Halloween Online

Most children love all things Halloween. As adults, we assume it’s because Halloween means candy and children generally love candy. But many children love more than just the abundance of candy at Halloween time. They really get into the ghoulish aspect of the holiday and delight in the displays of goopy brains and squishy body parts.

Halloween games, therefore, can be really fun and goopy, if you wish. The kids will go with it, don’t worry.

First up, a brain game. There’s a fun game on store shelves where you pick through a rubber “brain” to figure out what’s in it. You can create this easily yourself. Make some jello and fill it with a variety of items, like gummy worms and other gummy candies, some small candy and trinkets and other items. Tell the children to root around in the bowl of jello (call it a “brain” if this will get the kids more interested) to figure out what’s in it. It’s goopy and messy and kids love it. Best yet, color the jello black so it’s too dark to see what’s inside and it looks more like goopy brain matter (the way kids see it, anyway).

In that same, or similar vein, kids love the spaghetti game. Be sure they are wearing a smock over their clothes or are wearing play clothes before playing this game. Make a big bowl of spaghetti and fill it with all kinds of items, like plastic bugs, gummy worms and other items that might feel a bit strange. Make the children feel around in the bowl of spaghetti and identify the items they feel. Once they are done and cleaned up, have them list as many items as they can remember. Whoever gets the most items listed (and right) gets a prize. Spaghetti, anyone?

Another similar game that’s always popular is to take a cardboard box and paint it black, both the inside and outside. Carve a small hole in the top, really just large enough for the children to get their hands into, and fill the box with a variety of items. They can be related to Halloween (like a small pumpkin) or not (wrapped Tootsie rolls or a tiny toy Hummer car). Have the children guess what’s inside the box and award the box itself to the child who guesses the most number of items correctly. To make this goopy and silly, be sure to include some items that might feel like body parts or brain matter.

Kids love creating silly fictional stories, often with absurd plotlines. Halloween is the optimum time to let them run wild with their imaginations. Have them spend a bit of time writing out the scariest story they can think of. Some children might need some direction not to make it ridiculously grotesque, so use caution with these children in your clarification of this assignment. Once the stories are written, have the children hand them in and then have a guest reader for each one of them. Each child will come to the front of the class and read the story with as much dramatization as they can muster. Once the story is read, everyone has to guess who wrote the story. The writer should play along, otherwise everyone will know it was their story! The winner is the child who wrote a story so intriguing and unusual that nobody knew it was his or hers!

Kids love the word find games when you give them a word or words relating to a holiday or something else and have them find words within those words. In this case, give them Halloween-related words and ask them to find as many scary words as they can. For example, you might give them the word “Halloween” and see how many scary words they can make from the letters. Or you could give them a series of words and let them rearrange the letters in all of the words to create scary words, or even create a story from the scary words. Put a time limit on this game and award a prize for the child who creates the most words in the least amount of time.

Halloween costumes are great, but keep in mind that everyone else is going to the same costume shops that you are. When picking out a Halloween costume, it’s usually best to try and think about what everyone else might be doing and attempt to be a bit unique. You don’t want to be the hundredth person in the bar dressed like Austin Powers. It’s also best to stay away from classic costumes that have been done to death, including the clichéd vampire. If you do go as one of these types of characters though, then at the very least try to come up with a new angle for it.

It’s often times more rewarding to make own Halloween costume from scratch than buying or renting one. If you go this route, then be sure to give yourself plenty of time and have a back up plan. Sometimes the best costume ideas don’t work out and you don’t want to be running around town looking through picked over costumes at the last minute.

There are a few essentials you need to consider before going out in your new Halloween costume. Perhaps the most important is that you need to make sure it’s easy to get into and out of so you can use the bathroom, especially if you plan on drinking. You also want to make sure that your Halloween costume doesn’t have cumbersome pieces that stick out such as large wings or shoulder pads. In a crowded space it’s a recipe for irritating everyone around you when you’ve accidentally knocked over drinks.

You also don’t want your Halloween costume to have too many layers, or you face the danger of being a sweaty mess before the end of the night. Likewise, you might not want to go too skimpy if you live in a cold weather environment where you’ll spend any amount of time outdoors. The last thing you want is frostbite! Removable costume parts are helpful in this regard, such as a cloak or a cape, just be sure that the pieces aren’t too big so you won’t trip on them.

A hard learned lesson is that want to make sure that you have a place for essentials like car keys, ID, money, etc. Not all Halloween costumes come with pockets. A plastic Halloween bucket like a pumpkin or cauldron kids use to go trick-or-treating can fulfill this purpose nicely. Be creative and try to incorporate your personal items container into the costume.

Going out in a Halloween costume can be a fun and rewarding experience. It’s the one time of year you can dress up like practically anyone or anything you want and not be considered a weirdo, so why not do it? You might even win yourself a costume contest while you’re out

Everyone uses pumpkins and orange lights during Halloween, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find unique Halloween decorations to use both inside and outside of your home. Sick of seeing every house on the street put up the “crashed witches” or huge garbage bag pumpkins? Here are some ideas to keep your neighbors talking about your neat decoration ideas!

Masks: Masks don’t have to just be for your face-they can be some great Halloween decorations as well! Try lining and entryway with scary masks or even hanging one on your front door. This can also be an inexpensive way to decorate, since you’ve probably collected a number of masks over the years. Put a mask on your scarecrow, on your garden features like statues, and even your kids’ dolls. If you’ll be using the masks outdoors, make sure that they are weatherproof.

Glass vases: You can fill glass vases with almost anything! Orange, red, brown, and gold are the traditional colors of fall, and you can use strictly black and orange right around Halloween if you wish. Try filling vases with colored leaves, marbles, or orange and black candies. If you want to really get gruesome, you can also use unusual things like plastic bugs!

Spider webs: Most people use the fake spider webs outside, but they’ll last longer inside as well. The added bonus? It’s ok if they get a little dusty! Spider webs are supposed to be spooky, so put away your cleaning products for a few weeks! Make sure that you spray your spider webs with repellent to deter any live inhabitants from making a home! If you want a less scary, try spraying the webs with spray glitter for a pretty touch.

Murals: Let your kids go crazy by painting a huge Halloween mural or banner. Buy a large piece of white cloth or even a white bed sheet and allow them to use paint or markets to create something your can display along your wall or even in your front yard. Allow your kids to be creative or, if your children are still young, outline the words “Happy Halloween” or “Trick or Treat” in big, black letters so that you’ve created a big coloring book page for them to color.

Small Changes: You can really make a big impact with just a few small changes. Put up orange and black curtains. Use a Halloween-designed throw rug. Cover the pots of your indoor plants with plastic Halloween containers. These little changes can really make a big difference in your overall holiday spirit!

The bottom line is that Halloween decorations can really help you to enjoy the holiday. You don’t have to go overboard or even spend a lot of money to decorate your house. Choose a few key items both inside and outside, and you should be well on your way to a great Halloween. Every year, add a few more items to really build up to a wonderfully decorated house.