Halloween DIY

Frightfully Easy Entertaining

Planning a party and feeling overwhelmed by all the little goblins and ghouls you’ll have to cater to? We’ve got you covered with trick’d out treats and pages of impressive, but super-simple ways to celebrate the season.

Dracula Donuts

Krispy Kreme Donuts, Chocolate Chips, Plastic Vampire Fangs

We don’t blame you if you vant to suck the crème from Krispy Kreme treats, but the simple round rings work best for this one. Just slip a pair of plastic fangs into the large opening (other donut brands can work in a pinch, but KK have just the right size “mouth”) and add chocolate chips for eyes.

Photo by Food and More

Mummified Missing Link

Hot Dogs/Tofu Dogs/Sausage Links, Pastry Sheets or Biscuit Dough, Mustard

Egyptians might have worshipped kitties, but your guests will bow down at the cuteness of these dogs. Cut pastry or rolled out biscuit dough into skinny strips and let the kids wrap hot dogs or sausage links into rather convincing mummies. Pop into an oven until golden brown. After cooling for a bit, finish with mustard-dot eyes.

Photo by Jennifer Barrow

Boo Sticks

Pretzel Rods, White Chocolate, Chocolate Chips

Dip pretzel rods into white chocolate. Before the chocolate cools, add ghostly faces with chocolate chips. (For a classier adult look, drizzle with melted white chocolate and sprinkle with sparkly black glitter sprinkles or dip and use chocolate-covered espresso beans for ghost features.)

Photo by Dmitri Maruta

Web of Pies

Mozzarella slices and Black Olives

Dress up the delivery or add a spooky touch of whimsy to a frozen pizza pie. Slice the mozzarella into skinny strips and let kids create a web pattern, just pop into a warm oven or tuck under a broiler for a moment as you watch. Olives turn into creepy crawlies, you might have to man the paring knife to create the legs, but your crew of helpers can take over after that.

Amazing Healthy Halloween Treats

Kick off the fun and pre-fill those bellies with a dose of healthy so cute they won’t even notice they are munching fruit. Bonus, your mini-monsters and bitty witches can enjoy the same treats as their older sibs.

Photo by Food and More

A-peel-ing Ghosts and Pumpkins

Banana halves with a touch of chocolate personality create a hauntingly yummy snack for tots to teens. For little ones, or anyone trying to detox before the sugar gorge, we love these adorable clementines, complete with a stalk of celery.

Photo by Food and More

Monster Mouths

Apples, Peanut Butter, Almonds, Sunflower Seeds, Strawberries.

Spread some peanut butter, and Halloween cheer, along these apple gums and accent with almond sliver or sunflower seed fangs. For a goofy touch, add a strawberry tongue.

*Nut-Free Option — If you have concerns about allergies, scrap the almond and peanut-fest and poke roasted pumpkin seeds into the apple mouths.

Photo by Food and More

Sugar-Coated Spooks

Pears, White Chocolate, Popsicle Sticks

Sure, this is coated with chocolate…but these a-pear-itions will be so tasty, they’ll gobble it up before you can say boo (and have a lot less room for seriously junky-junk).

Not-so-Scary Upcycling

If you’ve been curious about the upcycling trend, here’s a collection of ideas to create delightfully spooky lighting for the season that even the greenest crafter-newbie won’t be scared to try.

Photo by Sereniy

Bloody Candles

Used White or Light Colored Candles, One Red Taper Candle

Simply line up your white or pale candles on some newspaper for easy clean-up. Depending on the age of the child this project is safe to do together. (They should be old enough to understand the danger of fire and that doing a supervised activity with mom or dad isn’t “playing”.) Light the red taper and tip slightly to drizzle the red wax over and down the side of the white candles.

Photo by DuyPruy

Lantern

Japanese Lanterns (white, orange or green), Black Sticky-Back Felt

If your patio’s paper lanterns have seen better days, they’ll make the perfect globes to create the simplest lighting of all. Let the kids design spooky ghost eyes and mouth, pumpkin faces or if you have green tinted lanterns, Frankenstein features (don’t forget a nice jagged edged hairline for Frank). If the lanterns have tears, conveniently cover with the facial features of your creation.

Photo by Katarina Gondova

Basket o’Lantern

Wicker Baskets, Latex Orange Paint, Black Sticky-Back Felt

Let the kids give new life, or afterlife, to those wicker baskets laying around or tucked up in the garage. Brush on latex paint (water-based, so not flammable as other paints might be) the basket and design their own eyes, nose and mouth cut from the felt. Add a light source and display.

Photo by Karatina Gondova

Ghostly Glass

Old Glass Vases or Jars, Elmer’s or White Wood Glue, White/Orange Tissue Paper or Crepe Party Streamers, Black Sticky-Back Felt

This is a great one for preschoolers to help with. Gather old vases (the cheapies that come with flower arrangements work great) and glass jars. Let the little one smear the glue along the sides of the glass, if sensory issues are a concern, the large sized glue sticks work well, too. Wrap the jar in layers of white tissue paper (for ghosts), party streamer crepe strips (for a “mummy” look) or orange (for jack o’lantern style). Add black felt eyes, and a light source.

Trading Faces

Get your boo on with these three-step facepaint options that pair nicely with already-in-your-closet attire. (We even found a sensitive-skin friendly facepaint, so feel free to add flair to the kids’ duds, too!)

Cheetah

1. Foundation – Using a sponge with some bright yellow, paint a mask that comes down the cheeks in two points and covers the entire nose. At the top of the mask, add two triangles for ears.
2. Color-In – Now use a brush with some white paint to make two smaller triangles inside the ears. Then with a sponge and the same white, gently dab color down the nose and across either side of it.
3. Details – This is easier than it looks: take a brush with some black and outline the tip of the ears and the tip of the white inner ears. Then add fur across the very top of the head. Now draw a curvy line around the inner eyes that stretches down the nose and around the white cheeks. Add three black dots on the forehead and three on each yellow cheek. Now draw three mini whiskers on each white cheek. To finish, paint the end of the nose and add some small dots to it.

Devil

1. Foundation – With a sponge and some bright red paint, entirely cover the face.
2. Color-In – Using a brush and black paint, fill in some thick circles around the eyes. Taper them up at the eyebrows and feather two points underneath. Add some more feathered points at the side of each eye. Now take a sponge and gently dab some black paint around the edge of the face to contour the cheeks. Finally use some white and a brush to draw two horns on the forehead.
3. Details – Use a brush and black paint to add wrinkles to the face and outline the horns.

Blue Pirate

1. Foundation – With a slightly wet brush and blue paint, draw a shape on the child’s forehead for the bandana. Remember to draw the shape of a knot on the side of the face. Use a slightly wet sponge to fill the shape with blue paint.
2. Color-In – With a small brush and black paint carefully outline the edges of the bandana on the child’s forehead and cheek. Then with a brush and white paint, draw some white dots or hearts on to the blue bandana.
3. Details – Add an eye patch to the eye opposite the knot. Draw a circle around one eye and a diagonal line towards the opposite eyebrow with black paint

Witch

1. Foundation – Take a small amount of Special FX Wax and mould it into a ball. Press the ball onto the left cheek to create a wart. Next take a larger amount of wax and mould around the nose in an ugly shape.
2. Color-In – Using a large sponge, cover the face in grass green. Then take a brush and paint thick eyebrows in black paint.
3. Details – Finally, mix some grass green with a tiny amount of black. Then use the corner of a sponge to blend wrinkle lines onto the forehead, and around the eyes, chin and cheeks.

Thanks to Snazaroo for the great guides to all these ghoulish looks. Their ultimate kit [pictured] can cover a whole party filled with kids, and comes with a full step-by-step guide on dozens of creations. These face paints are water-based for easy clean up (a few might stain, though) and are formulated to be paraben and fragrance-free.

$29, www.snazaroo.com