Halloween Inspiration

This post from Christina Ramon has something for everyone this Halloween season!!!

Some people like Fourth of July, others love Christmas. But ever since I can remember, Halloween has been my holiday of choice. As a kid, I would BEG my mom to take me to look for Halloween costumes – in June. She usually gave in by July or August. The selection was sparse in the middle of summer, but I still couldn’t resist.

Now 25 years ago, we didn’t have multiple warehouse Halloween stores. If you wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, you bought ballet flats at Payless, sprayed painted them red and glued red glitter on them. My grandma went to every department store to find a stuffed dog that looked like Toto. These days, the costume store has an entire Dorothy aisle!!

That aside, I still get a huge thrill checking out each Halloween store with my son. We browse every aisle and try on the funny masks or scare each other with gruesome fingers. We do tons of Halloween crafts, go to the local pumpkin patch, and this year, I am going to attempt to make kid’s Halloween soup, served in a pumpkin!

I am also very, very fortunate that my almost 4-year old is, and I am not kidding, as obsessed with Halloween as me. And I promise, it is not my doing - I think it is genetic! He has loved it since his second Halloween, when we went as the Addams Family. He was the baby, Pubert, from the movie. About a month after that Halloween, he asked to be a pink cat whenever Halloween rolled around again. Luckily, we were able to convince him to be a black cat with a pink belly.

About a month after last Halloween, he committed to being a Medusa jellyfish. And yes, he insists that my husband and I also go as different types of jellyfish. He wants my husband to be a Lion’s Mane jelly, and me to be an Upside-Down jellyfish. I explained that the logistics behind mommy walking on her hands all night would be just too much, so he is settling for me being a Moon jellyfish. And if you are wondering, they don’t sell jellyfish costumes! We are making them from scratch, starting with umbrella hats covered in iridescent fabric.

I relish in the challenge of making costumes, soup in a pumpkin and skeleton noodles (skeleton what?!) Maybe this article will inspire you to create a Halloween craft with your kids! Here are a few ides.

FOR THE NOVICE:

Paper Plate Jack-o-Lantern – buy orange paper plates or have your kids color/paint white paper plates. Use black felt, foam or paper to cut out eyes, a nose and a mouth. Create a green pipe cleaner stem and leaf )or just use green construction paper. Hang around your house and enjoy!

FOR THE CRAFT DABBLER:

Noodle Skeleton – buy different noodle shapes such as wheels, penne, macaroni and shells. Glue noodles in skull or skeleton shape on black construction paper.

FOR THE PROS:

Clothespin Bats – use a pencil to draw a bat outline on black foam, felt or construction paper. You can find templates through Google Images (free coloring pages are a good route.) Cut the form out (you will need two bat forms for each clothespin.) Glue googly eyes to the bat, or use colorful construction paper, paint, etc. to make eyes.

Meanwhile, paint clothespins black (spray paint is easiest). Once dry, glue a bat form to either side of the clothespin. Glue the tips of the wings together. Hang around your house with the clothespin clip!

Have fun and be safe this Halloween! And if you never get around to one of these craft projects, at least enjoy decorating some of the coloring pages, free from Google.