Safe Halloween Fun for the Young Ones
Halloween is especially exciting for the young children from about the age of three. They are
all aware of the plans and preparations around them. They ask questions about this big event!
Most of all, they are intrigued by the thought of going door to door to collect goodies. Sad to
say, nowadays, one has to be very careful with the little ones out in the dark.
Why not host a Halloween party? It really is simple and can be lots of fun! Invite your children’s
friends and even ask some of the parents to contribute by bringing snacks and drinks. They can
also bring little Halloween paraphernalia to be used as prizes and gifts for the many games that
can be played by the little ones.
A piñata can create much excitement on its own. Children are always eager to hit it just to see
what’s inside of it. The piñata should be the main attraction in a prominent area. The piñata
can be a real pumpkin or one made of paper. It could also be the shape of a witch’s hat. Fill the
piñata with lots of candies or lots of little Halloween trinkets and noisemakers. Let the children
line up and take turns, blindfolded, and hit the piñata with a broom handle. Eventually, the
piñata will break and there will be a stampede to collect the treats that have fallen out.
As a spin-off the party game, ‘Pin the tail on the donkey’, you can have a life sized picture of a
witch without her nose or without a wart. The game is to take turns, blindfolded, and attempt
to stick on her nose in the correct place, or stick the wart on her chin. The person who sticks it
in the most correct spot will be the winner.
A Treasure Hunt can become a Graveyard Hunt, if the children are mature enough as you don’t
want to scare them. Decorate the yard with old cans, pieces of furniture, and anything that
looks old. You can even purchase plastic graveyard headstones. You then hide little gifts all over
the area, and have the children search for their treasures. Whoever collects the most items,
wins an extra special prize.
Another fun game is “Reaching for Apples”. Hang a line of apples on a string, just about the
height that the average child at the party would be. Hang about six strings with the fruit on the
end. Let the children take turns, hands behind the back, and they must bite the item. Whoever
bites the apple wins a prize.
Be sure and have some eerie and spooky sounding music or noises on the stereo.
There are many games that can be played. Just be creative with all the Halloween decorations,
trinkets, goodies and other accessories that are now abundantly available. Everyone will be safe
and the little ones will be in their own Halloween Heaven!
Trick + Treat + Costumes = Fun
After all of the serious stuff, let us now proceed to the fun part. As what I have
said earlier, the reason why kids usually get so excited for Halloween is because of trick-or-
treat-ing and because they get to wear cool costumes. With trick or treating, they
experience how fun it is to be a child and by wearing different costumes, it
brings out their inner creativity because as I mentioned before buying your
costume in a store is fun but making your own is awesome! With these two elements combined, the reason why
Halloween is a day to be remembered for kids is understandable.
First element: trick or treat!
You are probably aware of this, but I will explain it anyway for those who are not
familiar on how this one goes: in trick or treating, kids will usually knock on your door
asking you for some treats. It can be in the form of money at times, but lollies and desserts
are more likely what they are after. They usually bring beautifully decorated plastic bags
with them. When a household fails to give them
treats and turns them down, this is where things begin to be nasty. The children whom
you turned down will play a trick on you like hiding your pair of slippers (the simplest
that I could think of). After a couple of days, after you have given up looking for that
lost thing of yours, it will suddenly appear out of nowhere, because the children who
tricked you, will have returned it (that is if they are good kids).
Second element: costume party!
On second thoughts, Halloween does not necessarily have to involve a party. It is
already considered fun as long as you are wearing a costume. As I have told you, it
does not matter if your costume is as simple as a white blanket over you to resemble a
white ghost or as extravagant as a count Dracula or a vampire with that “thirsty for
blood” effect. Again, your costume does not have to be bought from somewhere because
the element of creativity is far more important in this case than your money.
My two cents worth
It does not matter how memorable your costume is or how bad your trick is. Just
like other days and celebrations, what matters is how we make the most of it. Probably
just like other celebrations, Halloween is only celebrated on one day of every year so we
must think of ways to make every year different from the previous one that passed by.
Think about this: if you happen to be with someone where Halloween is not that
observed in their culture, how would you make it special for him or her to make them want it again?
That Spooky Night of the Year
Every year, we celebrate a holiday which we can refer to as the “most terrifying” time in our lives. Next to Christmas, it is the next loved holiday (well for kids in this case) because we get to be whoever we want to be even for one day only. The reason why I said that the kids are the only ones jolly about this holiday is because they do not truly understand the meaning of it. Anyway, the holiday that I am talking about is Halloween.
Celebrated on the first day of November, it is a day to remember our deceased loved ones, and of course trick or treat-ing! Aside from the treats one could get, we are also excited whenever this day comes because of the different costumes we may see.
Dressing for your Halloween party need not to be difficult because just like what I have said, you can dress up like anyone (or even anything) that you want to be. You can dress up like your favorite superhero, or you could also dress up like a spooky-talking tree.
The choice is yours! The list goes on and on. But for those who are aiming to be popular, the first thing that comes to mind for boys is to be dressed up like count Dracula. What makes this character is the fact that he has fangs and because blood is flowing out
of his mouth.
Another popular figure when it comes to boys is dressing up like Frankenstein. He is the character who was created by a mad scientist who can think but only obeys his “master’s” orders. What makes him spooky is the fact that he has bolts on his head, as if his brain is going to fall off at times and making it look like it is even undone. There is also this blank stare of his, and this is freaky because you have no clue of what he is thinking. He might just start attacking you out of nowhere.
The girls will not miss out from all the fun of course. Aside from dressing up like your favorite cartoon character or even Barbie, still the number one pick of all is dressing up like a wicked witch. The costume involves wearing a long pointed nose, having some “warts” on your face, wearing a black dress with a long pointy hat, along with a broom. The broom is usually placed in between the legs, leaving us with the impression that she can fly. The fact that she could create magic spells with the use of her different potions makes her fearful because it simply means that she could control any person. But it does not stop there because she also has a voodoo doll which she can use to put misery on any person that she wishes to.
You see? Dressing up for Halloween should not be that hard. It can be from as simple as a white ghost to something as extravagant as the ones that were mentioned above. You don’t really have to buy from a costume shop for all of these because that is just not the point of it all. All you really need is your creativity, and you are all set to party.
Happy Halloween to everyone!
Make your Own Halloween Decorations
Get in the Spirit with Easy to Make Halloween Decorations
Halloween is a fun time of the year. It is the time when all the skeletons come out of the closet literally as well as witches, black cats and jack-o-lanterns. The great things about Halloween decorations is that they don’t have to be expensive and can turn your home either into a scary place to visit or a whimsical place to be.
While many people spend hundreds of dollars on Halloween decorations this doesn’t have to be the case. You can make very simple and expensive Halloween decorations or pick many up for a song to decorate your table, your mantle, your door or even the entire outside of your house.
Make Pumpkins The Focal Point of your Halloween Decorations
In the fall pumpkins are quite cheap and come in a variety of shapes and sizes that make them the ideal decorating medium for this Holiday. By using large and small, round and oblong pumpkins you can create an amazing group of Halloween decorations for your table, stands and even outside your home.
By using small mini pumpkins and carving them into jack-o-lanterns and then putting either a votive or tea candle inside you can create unique, funny, scary or simply cute candle holders for your table, buffet or mantle. Using a large carved out pumpkin that will hold a flower vase inside you can create a lovely floral Halloween center piece for your dinner table or living room stand. You can even use a permanent marker to put a face on your pumpkin flower vase if so desire.
Oblong pumpkins are great for turning into scarecrow and witches heads. Simply draw on the the eyes and mouth and then use modeling clay or even a carrot to attach a nose. A little green yarn for hair and a paper witches hat and you have a witches head that only takes minutes to make. You can also draw a face on a pumpkin, set it on straw and give it a straw hat to create a scarecrow head. You can then set these heads on stuffed clothing to complete the witch or scarecrow or simply line them up on your deck or porch railing to create a eerie headless entourage. Clearing a small area of the yard to look like a hole and setting the head on that will give the appearance of your witch or scare crow being buried up to their neck in your yard.
Ghostly Visions
You can inexpensively create small ghosts for display in your home by simply scrunching up tin foil to form a ball for a head or buying small Styrofoam balls and gluing them to milk bottles and covering the entire thing with white material and drawing on a face. For those who want arms on their figurines dowels run through the plastic bottle at the appropriate place can make great arms.
Outside, white garbage bags can be used to create Ghostly visions hanging from trees or even the overhang of your roof.
There are many other decoration ideas that can be found to make your Halloween holiday special and fun.
The Hottest Halloween Costumes
It just wouldn’t be Halloween without seeing people decked out in their Halloween costumes. Halloween costumes are worn by everyone from the smallest infant to senior citizens. It is the only holiday where adults can experience a return to their childhood dress up games.
Vampire Halloween Costumes
On October 31st each year the streets are crowded with both children and adults in Halloween costumes. While there are the standard ghost, goblin and zombie Halloween costumes, you will also see butterflies and lady bugs and even the President of the United States roaming the streets.
School rarely has a chance to start after the long summer vacation when kids begin planning what their Halloween costume will be for the school party or parade. While in the 50′s and 60′s the most popular children’s costumes were hobo’s, scarecrows and cheerleaders, today’s kid’s prefer dressing as vampires, aliens and princesses.
Some Halloween costumes are passed down from sibling to sibling, while others find their way into a dress up box for the entertainment on rainy days.
Teenager Halloween parties are almost always populated by the goriest Halloween costumes available. Horror film characters such as Jason and Freddie Kruger abound along with hit men and other dangerous villains.
Teenage girls dress as gun molls, female vampires and even murder victims.
Theme parties decked out with the coolest Halloween decorations will have adult guests showing up in Halloween costumes featuring royalty, movie stars or even space aliens. It is not unusual to attend an adult Halloween party and see a french maid dancing with Jack the Ripper. Or to see Moses dancing with a she devil.
While some people spend an entire paycheck on a designer costume, others choose to make their own using their imagination and sewing skills to create beautiful original Halloween costumes for only a few dollars.
Some Halloween costumes get worn at other times of the year. Those who dress up as elves for trick or treating can use the costume again for Christmas. And more than one person has purchased a Big Foot costume for Halloween and then used it to frighten and surprise neighbors on April fools day.
Whether you are an adult or a child, choosing the perfect costume takes a lot of thought. You want to keep up with current trends while at the same time you want to find a costume that is unique and one of a kind. Some people start shopping early determined to find the “perfect” costume while others wait until the last minute leaving the decision to chance.
No matter how you shop for your Halloween costume or whether it is store bought or home made, costumes add an element of fun and excitement to your Halloween celebrations. Playing dress up for one night of the year can make even the youngest child feel like a grown up and the oldest adult feel young again.
Halloween costumes simply make a fun holiday more fun.