pass the item down the line without using your hands. The party gets divided up into two teams and blindfolds are an option. If the guests are blindfolded then they aren’t expecting the damp, squishy object that feels like a heart being passed to them. The first player starts with the object grasped between his chin and neck and works with the next person to pass it to the same spot. Whoever gets the “organ” to the end of the line first, without using their hands, wins.

Name that Yuck

Before the party, plan to have a row of bowls, usually five or six is fine, and fill them with something that feels yucky to the touch and have guests guess what is in the bowls. Peeled grapes can feel like eyeballs or make a gelatin brain mold, for example. Allowing things to be at room temperature for a while can add to the grossness factor. The guests waiting to play are in another room, and the guest taking his turn to guess is blindfolded. Whoever gets the most right answers wins. If some people tie, then decide who guessed their items the quickest.

In addition to these Halloween games for adults, there are also other well-known classics such as using an Ouija board or simply having a costume contest with different categories such as most original and sexiest. With the right décor, some scary movies or music in the background and everyone in great spirits, these Halloween games for adults will be the highlight of your holiday party.

Halloween Costume ideas for Crutches

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

A Giraffe, with the crutches as long front legs
A skier that hit a tree: Crutches can look like ski poles, or just crutches.
Tiny Tim from a Christmas Carol
The Penguin from The Batman Movie, IF you can use a cane instead
Big foot after being injured by a hunter
Jouster who has been injured. Knights shield that has been damaged etc.
Mr Monopoly with a coat, top hat and cane
Injured athlete: gymnast, football player etc.
Hit and run victim with tire tracks, fake blood etc.

Halloween Decorations

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

Halloween House Decorations

Halloween house decorations can turn any home into a haunted home during this holiday. You can get in the ghastly spirit of the holiday by adding some spooky, eerie or gross details to the home. What other time of year would you invite rats and bats indoors or make the effort to create a final resting place for dead bodies in your back yard? So live it up by celebrating the dead, or un-dead, and add some flair to your Halloween haunted lair.

Halloween House Decorations for a Haunted Home

Honestly, these days it is almost impossible to narrow down the choices of how to decorate your home for Halloween. We’ve come a long way from just the simple paper cutouts that hang on a door or wall. These days, homes can come alive with the undead and macabre fairly simply. It really all depends on how much or how little you want to decorate.

One of the easiest ways to add little touches of a fear factor to the home is by adding plenty of fake vermin. Those critters you spend money having exterminators keeping out of the home, you can now add with great enthusiasm. Plastic spiders, roaches and rats can be scattered about a room to add some yuck. Of course, do not use the little critter décor if you have little ones or pets as these can be choking hazards.

Add fake cob webs to corners and ghosts suspended from the ceiling. Ghosts can be created by using sheets, pillowcases or white trash bags. Simply lightly stuff with paper, close off with wire, string or rubber bands and hang for some scare factor. Remember to use caution and never hang anything too close to a light fixture or ceiling fan. To go all out, check out your local party supply store. There are plenty of monsters and other details you can add to up the amount of ghoulish delight you want in your haunted house.

Not so Scary Options

Halloween doesn’t have to be just about ghosts, goblins, demons and the undead. Halloween house decorations can also be selected to offer more of a seasonal theme than a haunted appeal. So think fall, instead of fear.

Pumpkins still add holiday finesse, only this time they don’t require any carving. In fact some gourds of all sizes, shapes and colors can really make a home look festive for this holiday. Of course that also means adding some hay to the look. You can put cloth or plastic on the floor and then use hay bales for décor or even seating. Make sure to use some loose bits around the room as well.

Apples and dried corn also add some festive holiday flavor to a room. If you’re really feeling in the spirit of things, you can also incorporate a scarecrow into your decorating and take it that extra step. Use some paper leaves to create an ambiance of fall, not just Halloween.

Crafty Ideas

Using homemade crafts to decorate for Halloween can be budget friendly and good for the whole family to get involved. Use some ideas you find to work together on a larger project or to create smaller individual pieces. A family sign is a good DIY project.

You can create one sign that everyone contributes to, or signs for each person to have on the door to their bedroom. You can also create one to hang outside. Go with either an autumn look or a haunted theme and color or decorate as you please. You can, in fact, take the eerie idea even farther by creating signs that look like tombstones.

You can also create holiday themed mobiles as part of your Halloween house decorations for inside the home. Again, family members can work together on one or create individual mobiles for different areas of the house. Use paper, felt, cloth, markers, glitter, glue and anything else you can think of to make a mobile. You can use patterns or stencils or do it all freehand.

Cut out drawings for younger kids and let them color with crayons. Once you have a collection of black cats, pumpkins, ghosts, bats and witches, create your mobile. You can use a coat hanger for better support if needed, and remember to make the top of the mobile larger than the pieces hanging from it.

Look online or do some party store browsing to get some ideas and inspiration. Make what you can and buy what you can’t. Either way, your Halloween house decorations will be sure to get your whole family in the spirit of the holiday.

Halloween Festivals or Events Around the USA

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

There are thousands of events and festivals and happenings around Halloween time, spread throughout the U.S. Some of the dates vary each year but some are fixed, so it’s wise to check before heading on out to any particular one. Another good idea is to find out whether the event itself is family-suitable, and whether or not the crowds are rowdy or family-friendly, as well. Of course, not all of the events are listed and there’s bound to be some within a short distance of your local city or town. If you have your own event, let us know in the comments below.

New York City’s Halloween Parade

This huge and diversely-populated city is not the place to be if you dislike large crowds. The party and parade is simply gigantic and it starts early evening on October 31st. The jumping off point is usually 6^th Avenue, and it goes from Spring Street to 21^st St. The event ends about 11pm but some celebrants carry on into the wee hours. There are 100s of large puppets, over fifty bands, along with parading citizens all dressed up. Millions watch from the sidelines according to the usual estimate.

Arkansas’ Magic Screams

This one is a theme park makeover held throughout October on the weekends. It’s in Hot Springs at the Magic Springs and Crystal Falls park. A lot of the things to do and see are family-friendly, with goblins and ghosts, wizards, costume contests, pumpkin painting and a haunted trail.

Witch Trial Recreation in Colonial Wiliamsburg in VA

Take part in this dramatic trial of a woman accused of being a witch (it’s set in 1706). Cry Witch is 1 of several offered here in the spirit of Halloween. They also have tours and evening walks by flickering candlelight, which talk about ghostly legends.

California Theme Park & Other Halloween Bashes

Universal Studios in Hollywood holds an annual event and they audition actors a few months before. Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park becomes Knott’s Scary Farm for the season. The West Hollywood Carnival attracts costumed participants (usually about half a million) along Santa Monica Boulevard. The huge retired luxury liner, The Queen Mary — which is docked in Long Beach, gives paranormal tours, haunted hotel rooms, ghost investigations and dinners around Halloween. Disneyland in Anaheim is decorated to a T for Halloween, and it holds parades and has crafts areas as well.

Ripley’s (Believe it Or Not) Events

Ripley’s Haunted Adventures in San Antonio, TX; special horror movie guests at their location in Gatlinburg, TN; the same at their location in Myrtle Beach, SC; Carnival of Screams at their Tussaud Palace of Wax in Grand Prairie, TX; and ghost walking tours as well as ghost train adventures in St. Augustine, FL.

Around California

Several Dia de los Muertos festivals, or the Mexican Day of the Dead, are spread throughout California. Altars for loved ones may be created at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery; in San Francisco they hold a procession all the way from the Mission District through to Garfield Park; Oceanside is the site where thousands of marigolds are used to decorate altars honoring ancestors, and where visitors can make their own in a Chalk Cemetery.

Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, FL

The park is transformed into Howl-O-Scream during the Halloween season, using scare zones, haunted houses, roller coasters and shows. Lots of screams here!

Misc. Events Across the Country

Events are held at the Nickelodeon Family suites which are in Orlando, and at some of the Great Wolf Lodges at other locations. Disneyworld decorates up a storm in Orlando, FL each year. In Key West, FL, they hold a Gnomes, Toads and White Rabbit Tea parties themed event. There are street fairs, costume contests and a parade. Alice in Wonderland is the theme. There’s a coronation ball as well as Captain Morgan’s Fantasy Fest Parade right through the historic downtown area of Key West.

In one of the best cities in the U.S. to celebrate Halloween — New Orleans — you’ll find The Witching Hour Ball (Anne Rice’s Lestat fan club puts this on), Haunted History Tours, and the Voodoo Music Experience. Just walking around New Orleans at this time will let anyone soak in the mysterious and romantic and exciting atmosphere of this legendary city. And oh, the food, glorious food, in New Orleans!

Halloween House Decorations

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

Many people keep certain holiday decorations from year to year, then add new ones. There’s the Christmas tree, ornaments for that, and perhaps a few well decorated and artificial pumpkins, Jack O’ Lanterns, and large black spiders for Halloween. Families often have a pumpkin carving fest and kids get a real kick out of creating those transitory pumpkins which are great for a week, then soften into a green and malodorous puddle when they start to decay. There’s room for permanent and temporary decorations for all seasons and holidays.

Craft stores have numerous basic pumpkin shapes made from either Paper Mache or Syrofoam Where these types shine is in a lovely mantel or window display which you can make yourself. After Halloween or Thanksgiving is over, pop the display into a plastic bag and seal it up, then store in a dry place. Dried gourds can also be used but they are nature’s own and eventually will deteriorate. For the mantel or window display, measure your space and cut a length of board to fit. Cover it neatly and totally with brown felt (fabric store) and fasten to board in back and at ends, kind of like a long, skinny package.

Choose either a few differently sized pumpkins and fall “greenery” and small picks with scarecrows on them etc., or a few Jack O’ Lanterns and black cats and a haunted house pick or two. One can be for Thanksgiving or you can do a combo. If there is an outlet near to where you are displaying the pumpkin diorama, then string some mini orange or purple lights along it and plug in. This is great for a front window. Don’t forget to turn the lights off at night or if you are out.

Haunted houses are popular at Halloween so you can create one in your own home, or even perhaps just the entryway. This will use several components which can be packed away or discarded each year when Halloween is over with. That stretchy spider web material is great for corners and very realistic. Guests may even think it’s real! In a dark upper corner you can place a large black spider and one of those that is animated and has glowing red eyes is super freaky and kids get a real kick out of them. Other rubber or plastic spiders can be placed around various locations, but make sure that pets don’t get hold of them as they can swallow them, and may get sick.

A favorite each year is a candy or treat bowl, so purchase a large black cauldron (plastic is fine or else it will weigh a ton), and if you can get s small electric glowing fire simulator and place it under the cauldron, so much the better. When Halloween comes you can place some dry ice hidden in your display so it seems to be bubbling over. Be careful about the dry ice as it can freeze the skin so keep it sway from treats. You can set up your cauldron and put treats in front of it as this would be the safest method.

Always think safety of children, adults and pets first on Halloween, whenever you make a decoration or wear a costume. It’s a fun time and kids love to dress up. There are realistic skeletons on the Web and also in some pop-up Halloween stores. They are usually molded from plastic and some can be inexpensive but the most realistic ones are expensive. They will last a long time so think if you’d like to invest in one. You can hang one from a chandelier if you have a very high ceiling, like the one in Disney’s Haunted Mansion.

An incredibly inventive scene and one which will be talked about in the neighborhood, is if you have a cubicle in your house or a very small room, you can create a Halloween scene in it – graveyards are popular, then stretch a scrim (muslin) cloth across the front which will screen off the room. When lit, people will see the scene suddenly and have a great time laughing about how it made them jump out of their skins! This is exactly how it’s done in the theatre and you can make these scenes fairly easily. An old fashioned parlor with a skeleton sitting in a rocking chair, a dusty tiffany lamp, and spooky music playing is a good scene to start with. If you can get the rocker to rock back and forth, then so much the better.

Halloween Festivals around the United States

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

If Halloween is really your kind of holiday than Halloween festivals around the country should be just the thing to get you in the spirit of the holiday. For some people, a costume party or taking the kids trick or treating just isn’t enough. In that case, you’ll be glad to know, there are some places that even celebrate Halloween all month long.

Halloween Festival of Salem, Massachusetts

It may come as no surprise that the town where the Salem Witch Trials were held has become the party spot to celebrate Halloween all month long. There are different types of planned events throughout the month, some involving the city and some independent groups. It doesn’t matter when you show up; you will find a way to celebrate the holiday.

There’s a week-long Festival of the Dead, a Witches’ Halloween Ball, a Vampire’s Masquerade Ball and a psychic fair, just to name a few of the many options. Of course, Halloween night itself is the most grand of all costumed galas. The entire area closes down the streets to traffic and costumed visitors and residents take over. There are plenty of clubs, bars, street food vendors and random craziness that make this an unbeatable Halloween celebration.

Anoka, Minnesota

When you think Halloween you certainly think Anoka, MN, right? Though the name may not ring a bell, shockingly, this place is considered the Halloween Capital of the World. This week long event started off as a one day parade and celebration back in the 1920s. The festivities grew until one day became one week. There are plenty of things to do throughout the week, including simply taking in the decorating that practically everyone in town pitches in to do. The usual Halloween events take place, including awarding the best decorated house, and there are now three parades instead of just one.

New York Village

One of the most well known and best loved Halloween parade takes place here. Going on its 39^th year, the parade has become quite a spectacle and includes public participation. Costumed New Yorkers and visitors come to mingle with the puppets and performers, such as musicians, dancers and artists. This self-proclaimed Nation’s Most Wildly Creative Halloween parade is a must-see, and must join in, for holiday fans.

Independence, Kansas

Spell Halloween backwards and you have the Neewollah celebration of Independence, KS. This town has been celebrating a backwards version of the holiday since 1919. There is a carnival, parades, a chili cook off and plenty of other Halloween and seasonally appropriate events to attend during this traditional holiday homage. The great pumpkin contest is a real crowd attracting event and most of the activities are fun for the whole family.

Pierce College, Woodland Hills, California

This festival is now a six week-long event, beating out even Salem, which goes for four weeks. The festival includes a pumpkin patch, corn maze and haunted house and trail. It is the perfect combination of family fun, country autumn fair and spooky Halloween attraction. Kids will love the farm animals and hay ride if they aren’t at the age to enjoy the Factory of Nightmares Haunted House just yet. Parts of the festival, such as the corn maze and haunted house and trail even go until midnight on weekends.

Irvington, Indianapolis

The Historic Irvington Halloween Festival is a traditional part of the holiday that has been happening for more than 60 years. Designed to bring some attention and tourists to the town, this festival is now just shy of a full month of celebrations. The variety of events included are eclectic, to say the least. From a roller derby to ghost story telling or a five mile run followed in the evening by Halloween-themed movies, there is sure to be something for everyone who attends. The Historic Irvington Halloween Festival also includes music, a pageant, theater, haunted puppet shows and ghost tours.

Finding Halloween Festivities

If you can travel, there is a world of opportunities to available to go all out celebrating Halloween. From single day events to six week festivals, there are all kinds of spooky or family friendly events to enjoy Halloween, or just autumn in general. All you have to do is search around a little and you will be sure to find something that suits your Halloween needs.

Even within your own town, or neighboring areas, there is sure to be something happening to pay homage to the holiday. More and more, towns are starting or elaborating on the events planned to honor Halloween.

Halloween Drinks for Children – Punch Bowl Classics and More

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

When throwing a holiday party for the little ones, Halloween drinks for children are a must. While it may be easier to find some great cocktail recipes for adults, some of those concoctions can also be made without the alcohol for a kid-friendly version. The simplest thing to do is make a punch bowl the centerpiece of the foods table and be ready to refill it as it gets low.

Gross and Ghastly Halloween Drinks for Children

“Rotten Apple Cider” is a popular favorite around Halloween, and just needs a little prep the day before the party. Depending on how much punch you want to make, most recipes call for using five cupcake tins or trays in the prep. Each of these gets filled with cider and 2 drops of red and one drop of green food coloring, and then stir. Hang 2 worms within each cup, with some of the gummy worm dangling over the side, and freeze. These wormy “cups” can either be added to plain apple cider in a punch bowl, or in individual glasses.

Another holiday punch classic is the “Squirmy, Wormy Punch.” This one calls for a day before prep step, too. So, just keep that in mind for your Halloween party planning. Freeze some gummy worm ice cubes the day before. Then, blend up a swampy looking concoction using Lemon-Lime Kool Aid, orange juice concentrate, ginger ale, sugar and water in your punch bowl. Add the cubes and top with a few scoops of orange sherbet, and you will have a mucky, yucky looking but great tasting beverage.

Also, the “Bloody Buggy Punch” is a fun Halloween beverage for a group. This punch tends to be a favorite of parents too, as it uses fruits. This one requires starting by mashing full strawberries in a bowl using a fork. Then mix the strawberries, ginger ale and lemonade in a pitcher. Put a handful or two of blueberries and raisins in the bottom of the glasses and pour the mixture over top of the fruits acting as “bugs.” It tastes good, is healthy and still looks terrible, which is the perfect combination for any Halloween beverage.

Seasonal Treats versus Halloween Sweets

Want Halloween drinks for kids with more of a season theme than a Halloween twist? For something tasty suiting for this time of year, but without the yuck factor, try pumpkin smoothies. It’s like the classic, seasonal pumpkin pie without the baking. It uses canned pumpkin, vanilla yogurt, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, a bit of honey and some ice cubes. All the ingredients get blended and poured into glasses with an optional dab of whipped cream or yogurt on top.

The other option, instead of a smoothie, would be a milkshake. Use a frozen banana, peeled and divided into smaller sections, and add to orange juice concentrate, pumpkin puree and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt and water for a blended treat.

Extra Special Tips for Your Halloween Drinks for Kids

Extra details can add that much gorier pizzazz to your holiday punch. Peeled grapes are great for floating eyeballs, and as you may have noticed from the above recipes, gummy worms can be added to almost any drink idea for some gross out appeal. You can also make glasses look like they have bloody rims. Mix red food color with corn syrup or honey and then glaze the glass rims with enough mixture to enable it to drip down the glass. The clean up can be a little more involved, but is worth the added effect.

To make floating hands, freeze water in a disposable glove, the kind without the powdered lining, and simply cut it off before serving and add to the punch bowl. You can either add one or several floating hand cubes, or have one standing up and protruding from the center of the bowl. Normally ice cubes with fake bugs frozen inside would be a great detail, but when working with kids it is better to do away with any potential choking hazards.

Set the Mood

The perfect Halloween party should include snacks, music and games as well to create a holiday party feel. Have a Halloween costume contest, maybe tell some spooky ghost stories and, above all else, have fun and be safe. Keep games, foods, drinks, ghost tales and anything else appropriate to the ages of the children attending. There’s more to creating a holiday party than just the Halloween drinks for children, but it can all come together for perfection.

Halloween Games for Children

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

No holiday party would be complete without Halloween games for kids. Aside from helping to set the mood for the party, it gives kids something to do to stay active and burn off the increased levels of sugar intake they get this time of year. Remember, keep the activities fun but safe and appropriate for the age groups attending the Halloween function. Enlist the help of other parents for chaperoning and encourage all the children to participate and it’s sure to be an enjoyable and memorable Halloween party for kids.

Classic Halloween Games for Kids

A standard and traditional Halloween party activity is bobbing for apples. This game can be played using a large metal basin tub or a plastic kiddie pool, but should be done outdoors if possible. Also, it should be played with plenty of supervision since it involves children and water. The players, without using their hands, dunk their heads into the water and try to retrieve apples using only their mouths. Usually, a small group plays against each other in rounds and whoever snags an apple first, or the person who gets the most, is the winner.

Parents who do not feel comfortable with this game, or do not feel like cleaning up water from all over their living room, can offer “Hanging Apple” instead. This alternative to bobbing for apples utilizes apples that have been hung up on a tree limb or sturdy rafter by string. Again, without using their hands, children try to snag the apple using only their mouths.

Pin the nose on the witch is a substitute for the kids’ classic party game pin the tail on the donkey. This can also be done using any form of symbolic Halloween related creature. You can use a decoration from a party store and cut off the part to be pinned. Another option is to trace the part to be pinned and make your own version of it. Maybe even have kids make their own before starting the game. You can have a pin the nose on the jack-o’-lantern, or feet on Frankenstein – just keep it Halloween related.

On Their Feet

One of the great things about party games is that children tend to get plenty of exercise without even knowing it. Some, of course, may offer a little more action than others. This is a great way to tire children out before winding down for the evening. Some of it will depend greatly on how much space you have available.

The Monster Mash has been a classic Halloween tune, as well as a graveyard smash, since around 1962. Using this song, have kids play a different version of freeze tag called “Monster Mash Freeze.” Kids dance while the song is played, but when the music is stopped at random intervals, participants must “freeze” in place or be out. The last one standing is the champ.

Pumpkin bowling is another one of the Halloween games for children that keep them on their feet. You can use a standard plastic bowling set and a mini pumpkin as the ball and have kids compete to knock the most pins down. You can even make it part of a small obstacle course so children run from one holiday themed game to the next.

As a separate game, or as part of the obstacle course, you can also include the eyeball and spoon race. Like the old egg and spoon race but with a Halloween twist, use an egg or ping pong ball painted to look like an eyeball and have kids race to the finish line without dropping the eye. For extra fun have each child decorate their own ping pong ball prior to the race. You can also create a version of this game utilizing a balloon and a paper plate. Again, an option is to have children decorate their balloon first to look like an eyeball. The child who makes it to the finish line first without dropping the balloon from the paper plate is the winner.

A Final Word

The idea is, when in doubt, put a Halloween theme or twist to a classic game and you have a holiday activity. Whatever activities you choose, just keep the kids involved as much as possible. This could mean helping to set up the games or decorating their own object to participate in the activities. Try to give everyone a chance to have a turn and, hopefully, be a winner. Halloween games for children should be fun but safe and add to making it a party to remember.

Halloween Crafts

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

Making your own crafts for Halloween means making a whole lot of fun, and each finished craft project is a unique one that only you could have made. House decorations are terrific ways to accommodate guests, whether at a party or tick or treaters. They are usually super-easy to make and quite inexpensive. We have some tips below and hopefully they will help you to realize a few crafts of your own.

Design a pumpkin or ghost-like face on empty one-gallon milk jugs then paint on the face. After you’ve cut out a back hole, light the jugs with candles or bulbs. Those battery operated candles are the best, and safest.
Get a few of those twig wreaths from the craft store and seasonal decorative items and flowers for them. You can make a Fall one first for Halloween, then one for Winter, Spring and Summer.
Spiders! These can be made from all sorts of found and purchased objects. One of the easiest is to get 8 of those chenille stems, a couple of googly eyes, a small styrofoam ball, and a suction cup. Paint the ball with appropriate paint, stick the stems in like legs, glue on the eyes and suction cup, and stick it on your windows.
Make a crowd of ghosts for the front lawn — Set up a few tomato cages and use twigs for arms. Weave a strand of lights through the cage and test to see if they light up. Cover with sheet or muslin and always use tiny lights for safety.
Eyes on the passersby. Use ping pong balls and tea lights which are battery powered. Paint the ping pong ball to look like an eyeball then cut a small hole in the bottom and stick it on to the tea light. Line up in your front window on a ledge.
Purchase one or more of those white translucent paper globe lights. Decorate with scrapbooking or construction paper and then plug it in. This is one lit owl!
Paint acorns orange then draw faces on them with a permanent marker. Arrange the tiny “pumpkins” how you like. This is a good one for kids as the pumpkins like tiny hands to make them!
Pumpkins can be changed into baseball players. Put a real hat on them, paint some eyes and part of a face, then blow up a small pink balloon, tie it off, then make a small hole and poke it into the pumpkin where the mouth would be.
Your own batmobile, or other mobile. Start with a wire hanger then cut out bat shapes and hang them from the hangar with twine or fishing line. Make a hangar go through another at right angles and you’ll have more hanging points. Use pumpkins instead, or ghosts.
Paint small pumpkins black, put on fierce eyes, cut out wings from craft foam, and you’ll have some unique bat-pumpkins. If you paint the eyes differently they will have different expressions.
An assortment of creepy creatures. Use craft foam and cut out bats and spiders and black cats. You can out these on a mirror or the inside of your windows.
Bats that are fuzzy. Cut a little puff off of a feather boa, attach craft foam wings and eyes, and you’ll have a whole bunch of bat kitties.
Cut a band of paper and measure it to fit around a votive candle holder. Cut eyes out of the paper in pairs and when a candle is lit, the eyes will dance.
If you are camping around Halloween, then make yourself a nice sign out of cardboard like : The Smith’s Campsite. Decorate with leaves and hang on the nearest to the campsite post.
Permanent pumpkins can be made by using clay pots, upside down, and decorate with yellow Jack O’Lantern faces and a piece of foam or branch for the stem.
If you have a pair of windows in your house, then decorate each half from the inside to look like a Jack O’Lantern from the outside.
Make a big spider for your window by using a half of a large styrofoam egg, then sticking bendable foam legs into the side. Don’t forget there are 8!
Use battery powered tea lights in small brown paper bags and line your walkway with them.

Halloween Around the World

May 22, 2010 by halloween Leave a Comment

While there are obviously parts of the globe that do not recognize or celebrate it, Halloween around the world is a traditional holiday that is considered one of the oldest in history. It is still the most popular in North America, Canada and possibly Ireland. There are plenty of other countries and regions that honor the holiday, though some of the traditions of Halloween may vary from place to place.

America – The jack-o’ -lantern was introduced by Irish settlers who brought the tradition with them. Their own folklore told the tale of a man named Jack who tricked the Devil on more than one occasion, but made the Devil agree to never claim his soul. Upon the man’s death, when the Devil could not let him enter, and Heaven wouldn’t take him, the Devil sent Jack away. Given only a coal from Hell to light the way, Jack found and carved a turnip to use as a lantern to carry this in.

The jack-o’-lantern was thus born and Irish traditionalists used the lantern in their homes to ward off spirits at Halloween. Once arriving in American and seeing large pumpkins that would work better for carving, the jack-o’-lantern was no longer a turnip.

As for the tradition of trick-or-treating, that appears to have begun in the 1950’s, though possible earlier. Costumed children began dressing in costume and demanding of residents that they hand over sweets, or sometimes money, or face the wrath of some trickery.

Canada – It is believed that Halloween traditions were started as far back as the 1800’s when the Irish immigrants first started landing there. Their Halloween customs do not deviate from the same ways Americans celebrate Halloween. They also use carved pumpkins and children partake in trick-or-treating.

China – Their Halloween celebrations are a bit more spirit friendly, as they actually encourage the spirits of their dead loved ones to return on this night. Lanterns are ignited to help the deceased find their way, and food offerings are left by their pictures. It is considered an honor to have the chance to have these souls return.

England – A different form of trick-or-treat was played out here, and may possibly the start of what became trick-or-treat for others who celebrate Halloween around the world. Children would wander the streets singing songs and door knocking to request money from residents. More recently, the British children began to bring back the tradition of door knocking on Halloween, but expecting changing it up to resemble the American style of trick-or-treating.

Ireland – This is also a place where Halloween is still celebrated possibly as much as it is in American and Canada. It is also considered the possible birthplace of the holiday. Children have their trick-or-treat festivities but the celebration continues and adults participate by having bonfires and parties.

Mexico – Like China, the dead are honored and this celebration of the dead is actually a joyous, festive occasion. Halloween (Day of the Dead) is actually just the day the celebration begins and continues for 3 days, ending on November 2, which is All Souls Day. Shrines and alters go up in homes for families hoping their deceased loved ones will return for a visit. Candy and other offerings are left as gifts to welcome spirits, and incense and candles are burned on the final day to help spirits find their way back.

Korea – To honor the dead on Halloween, Koreans visit the graves of their loved ones bearing gifts.

Austria – Another place where the dead are welcomed guests. A table light is left burning, and bread is left as an offering for any spirits of loved ones whom may stop by.

Czechoslovakia – Here, also, dead loved ones are invited to stop by. Chairs for all household members living and dead are placed out so the family can reunite.

Germany – They do not welcome spirits, but they do hide sharp utensils such as knives, so they will not be hurt by ghosts.

There are other places and methods for celebrating Halloween around the world, but these are just a few examples of the differences and similarities of many areas. There is also of course France that refuses to acknowledge Halloween, claiming it is an American holiday. Globalization has caused some time honored traditions to shift and more closely resemble the American festivities of Halloween, especially concerning the creation and placement of jack-o’-lanterns and events like trick-or-treat. Who could blame kids for wanting their families to adopt this sort of tradition, though?