HUGE THANKS TO GUEST BLOGGER AND POYNTON MUM SOPHIE FOR PREPARING THIS BLOG FOR US
Autumn is a really exciting time of year – the feel of the air changes and you can sense cosy nights and hearty meals coming. Halloween is a great excuse to celebrate but isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Perhaps the younger kids aren’t keen on the spooky stuff either. We thought it would be a nice idea to compile a few ways to celebrate the time of year in some none- scary ways. Read on for some fun activities and yummy food ideas for the whole family.
Pumpkin Carving
Who says you can’t have a happy pumpkin? We (I) have already carved four pumpkins this year, yes, my little boy loves it. He isn’t really into anything too spooky, so we did funny face and grinning pumpkins instead. There are quite a few pumpkin trails happening in towns and villages instead of trick or treating this year so carving a pumpkin of any kind and popping it on your windowsill with a little battery tea light will bring a smile to lots of little faces.
Pumpkin Prints
For the little ones who like to paint, cut an apple in half and stick a fork in the skin side (or let them use their fingers). Let them dip it in orange paint and print away. Googly eyes are a good idea or just felt tips for drawing faces.
Lanterns
Our church usually has what they call a “light celebration” on halloween night. One of the nice crafts they had was lantern making. It was literally just jam jars with battery tea lights in but the kids used glass pens to decorate them, sort of stained glass style. They looked really pretty in the dark with the tea light on.
Autumn Wreath or Pictures (using things you can find outside)
You can make this appropriate for younger ones using card, glue and autumn leaves that they have collected while out and about – I also had a go at a more grown up version, which older kids and teens might enjoy (I only say this because I needed a glue gun for the sticking!) I bought a few bits online (amazon) and some from Hobbycraft as well as leaves and pinecones from outside. These also make really lovely gifts for family members.
Slime
I’ve not yet met a child who doesn’t love slime. I discovered it’s really easy to make too. You need PVA glue, Bicarbonate of Soda, food colouring and contact lens solution (seemingly a bit random but is cheap to pick up from the chemist). I’ve linked the recipe below as there’s a good troubleshooting section if your slime isn’t quite right!
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-make-slime
Chocolate Apple Slices
This is a much easier way of making chocolate/toffee apples. In the past I’ve tried to make whole chocolate apples and it gets so messy and is really quite frustrating, so I looked for an alternative and found these by ‘my fussy eater’. It uses slices of apple instead of whole apples. You just have to insert a lollipop stick into the thick slice (a bit tricky but you could do this before the kids start helping). Let them dip them in the chocolate and decorate with their choice of toppings. Good luck making them wait until they are set before they eat them!
https://www.myfussyeater.com/chocolate-toffee-apple-slices/
Hot Chocolate and Movie Night
The simplest yet most satisfying idea of all is piling on the sofa with blankets and hot chocolate and watching a film. It doesn’t have to be halloween themed at all, but with the happy pumpkin lantern twinkling on the window sill and chocolate apples to hand for munching you’ll all have a grand time and it will feel that little bit more special.