Halloween at Home

from baystateparent magazine October 2020

positive eating role model Goose’s Goodies: Homemade Pet Treats

on the agenda

Not-so-Spooky Movie Night

Set the Mood

Break out some of your Halloween decor to create a festive atmosphere, but keep it comfy and casual. Bring out some extra pillows and blankets, and let kids pile them on the floor or stake their favorite spot on the couch. For a true theater feel, turn off the lights when you start the movie, and use blackout curtains to make the room even darker.

Get Snackin’

Keep the menu simple but fun. Make mini “Mummy Pizzas” by topping English muffins with pizza sauce, string cheese “fabric” and olive eyes. You can also give a classic movie snack a spooky twist by making Popcorn Hands. Just take clear, disposable gloves, drop a candy corn “nail” in each fingertip, and fill the rest with popcorn. Tie the ends with ribbon or twine.

Keep it Kid-Friendly

Save the horror movies for another night, and go with some kid-friendly Halloween movies with just a hint of fright. Some of our favorites:

Beetlejuice Casper Coraline Ghostbusters Hocus Pocus Hotel Transylvania Monster House Halloweentown Frankenweenie

Halloween Fiesta

Trick or Tacos

Ole! Line up ingredients for a taco bar and let kids make their own “Monster Tacos” by arranging toppings like sour cream, olives, or tomatoes into creepy faces. Enjoy with a side of “Frankenguac”: smear guacamole into a rectangle on a platter, make eyes out of sour cream and olives, and use blue corn chips for hair.

Bat for Candy

A piñata full of candy is just as much fun as trickor-treating. Party City has adorable Halloweenthemed piñatas, including a happy ghost, a jack-o-lantern, and a black and orange spider. Or, choose a piñata that goes along with your child’s Halloween costume.

Make Sugar Skull Masks

Why not weave Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Día de Los Muertos) into your Halloween fiesta? Sure, they are different holidays, but they share some common roots and fall closely together on the calendar. It’s also a great way to introduce kids to the rich culture and traditions of Día de los Muertos, when the spirits of departed loved ones are welcomed into the home and cemeteries. Sugar skulls, or calaveras, designed with vibrant colors and intricate designs, are a hallmark of the Day of the Dead. Make your own with paper plates, markers, and festive decorations. Have kids trace a skull shape on a white paper plate, draw a face, and add designs and embellishments. The more colorful the better! Attach a popsicle stick or paper straw to the bottom to finish it off.

Backyard Trick-or-Treating

Dress for the Occasion

Move the usual door-to-door trick-or-treating to the backyard. Hide candy or other goodies in the nooks and crannies of your yard. But don’t skimp on the costumes just because you’re home. Have kids get all dressed up to hunt for their treats.

Make it Festive

Don’t want candy lost all over your yard? Draw jack-o-lantern faces on orange cupcake liners, and fill those with treats, or put the goodies in

Halloween-themed paper cups. It will be a bit easier for kids to spot the treats, and add a festive pop to the

“candy hunt.”

Fire it Up

End your backyard celebration with a bonfire and some spooky treats. Let kids snuggle up fireside with a cup of hot cocoa or cider. Tell ghost stories, and make “bloody” s’mores by drizzling a little red cookie icing on the classic campfire goody.

Hearts and Crafts: Birthday Wishes

nonprofit launches new kids’ craft box

With kids spending opportunity to talk to them about to give the children living in the more time than ever giving back. shelter ‘pets’ that they can take at home, are you The new Hearts & Crafts care of and play with since many constantly looking program is kicking off with a Pet had to give up their own pet when for ways to keep them busy? Pack Craft & Activity Kit — three entering the shelter,” said Denell Birthday Wishes, the Natickpet-themed craft kits mailed to Nuese, Birthday Wishes Executive based nonprofit that provides you for a $35 donation. A puppy Director. the simple magic of a birthday puppet with a dog ear headband, Currently, Birthday Wishes is party to children experiencing a bubble-poppin’ fish with providing Birthday-in-a-Box boxes homelessness, has you covered bubbles, and a “pet” turtle with filled with party supplies and gifts with a crafty new fundraiser. a Race Across the River game — to all shelters in its program as

Aside from cake and presents, these are some of the crafts that in-person parties have to come to a craft related activity is a Birthday Wishes volunteers do a halt due to the pandemic. Last hallmark of a Birthday Wishes with children at monthly parties year, the organization celebrated party. Children enjoy a sense of in shelters. over 5,000 birthday boys and girls accomplishment completing a Each kit includes instructions at birthday parties at more than project, and it provides a way and all required supplies to 200 homeless shelters, as well as for volunteers to get parents and complete each project. Extra delivering over 3,400 Birthday-inolder kids in the shelter involved supplies are included in each kit, a-Box kits. in the celebration. Now, you can just in case. To order your Hearts & Crafts bring these special projects into “There is always a reason kit, visit birthdaywishes.org/ your own home; providing a fun behind the featured party craft hearts-and-crafts. activity for your kids, and an and in the case of the Pet Pack, it’s