5 Halloween Activities for a Hauntingly Good Time

Halloween is a favorite holiday at our house. We’ve been making an annual trip to Pumpkinland at our local orchard since I was a girl. Each child chooses his pumpkin and then we buy apple cider and taffy apples. When we get home, we spread newspaper over the kitchen floor and carve Jack-O’Lanterns.

As the kids have gotten older, we’ve begun to carve more elaborate designs on pumpkins weighing up to 50 pounds! We light them up with votive candles and set them out to greet the costumed Trick-or-Treaters who come to our door. The following are some Halloween ideas that will add spooktacular fun to your autumn celebrations!

Ghost Busting Halloween Piñata Craft >

Breaking a piñata is a fun party game for children, and this one from the folks at Hershey’s is a winner. Make the ghost, fill with it candy and suspend it from a tree or sturdy clothesline, about a foot or two above the arm length of a child. Each child makes an attempt to break the piñata by swinging at it with a broom handle. I think a tennis racket works better and is somewhat safer. Be sure to clear a wide zone around the child swinging the racket!

What You’ll Need:

• HERSHEY’S KISSES Brand
• Chocolates
• TWIZZLERS Licorice
• HERSHEY'S MINATURES Chocolate Bars
• JOLLY RANCHER Hard Candy
• 2 to 3 rolls of white crepe paper
• White paper bag
• Construction paper
• Cardboard
• Craft twine
• Packing tape
• Glue
• Scissors
• Broom handle
• Blindfold

Instructions:

1. Using scissors cut the handles off a white paper grocery bag.
2. Next, cut out a piece of cardboard just large enough to fit inside the bottom of the bag.
3. Put the cardboard flat inside the bottom of the bag.
4. Punch a hole through the center of the cardboard and the bag, just large enough to thread the craft twine through.
5. Take a piece of craft twine around 3 feet in length. Knot one end. Thread the twine through the hole in the cardboard and the bag. The knot should catch against the cardboard.
6. Fill the bag with HERSHEY'S Miniatures Chocolate Bars, JOLLY RANCHER Hard Candy, and HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates, allowing four to six inches of space at the top of the bag.
7. Close the top of the bag by folding it to one side, then securely taping the flap closed.
8. Turn the bag upside down, with the twine sticking out of the top.
9. Decorate the bag to look like a ghost by gluing lengths of white streamers onto the bag at various points until the bag is completely covered. Streamers should hang about 6 inches below the bottom of the bag.
10. Using construction paper and scissors, cut out circles for the ghost's eyes and mouth. Glue these onto the crepe paper on the face of your ghost. You can even add HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates for eyes and TWIZZLERS Licorice for a mouth.
11. Suspend your ghost piñata in an area clear of furniture or other objects.
12. Blindfold players one at a time, and let them take turns beating the piñata with a broomstick (I prefer a tennis racket) until it breaks open and releases the candy.

Carmel Dipped Apples, a Classic Halloween Treat >

These traditional caramel-coated confections from Kraft Foods can be rolled in nuts, crushed cookies or candy for an added treat. Be sure the popsicle sticks are well inserted and monitor children while they eat.

What You’ll Need:

• 5 apples (1-1/2 lb.), washed, well dried
• 1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Caramels
• 2 Tbsp. water
• butter or cooking spray
• wooden popsicle sticks
• waxed paper

Instructions:

1. Insert wooden popsicle stick into stem end of each apple. Cover large plate with waxed paper; grease paper with butter (I prefer cooking spray).
2. Cook caramels and water in large saucepan on medium-low heat until caramels are completely melted, stirring constantly.
3. Dip apples in caramel; spoon additional caramel over apples if necessary to evenly coat apples. Let excess caramel drip off. Scrape bottoms of apples; place on prepared plate. Refrigerate 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator 15 min. before serving; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly. Refrigerate leftovers.

A Bewitching Story with a Yummy Recipe >

When I was a child, we picked up a book from a library discard sale that would become a family treasure. It’s Old Black Witch by Wende and Harry Devlin, and it’s still in print. It’s a cute story about a woman and her son who open a tea shop and find it inhabited by a grumpy witch. Before long, all are friends and the witch is in the kitchen making her famous blueberry pancakes for guests. Her recipe is on the back of the book, and is "bewitchingly" delicious!

Scary Halloween Spider >

This is a fun paper craft from First Palette that your children will love, from its eight legs to its four eyes!

You Will Need:

• Black construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Wiggle eyes
• Crayons or colored pencils (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut out an oval shape and a small circle from black construction paper. These will be the spider's body and head.
2. To make the legs, cut 4 thin strips from black construction paper. Make the strips at least 4 times as long as the spider's oval body.
3. *Note that the paper should be thick enough to allow the spider to stand up. For extra sturdy legs, you can always opt to use pipe cleaner.
4. Glue the round head onto the oval body.
5. Glue the four pairs of legs onto the body.
6. Flip the spider over so that the glued parts are concealed underneath. Crease each of the eight legs in the middle.
7. Crease the hinge between each leg and the body.
8. Your paper spider should be able to stand up on its eight legs.
9. If your spider does not stand up well, chances are one or more legs is shorter than the others. You will need to trim off the ends of the legs so that all of them are touching the ground.
10. Finish up by gluing on some wiggle eyes or by drawing eyes with crayons or colored pencils.

Toothy Monsters >

The clever crafters at Ziggity Zoom have come up with this easy monster craft. Place them on a windowsill facing out to ward off any visitors who prefer tricks to treats!

You Will Need:

• Small boxes
• Egg container
• Heavy paper
• Black marker
• Glue
• Paint
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Tape ends of box shut and glue or tape closed.
2. Draw a large mouth on the front of your box, then cut out with scissors. If you poke a hole in the center area of the mouth first, you can then make an x cut and cutting around the mouth outline will be easier and cleaner.
3. Cut out a double "eye" section from the egg container, leaving a little tab between the two where you will attach the eyes to the box.
4. Paint the eyes white and when dry, add black areas of eyes, using the marker.
5. Paint the box and let dry.
6. Make teeth, upper and lower sets, to fit your mouth. Glue in place from the inside.

Halloween is one of my personal favorites when it comes to crafty family fun. Use your imagination and enjoy a moonlight walk through the crunchy leaves with your little ghost or goblin! Be sure to check out our rememberstuff.me optimized search for more terrific craft activities!