Making Halloween Creative and Connecting

My daughter is almost thirty, and at this time of year, we still reminisce about the amazing Halloween parties from her childhood with the hay stacks, wrap-the-mummy games, and flying witches hanging from the trees.  All of our decorations and costumes were homemade. 

Halloween can be the biggest do-it-yourself holiday of the year.  Avoid the pop-up stores – with the wear-once-and-discard costumes – and opt for creative homemade designs.  Making your own costumes establishes a great Halloween ritual.   Holiday rituals – the family glue – have a special richness.  Get creative while building the rituals that bind you together! 

Green Halloween has earth-friendly ideas from costumes to decorations.  They recommend decorating with natural gourds, pumpkins, mums, and corn stalks.  They even have links to sites for homemade costumes and ways to recycle candy wrapping paper.  One big suggestion is to check Pinterest for endless creative and inspiring ideas. 

Thrift stores, garage sales, and your own closet can be your treasure chest.  We found inspiration in old robes, uniforms, and hats.  My daughter’s Hermione Granger costume consisted of a graduation robe from Goodwill, the Gryffindor logo downloaded onto an iron-on patch, and a stick from the yard fashioned into a wand. Search the internet for “homemade Halloween costumes” for a wealth of ideas. 

Homemade Halloween decorations are fun.  Craft a scarecrow, monster, mummy, or witch from old clothes stuffed with hay.  Punch holes in tin cans to make luminaries.  Use black paper to cut out silhouettes of crows, bats, pumpkins, witches, and owls for your windows or garage door.   The possibilities are endless! 

Reading your family’s favorite spooky book aloud by flashlight is always a hit.  There are wonderful children’s books for Halloween, including The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.   Nothing beats ghost stories that you make up on the spot. 

Sip warm cider, wrap up in blankets, turn on the flashlight, and let the fun begin!  Happy Halloween!