Tag: Halloween

Spooky Season, Cute and Easy Ghosts for Kids

I love a good easy craft that I can do with my kids.

Bonus points when it’s something you are actually excited to keep around your house for weeks until the most wonderful time of year arrives – yes HALLOWEEN!

These little ghosts take about 30 minutes to make (plus dry time) and the supply list is minimal. Just make sure to consult below because we had to do a take-two after we bought the wrong kind of clay and ended up with a big mess and little ghosties in the trash. Bummer!

Ghostie with the Mostie

Supplies:

  • Crayola Model Magic Air Dry Clay (make sure to get this one. They make a different Air dry clay for pottery and you DON’T want that one).
  • A Rolling Pin
  • Placemat
  • Pencil
  • Spice Jar (empty or full is fine, it’s just to get the shape down)
  • Tin Foil
Foil over the spice jar, then overlay the clay

Steps:

  1. Make a small ball of foil and place it on top of your spice jar. Then use a larger piece of foil to drape over the top of the ball and spice jar.

2. Grab your placemat and rolling pin. Roll out your clay pretty thin. It will need to cover your spice jar and reach the bottom of it.

3. Use a pencil to poke out some eyes. You will want to play with this part until the eyes look as you wish. You can also make a mouth if you prefer.

4. Let your cute ghost dry for 48 hrs.

5. gently lift off the tin foil and ghost from the spice jar

6. Leave as-is or paint your ghost.

I left mine white but my daughter decided to paint black spots on hers. Turns out this may have been foreshadowing since our family costumes have been decided and they include Dalmatians. Ruff, Ruff!

These ghosts are so simple that I think it would make a fun classroom project this Fall.

Need a book to pair with this activity?

Try The Lonely Little House Ghost.

Now, go get your spooky on.

But not too spooky, just the right amount of spooky. Don’t go frightening the kids.

Unless that’s your thing. In that case, take them to Home Depot. They always have the CREEPIEST Halloween section.

My girls love it!

A Happy Halloween in the Making

I love Halloween like a seven year old loves Halloween, but I do not have the mental bandwidth to stress about my daughters costumes this year.

I love Halloween like a seven year old loves Halloween, but I do not have the mental bandwidth to stress about my daughters costumes this year.

Here’s how this year’s costumes came together:

I had a lady bug costume shoved in the back of the closet that I bought at a garage sale for $2 long before it would fit my oldest daughter, in anticipation of her trick or treating days.

Then a couple weeks ago I saw an infant size lady bug costume hanging at a kids resale store for $2.

Perfection.

My two little love bugs would be lady bugs! Done. Settled. One decision out of my jam-packed brain.

Sometimes as parents we resist doing things the simple way because we don’t want our children to think we don’t care about them.

But simplicity is not the same as indifference.

As a young child you can probably think of instances of both. Sometimes simple things actually made you feel incredibly happy (making a homemade dice costume from a box), while indifference, or lack of planning, made you feel unimportant or forgotten (stopping at the grocery store on Halloween and picking from the leftover plastic masks).

Doing things more simple this year doesn’t mean that I don’t care, and it is important to me that my girls know that. Simple means that I am deciding how much of my precious time and attention can be put in to certain things, so that I have time and energy to actually invest in being present with them.

–

Simple doesn’t mean you don’t care, or didn’t plan. It can actually be a sign that you planned well.

Remember that as you enter the crazy holiday season ahead.

And…

Happy Halloween (month)!

From,

The Oldest Trick or Treater on the Block

PS My oldest is two and a half and already pretty obsessed with Halloween. My job is done here:)