Seasons > Autumn > Ways to Celebrate > Halloween Alternatives
Throw a Costume party: 4 variations for using costumes
A party in your own home may seem like a lot of work, but it allows you to control what happens. Invite your children’s friends from school or the neighborhood, or Sunday school. Ask some of the other moms to help so it doesn’t become too big of a project. Here are a few ideas:
1. Children come dressed in a costume of their own choice, or
2. In the invitations, stipulate what kind of costumes the children should come in-- such as animals, cartoon characters, people from the Bible, costumes from a certain time period, or dress as people from church history, etc., or
3. Provide materials for children to make costumes. If you need ideas, Klutz publishes a book with really cool ideas that are mostly made with materials that people usual;y have in their houses--newspaper, bubble wrap, tinfoil, poster board, etc. Many Klutz books are available through Amazon, as well as in many local bookstores, or
4. Paint the children’s faces. Klutz publishes a terrific book and paint set (unfortunately someone borrowed my copy and never returned it, so I can’t take a photo). The color pictures give the children ideas of what design to ask for, and shows adults how to paint each design, so anyone can do it. The paints last for years, even if you paint lots of faces each time. Klutz books are available through Amazon and bookstores. Klutz books are a bit pricey, but they are worth the cost, in my opinion. Other companies also make face painting sets, as well as face paints without a book.
Things to do at a costume party:
1. Take lots of photos. Provide several photo booths, or backgrounds for taking photos. If you have a digital camera and printer, you can print pictures for the children to take home with them.
2. Give prizes for prettiest, most creative, ugliest costumes, etc.
3. Divide the children into teams and help them plan skits to perform for everyone. For better quality, tell them ahead of time, so they can come with the skit already prepared.
4. Play games--for example, 1) see who can guess the most costumes correctly, 2) relay games--see which team can put on and take off a costume the fastest, 3) play charades
Throw a Pumpkin Party: 6 variations
1. Pumpkin carving--buy several pumpkins and let the children work in teams to carve a pumpkin. In America, there are cool pumpkin carving tools that are sold in sets and come with amazing patterns. If you don’t have access to these, buy a narrow saw for each team at a dollar store (hundred yen store.) Make a hole with a knife so the saw can be inserted into the pumpkin.. Cover all cut edges with petroleum jelly to make the pumpkin last longer--in warm weather, a cut pumpkin only lasts a day or two before it starts to mold and shrivel.
2. Paint a pumpkin--Since cut pumpkins rot so quickly, painting is a better option if you want to display the pumpkin for more than a day or two. Acrylic paint and permanent markers work well, but these pumpkins should not be used for eating.
3. Make tissue paper pumpkin lanterns. Provide each child with a balloon and several sheets of orange tissue paper. Have them tear the tissue paper into strips, and paint the tissue paper onto the balloon with white glue diluted with the same amount of water, or make a paste out of water and flour. Once the balloons are dry, pop the balloons and cut a lid off. Light these pumpkin lanterns with electric candles, not real candles.
4. Decorate pumpkin and scarecrow cookies: bake or buy round cookies and let the kids decorate them.
5. Make pumpkin crafts: There are many possibilities for this--light weight air drying clay such as Hearty (Karui Kaminendo), cardboard, wood plaque, glass jar, etc.
6. Serve pumpkin food--pumpkin shaped cake, pumpkin shaped cookies, pumpkin flavored soup, stew, or stew baked in a pumpkin, Desserts can be made from pumpkin, too-- pumpkin pie, cake, or cookies. Pumpkin seeds can be baked for a salty snack, too.
Sponsor a Country Fair or Fall Festival
Set up a bunch of booths in your home or back yard. (You could even volunteer to get a Fall Festival started in your church.) Candy prizes could be given at every booth. Here are some ideas for booths:
What child doesn’t love to get dressed up in costumes and get candy prizes? If you choose to not celebrate Halloween in the traditional way, it can be heartbreaking to children who can’t join in fun festivities. Here are some ideas to provide fun alternatives for your children so they don’t feel deprived.
Candle shoot:
Children try to extinguish the flame on a candle, or row of candles.
Mini Frisbee Toss:
Set up stuffed animals or other targets that are easy to knock over and give children 3 chances to knock them over. (These were purchased at a hundred yen store.)
Seasons > Autumn > Ways to Celebrate > Halloween Alternatives
Many churches put on a harvest festival.
Check churches near you to see if any provide this service.
Photo booth idea: the “throne” canopy is a tablecloth draped over 2 broomsticks anchored to a bookcase, with a dollar store shield pinned to the middle. The window has lattices made from electrical tape.
