Halloween might look a little different this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t scare up some kid-friendly fun at home. From terrifying treats to bewitching arts and crafts, there are plenty of ways to keep the spooky spirit alive with your family.
Here are six simple and inexpensive Halloween DIY projects and seasonal decorating ideas to try at home with your little boys and ghouls this October.
Photo Credit: andreaobzerova
Want to bake some ghastly goodies to enjoy at home over the Halloween season? Simple mummy cookies are as delicious as they are Instagram-worthy. Bake a batch of classic sugar cookies using a homemade recipe or store-bought dough, then dress up your eerie edibles with ‘bandages’ of piped white frosting topped with candied eyeballs.
Trick-or-treating may be on hold this Halloween, but you can still give the neighbours a scare with a spooktacular homemade wreath on your front door. Pick up a plain fall wreath at your local craft store and use a hot glue gun or wire to adorn the branches with frightful accessories like plastic spiders, black and orange ribbon, white tissue paper ghosts, decorative pumpkins, or even pieces of candy.
Creating your own Halloween-themed slime is a kid-friendly activity that’s part science project, part seriously sticky fun. To make your slime monster, you’ll need clear glue, baking soda, saline solution, colourful green paint, and a pair of googly eyes. Squeeze 5 oz. of glue into a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda and stir with green paint or food colouring until combined. Mix in 3 tablespoons of saline solution and roll the mixture in your hands until it develops a gooey texture. Add googly monster eyes and pour the slime into a mason jar to keep it fresh.
Masks are all the rage in 2020, so why not create a homemade paper plate mask for your little ones. Transform a paper plate into a cute kitty, a smiling jack-o-lantern, or a menacing vampire using scissors, glue, and craft supplies on hand. Simply affix a Popsicle stick or sturdy paper straw to the bottom of the plate to create a handle, cut out a pair of eyeholes, and get creative by decorating the mask with colourful paper, paint, ribbons, pipe cleaners, glitter, and pompoms.
If you’re looking for a coordinated Halloween outfit idea for a cute family photo, try transforming boring black t-shirts with household bleach for a trendy orange-and-black tie-dye look. Dampen a black cotton shirt with water and then twist and scrunch the fabric into a ball before securing with elastic bands. Using rubber gloves in a well-ventilated area, submerge the scrunched shirt in a bucket of bleach solution (half bleach and half cold water) and watch as the bleach strips the dye to create an orange colour. Remove the shirt after five to 10 minutes, take off the bands, handwash in the sink, and hang dry.
Want an artistic Halloween DIY project that’s fun for kids of all ages? Build your own miniature haunted house to display on a windowsill or bookcase. Search for an empty box to use as the base of your house (delivery packages and cereal boxes work well), then decorate your structure with creepy craft supplies. Young ones can use paint and stickers to decorate their haunted houses while older kids can tap into their imagination to create intricate home decor with fake cobwebs, felt bats, glow-in-the-dark ghosts, and colourful scrapbook paper.
