I’m still amazed that it’s really October! The conversation at our house has pretty much turned to non-stop Halloween topics. Same for you? I keep warning the kids that Halloween is not a big deal in France (and that October 31st falls during a 2-week school break), but they can’t help themselves.
They are daydreaming about throwing a party for their friends. Bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving, maybe a spook house in the barn. Martha’s new book Handmade Holiday Crafts, came in the mail last Friday, so they’ve been taking turns bookmarking their favorite ideas from the Halloween section. Personally, I’m feeling drawn to the glittery projects (skulls, bones and pumpkins). I suppose I’m just looking for an excuse to get my glitter on.
Have you started making Halloween plans? Are you hosting a Halloween party this year?
UPDATE: The good people at Martha Stewart saw this post and want to offer 5 (autographed!) copies of Handmade Holiday Crafts to Design Mom Readers. So this post just turned into a giveaway. Woot! To enter, leave a comment below telling us about your favorite Halloween craft or tradition. The five winners will be announced on Wednesday.
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The winners are Kelly, Rik, M. Peterson, Heather and Janeannechovy. Thanks for playing!
Before all of my kids were grown and moved out, I used to love making their costumes each year. We still love handing out the candy to the neighborhood children with “Monster Mash” playing in the background! Have fun with your kids!
Pumpkin carving and seeing all the creative costumes!
As a kindergarten teacher, we are taking a walking field trip to Walmart Grocery to trick or treat–then we have a costume parade for the whole school in the afternoon–a lot of kiddos don’t have the opportunity to go out and experience the customs–a lot are refugees!
My favorite Halloween tradition is dressing up, I love to make costumes for myself and my kids.
My favorite Halloween craft is a Frankenstein monster out of a mason jar I made with my three year old last year. I still remember how much fun he had making it and he was so excited to see it when I pulled it out of the decorations box over the weekend.
We don’t really have any traditions or decorations. My son just turned two so he is just starting to get to the age where he is “getting” holidays. I would love to win so I could get more inspiration for things to do.
My birthday is a mere 2 days after Halloween, so it was always fun to tie both celebrations together! I’m sure my mother was grateful for the “insta-theme” we often took advantage of!
A dish of candy corn mixed with peanuts is the traditional Halloween snack.
My 4yr old son is obsessed with Halloween. He loves our Countdown to Halloween calendar! Everyday he will ask me “mom is it soon yet” I have to tell him no, its still about 30 days away. He loves walking thru the halloween sections to check out the costumes and then we stand and look for what seems 5 hours.. He is so excited
We don’t do that much around here, but I love making homemade costumes. I always make things out of sequined and shiny fabric – great for visibility on the road, and when else do you get to dress up all sparkly.
Our favorite Halloween tradition is de-gutifying pumpkins and carving them, then getting all of the seeds out of the guts to roast with a little salt, and giving them away in small gift bags to friends!
Making soup & drinking peppermint steamers has been my favorite part of halloween night.
Please! I would love to win!!!
This tradition just started this year, as my son turns two right before the holiday- for many years I have stored a “scary town” village. This year I pulled it out and set it up and then off my son and I went to purchase our first addition to the halloween village! We were very excited and plan to make it a yearly trip when we dust off the village each year!
yes please!!!!!!!!!
I heart carving pumpkins. In fact, it was Martha who first introduced me to the technique of carving with lino-cut blades! I’m still not that great (as I only really get to practice once a year!) but I enjoy the process.
We love all things Halloween–our favorite traditions are visiting a pumpkin patch and apple orchard; eating sloppy joes and homemade carmel popcorn Halloween night; and planning costumes for months.
I love helping my son make his costume!
I love everything about Halloween – truly. The thought of paper mache black cats and cheesecloth mummies makes me smile anytime of the year. When I think about this fabulous holiday I remember holding onto my grandfather’s hand as he took me trick-or -treating around the neighborhood. My Dad will take over the tradition this year with our three year old – I guess I would have to pick this as my favorite tradition.
What a fabulous book idea! I’m excited to thumb through it. Thanks for turning this into a giveaway too.
We host a kids’ Halloween party the Sunday before Halloween.
My tradition: dressing up like a literary character (I’m a high school English teacher). Every year I try to add another one to my stable of costumes, and I’m hoping I’ll soon have a great rotation. Currently in the mix: Huck Finn, Miss Havisham, Professor McGonagall, and the Mad Hatter. This year I’m planning a Madeline outfit, complete with blue cape and yellow hat. Can’t wait! :)
We love to host Halloween parties and play “live clue”.
My kids are little so halloween has just started to get fun! Last year they were the three little pigs and i have to admit a piggie costume over a diaper is stinkin’ CUTE!
I love this time of year! The highlight for us is a trip to the pumpkin patch to select pumpkins and pick up apple cider, then we get together with friends for a Halloween party. My oldest (3) is going to catch on quick to the trick-or-treating this year now that he knows what candy is all about ;)
The costumes…One year the theme was was a circus; we had a clown, lion tamer and lion. Last year was three musketeers. Another year was mummies.
My sister-in-law made me a Frankenstein candy bowl out of a large terra cotta pot. He’s so cute and I love to get him out every year to put candy in. That great green color and great big googly eyes!
I’m a breast cancer surgeon and even though many people would point out that it’s far easier to buy a gift and get it crossed-off-the-to-do-list, I love making gifts at Christmas, even if they’re just small tokens. My family and friends appreciate the time I’ve spent making a little craft for them, and it’s the most relaxing and fun thing for me to do in the little free time that I have!
Out of all the give-aways I have ever seen, I would like to win this one the very most. I would LOVE a book like this.
We take lots of black construction paper and cut out spooky shapes likes bats and spiders and cats and then I let the kids tape them up all over the walls in the house. This was inspired by a Martha Stewart Halloween craft many years back. I was in the store the other day, and now they sell the silhouettes, so this year I won’t have to spend 7 hours cutting out bat shapes. I love the joy on their faces when they create bat nests and cat alley and spider parties on my walls.
It’s a long shot- but how lovely it would to win. My favorite tradition is one my parents started in their driveway 30+years ago for trick or treaters: scones and cider for all that come! They usually have hundreds of trick or treaters young and old come! It is wonderful.
My daughters birthday is the 27th, so I usually like to throw a costume party for her. I love doing gift bags that have beautifully scary tricks and treats!
i don’t know that i have a halloween tradition, except i think handmade costumes are a MUST. nothing store bought. my favorite costume my mom made me growing up was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. she sewed me an outfit that was brown on the front side and red on the backside and then i had these huge white foam pieces cut like pieces of bread that draped over either side of my shoulders!
My favorite Halloween craft is something I learned from the loot I got from an older woman who lived on my grandparents’ street, where we trick-or-treated each year: Lollipop ghosts. 1) Cover a Tootsie pop with a white tissue. 2) Tie around the “neck” with a piece of orange yarn. 3) Draw in two eyes and the mouth of your choice with a black Sharpie. I didn’t love Tootsie pops, but I loved getting those crafty ghosts every year!
Halloween is my favorite holiday!
Our favorite Halloween craft is building and painting a new haunted house every year. We start with a few cardboard boxes and create something creepy, then decorate it. We do use the same ghosts we made from year to year.
My favorite tradition is just classic carving pumpkins. I love picking one out and then planning the perfect design. I’ll spend hours poking and carving just to get it right. Love it!
Our kids love to make popcorn balls every year and go to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins that Daddy ultimately ends up helping to carve (he’s a professional sculptor. . . so we always volunteer him for the creative stuff!)
Our traditions have included having a ‘Fall Fun Party’ for the little ones… It didn’t happen last year because my husband had just had surgery, but this year I’m hoping to have family & friends over before we take the kid’s out trick or treating. Our town goes all out in decorating their historic homes so there is a big crowd every year! We also visit the local pumpkin patch every year & decorate pumpkins…
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Making donuts with maple icing after going to the pumpkin patch.
My favorite holiday tradition is a memory from childhood. Our aunt used to dress us in an elaborate costume, take the little kids trick or treating, and then hand out candy in full regalia. At the time, we knew she was wonderful. Now that I’m an adult, I am amazed at her energy and enthusiasm, all on our behalf.
In England, Halloween is extremely close to Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes night as it is often called and our family tradition has always been to combine the two. The custom on this night which harks all the way back to a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1606 is to burn ‘Guy Fawkes’ (the ringleader of the ill-fated act of treason) on a bonfire. For as long as I can remember we have been dressing our scarecrow Guy in ghoulish attire and placing lots of carved pumpkins at the foot of our overloaded bonfire. Then we settle back with pumpkin and squash soup and the odd hot dog or two while we watch him burn!
After this, we toast marshmallows, write our names in the sky with sprinklers and oooohhh and aaaahhh over the requisite fireworks display which echos what might have happened if Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot had succeeded. The pumpkin faces glow eerily and the Guy is a haunting (and fast melting) Halloweeny vision as we warm our chilly hands on the embers of the bonfire. I do love Autumn or the Fall as you guys call it!
I want to enjoy halloween :) Its not celebrated in australia (though halloween parties are growing because we all love a dress up!) but trick or treating is not really done. Funny thing : church members here grew up thinking that halloween was pretty evil and that we should shun that type of stuff and think its funny that american LDS are really big into it ;)
Pumpkin carving is always a run tradition and mess
Although I LOVE going to the pumpkin patch, carving the pumpkins, dressing up, etc… my favorite thing is when all the trick-or-treating is done and the family gathers together to dump the contents of their bags on the floor to sort through and trade candy. Best thing ever.
The most favorite thing is collecting different candies, and fill it into my glass bowl. and guess what, my glass bowl looks awesome!
I love planning what the kids are gonna be for halloween.
The last Martha book I received turned into a year-long cupcake odyssey. But I’d still love to have this one too. :)
A favorite craft I did a few years ago for my daughter’s then 2nd grade class. We took clay, fake fingernails, and ink pens, and molded the clay around the pens to look like a finger. Then we pressed the finger nail right over the top of the finger, so it sort of covered the end of the ink pen. Then we scratched lines in to look like knuckles. The kids absolutely LOVED it, and they could use the fingers to write with. It was the most fun I’ve had at a class party. We also love to try our hand at making our own costumes. Last year I made an owl costume for my oldest daughter. This year we are doing a bat, and a gumball machine. Should be fun!
Hope it’s not too late…I love Halloween and making holiday crafts. This would be such fun! A tradition we had growing up was getting out the old cow skull named “George” and putting him out on the front porch with the pumpkins. Also My mom and I would build a stuffed scarecrow (I painted the face on a pillowcase to become the head) to set in the porch rocking chair!