
Online Bonus Article
Easy Halloween Fun
By Lisa Kothari
Added September 2008
Ghouls, ghosts, and goblins- oh my! This year, take your ‘All
Hallows Eve’ from spooky to spectacular! Whether it’s just the
family or all of the neighborhood kids, party planner extraordinaire
Lisa Kothari offers some fun, easy, budget-friendly Halloween party
ideas.
Fun Halloween Activities:
Make Spiders, using Styrofoam balls, spray paint them black, and
black pipe cleaners. Have the kids assemble the legs and attach
a smaller ball as the head.
Make little ghosts using Tootsie Roll Pops, small little squares
of old white sheets, some colorful string, and a black marker for
the eyes. Easy and festive.
Play Pass The Pumpkin, have the kids sit in a circle and pass
small pumpkins and gourds to music. When the music stops, whoever
isn't holding a pumpkin is out!
Mummy Fun: Break up the kids into two teams, provide several rolls
of toilet paper to both teams, choose one person to mummify. The
team to wrap the mummy in toilet paper the fastest wins!
Build a Scarecrow: divide the kids into two teams and provide
old clothes, pillowcases, newspapers, and markers. Give them 20
minutes to build their scarecrow.
Easy budget-friendly costumes:
Bunch of Grapes -
Wear purple and green sweats or tights, etc. Blow up purple and
green balloons and attach all over your body with safety pins.
Wear matching makeup on hands and face to blend in.
Bubble Bath - Take a white laundry basket and cut out the bottom. (Try to
find one that does not have holes in it otherwise tape a white
cardboard piece to the inside of the laundry basket so as to show
no holes.) Attach two stripes of material to each side of the laundry
basket, connecting front and back for shoulder straps. Blow up
white, lavender, pink, and pearl colored balloons and safety pin
them to the basket for your bubbles. Wear all white underneath,
and add a shower cap, slippers, and a washcloth or poofy brush
for added effect.
Dresser -
Take a large cardboard box and attach long flat boxes to the front
and back and hot glue small balls on the front for pulls. Cut out
holes for arms on the sides and hole on top for head. Use a hot
glue gun to attach foam to the inside of the box where your shoulders
will rest to hold it up. Paint the dresser and write on each drawer:
sweaters, socks, underwear, shirts, etc. Use your hot glue gun
to place dresser accessories on top, a hairbrush, baubles, hair
clips, etc. Complete the costume by hanging (again use the hot
glue gun and use old stuff) socks, shirt, and sweaters out of the
drawers. Place a small lamp shade on your head so your neck and
face appear as the base of a lamp.
Window Box - Take a plastic window box and cut out the bottom. Place rope
suspenders on each side of the window box to wear over your shoulders.
Use plastic flowers placed in Styrofoam and Spanish moss attached
to the inside (with a glue gun) of the window box for the flowers.
Make a flower head piece. Cut out large petals from bright construction
paper, and attach the pieces to a headband.
 About Lisa Kothari: Kothari is the president and founder of Peppers
and Pollywogs, a web-based company that is “All About Kids’ Parties.” During
the past ten years, Lisa has organized hundreds of creative and
unique kids’ parties in Washington, DC, New York City, and Seattle.
Kothari
recently released her book, Dear Peppers and
Pollywogs…What Parents
Want to Know About Planning Their Kids’ Parties, a must-have manual
for all parents. She has great party tips on her website www.pepperspollywogs.com
|