Did you ever notice, especially when you’re busy working or caring for kids or grandkids, that the holidays seem to sneak up on you? It’s not too late to get into the spirit of Halloween, which occurs annually on October 31st. Here are four quick and easy budget-friendly DIY craft and decorating ideas to turn up the fun on Halloween!
- Make a topiary pumpkin table centerpiece – Buy three pumpkins in graduated sizes. Be sure that they have a flat base so that they can be stacked on top of each other, with the largest one at the bottom and the smallest one on top. Remove the stems off the largest and middle-size pumpkins. Leave the stem intact on the smallest pumpkin that sits on top. Stack the pumpkins from largest to smallest using glue to hold them together. Let dry. Then attach floral vine stickers to the pumpkins to decorate. Top the stem on top with a decorative ribbon.
- Create a candy-corn planter – Take a clean plain terracotta planter. Using some white, orange, and yellow paint and using a small-tipped paintbrush, paint triangular-shaped candy corn all over the planter, evenly spaced apart if possible. (Triangle tip is white, middle orange, bottom yellow – just like the candy) When dry, hot glue gun twine around the top of the planter for a finishing touch. Fill with dirt and flowering mums for an outdoor decoration.
- Design a scary peek-through window treatment – Get a big thick white sheet. With a pencil, draw three oval circles evenly spaced apart that are the approximate size of your face. (Be sure to put them at a comfortable height so you can peer out of the holes when it’s hung.) Cut the ovals out using pinking shears that help prevent the fabric from fraying. Discard ovals. Next, lay the sheet down flat on a big piece of cardboard to prevent the glue from soaking through. Hot glue gun fake black plastic spiders and bats to the part of the curtain facing outward. Tape the scary curtain to the windowsill using removable two-sided Velcro tape. On Halloween, paint your face scary with face paint and fake dripping blood and peer out the holes when trick-or-treaters come!
4) Create six ghost balloons to hang up on Halloween – Inflate six balloons and knot each one as you go. Hang a long piece of string from each bottom knot. Take a white sheet and cut it into six even-sized pieces. (Make sure they are large enough to cover the balloon and then some.) Cut a tiny hole in the center of each of the six sheets, just big enough for the long string to pass through. Cover each balloon with a white sheet piece, letting the long string go through the hole. Gather the loose material near what’s technically the balloon’s top and tie tightly with a smaller piece of string, cutting off the excess. The balloon inside is now upside down when held by the long string (The bottom will now become the top, and the long string will hang the ghost balloon.) Before hanging, gently draw a set of big oval eyes onto the ghost balloon using a thick black permanent marker.
Whether you decorate extensively for Halloween or try out one of these fun crafts, the most important thing to do is remember that the day is really about fun for the kids or grandkids. Due to Covid-19, some children may not trick or treat in the usual fashion; thus, turning on the fun at home is important! These crafts can also be done together, and the time spent crafting with a child will not only be enjoyed by you but the memory will also be cherished by them forever.
