crafty play: halloween edition 🎃
things to do aside from trick or treatin’.
Hi there mom, aunts and design lovers!
As soon as I found out I was pregnant with my baby Gala I started maniacally pinning crafty activities we could do together. Growing up I was obsessed with Art Attack, constantly making an *artful* hot mess of paper, glue and color. It was my happy place. So much so that I chose to be a graphic designer when I grew up–hence the innate desire to share this passion with my daughter.
Regardless of my personal obsession, carving out time for creativity with our kids is not only fun, but it is known to evolve into critical-thinking, emotional intelligence and problem solving skills as they grow.
I’m so excited to share with you all some simple crafty options so you can prompt your children to flex their creativity this Halloween—and give yourself the opportunity to get some hands-off play while discovering what makes their imaginations spark.
Creepy Cookies
I like cookies, do you like cookies? I’m definitely trying this activity out this year. Since purchasing a Montessori Kitchen Helper for my daughter, she has been extra keen about involving herself in all things cooking. Cue me making elaborate fall menus for the season and looking for the perfect cookie cutters. Curb my enthusiasm I can not.
I will be following this unfussy sugar cookie recipe and allowing Gala to mix the dry ingredients, she loved that when we made apple pie–but you can go simple by buying pre-made dough. No judgement here, this “craft” has too many steps anyway.
Now for the fun part–get some pretty Halloween cookie-cutters, icing, sprinkles and get ready to be the witch that makes that candy house, except you won’t eat the kids, just the cookies.
1. Halloween Cookie Cutters / 2. Halloween Easy Candy™️ Set / 3. Witch Please Fancy Sprinkles / 4. Franken Faces Edible Stickers
Spooky Garlands
I managed to successfully make a ghost garland this past weekend and Gala seemed to enjoyed it. I simply drew ghosts on a white cardboard sheet and allowed her to color them. During her nap I cut them (you can let your babe cut them if it’s age appropriate) and when she woke up she helped me to stick them along a piece of twine using tape. Then we tied our banner on the stairs railing. While working on this we learned that ghosts say “booo!” so every time she walks by the garland she goes booohhh and wiggles her little fingers as if to inspire spookiness–just like we practiced. I call this a success.
If you want to skip the drawing part I made these ones for you. All you need to do is print them out and off you go. A fun addition might be using googly eyes, which I skipped this year because Gala tried to eat them.
1. Free Ghost Printable / 2. Goober Crayons / 3. Halloween Washi Tape Set / 4. Natural & Copper Twine
Ghostly Leafs
We’ll be foraging for dry leaves this week to attempt this activity. The set up is pretty simple: find (or buy, if you want them to last beyond Halloween) some leaves. Paint them in white or your favorite color. Draw some funny (scary?) faces on them. You can then hide them and ask your kids to find the ghosts while you buy yourself some time to sip on your coffee slowly for once. Or you can make the ghostly leaves into a garland to hang somewhere around the house. The end.
1. Artificial Maple Leaves / 2. Washable Paint Set / 3. Easy-Grip Paint Brushes / 4. Liewood Bib in Bubbly Sandy
Ready-to-Craft Kits
Do you just want something that’s ready to go? I found some great options that just need unboxing and your kid’s attention. We love cool and simple here!
1. Kid Made Modern Halloween Craft Kit / 2. Make Your Own Felt Monster Kit / 3. Halloween Character Paper Tube Craft Kit / 4. Kid Made Modern Create Your Own Haunted House Kit
What are your plans this Halloween? I’m bringing my cookie decor kit to a friend’s house and enjoying the afternoon with our girls in the kitchen. Can’t wait to eat them after–the cookies, not the girls.
