* For a Halloween buffet table, nestle a carved jack-o'-lantern (or a few of various sizes) topped with a bewitching hat on a handful of shredded Mylar. For extra shrieks, place a plastic lizard or frog on the brim.
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* Decorating:
Visit a local theatrical or discount store to find inexpensive masks and other Halloween items such as fake eyeballs, vampire teeth, spiders and webs, and witch hats. Use these items throughout your haunted home. Play eerie music in the background (tapes and CDs are available in music and discount stores). Turn the lights low and keep a lot of candles burning in safe areas. Remember to put them high if little goblins will be attending the party.Crafts: Lay out an assortment of materials such as paints, jewels, feathers, markers, etc. and give guests a plain mask to decorate as they wish.Plain masks (full face or eye) are available at theatrical shops and discount stores.Games:
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*Sparkling Pumpkins
Pumpkins of any size become instantly glamorous with glittery stems draped with curling ribbon.
What You Need:
Pumpkins instantly become glamorized when you add glitter to the stems.
Pumpkin with long stem
Paintbrush
White glue
Glitter in purple, lime green, or other desired color
Silver curling ribbon
Scissors
Instructions:
1. Choose a pumpkin with a long stem. Wash and dry the pumpkin.
2. Use a paintbrush to apply glue to the stem. While the glue is wet, sprinkle with glitter. Let dry.
3. Cut 2-foot lengths of ribbon. To curl pieces of ribbon, hold scissors at an angle against ribbon, pulling ribbon tight against blade. Place one or two ribbons around the stem.
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*Witches Hat
You will need:
Black card (posterboard), pair of compasses, scissors, craft knife and cutting mat, stapler, sticky tape, raffia, silver wrapping paper, paper adhesive.
Instructions:
1. On the sheet of black posterboard card, draw a circle large enough for the brim of the hat, Cut the circle using scissors
2. Draw a second circle inside the first large enough to fit the wearer's head. Cut around this line using a craft knife.
3. Measure the diameter of the brim and cut another circle of black card measuring about 15cm/6 in larger for the crown. Cut a slit from the edge into the center.
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*MONSTER HANDS
Surprise party guests and school mates with this creepy treat! You'll need: Clear disposable plastic gloves, popped popcorn, red or green small gum drops and spider rings (optional).
Place a gumdrop into each finger of the glove (these are the fingernails) fill glove with pop corn. Tie off the end with rubber band or ribbons. Add a spider ring for fun.
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*Pumpkin Treat Bag
you will need
Orange Tempera Paint
Green Tempera Paint
Lunch bag
Sponge
Palm of hand
index finger
soap & water.
Apply orange paint to the palm of a hand with a sponge. Press palm onto paper bag. Using index finger & green paint, make stem and leaves on the pumpkins
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*Hand Print Spiders
for the 0-3 year old crowd
You'll need:
Black paint,
paper and wiggly eyes

Paint your child's four fingers and palm black NOT THUMB... Stamp paint on paper pointing fingers out. Paint other hand and stamp it in the opposite direction overlapping palm prints. Add wiggly eyes.
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*Spooky See Through
Make a special paint with white glue and food coloring. Paint a Halloween picture on a piece of plastic wrap. Before the picture dries lay another sheet of plastic over of the picture. Make frames with paper or cardboard. Glue the picture between the two frames. Hang your creation in a window with tape or from a piece of yarn
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*Jingle Ghost
You'll need: White foam meat trays
hole punch
yarn
small bell.
Cut a ghost shape in the white foam tray. Punch the eyes in the ghost with a hole puncher. Make a small hole at the top of the ghost's head and one at the center of the bottom of the ghost. Cut two lengths of yarn for the top and the bottom. Attach the bell to the yarn at the bottom. Hang the ghost where the wind will make it jingle or on your front door handle.
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*Ghost or Pumpkin Jars
Use for candle holders, teacher gifts or treat holders.
You'll Need:
baby food jars (large for ghosts-small for pumpkins),
white glue
tissue paper - white, yellow, and orange
black permanent marker
Dilute the glue to a painting consistency. Paint the jar a bit at a time while applying torn pieces of tissue paper. Cover the jar completely...maybe two or three layers and dry overnight. Use a permanent marker to make the face of a ghost or Jack -o-lantern.
Kit's Tips: Using torn paper instead of cut, adds a nice texture to this tissue decoupage. Combine orange and yellow paper for a realistic texture to the pumpkin.
Place a safety tea light into the container. If you are giving this as a gift--fill the jar with candy corn or chocolates and tie a piece of green raffia around the top. It couldn't hurt to write a small note about removing the raffia before lighting the candle
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*Monster Hands
You'll need:
Clear disposable plastic gloves, popped popcorn, red or green small gum drops and spider rings (optional).
Place a gumdrop into each finger of the glove (these are the fingernails) fill glove with pop corn. Tie off the end with rubber band or ribbons. Add a spider ring for fun.
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*Spooky Windows
You will need
a sheet or cloth, grey or white big enough to cover your window and drape the floor, an orange lightbulb/lamp and a fan. Tape or tack(w/ permission) the cloth to the top of the window frame INSIDE the house. Now take the bottom edges and pull the cloth back about ten inches from the wall..hold in place with shoes or canned food...this creates a space for the light that WON'T TOUCH THE FABRIC. Put the lamp on the floor or small box so it is under the window in front of the cloth putting a spooky glow onto the fabric, then put the fan on low and point it so it blows on the cloth. From outside this looks like there are flames dancing in the window!!! (you can only see this at night!!)
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*Zombie Nights
You'll need;
Cardboard

old shoes,
gray paint
black paint
fake skeleton hands or gloves
Make a gravestone out of the cardboard, paint gravestone gray then write a name etc. on the stone with the black paint. Cut the old shoes in half the short way. If you've got gloves, stuff the gloves. Set the tombstone, hands, and 1/2 shoes so it looks like something is trying to get out of the ground.
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*Creepy Table
Place a black table cloth over large dining room table. Add cob webs that hang to the floor. Find a cheap cardbroad coffin at local paper good store and place in center of table for food arrangement. Place dishes (or paper plates and plastic spoons, forks, etc.) inside of coffin and continue adding spider webs and plastic spiders and even a skeleton for the finishing touch.
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*A Real Haunt of a House
Rent or buy blacklights or coloured lights, dry ice or a fog machine, black shrouds everywhere, coffins, cemetery in the backyard... This year, I'm taking all of my old costumes and making them into twisted scarecrows to hang on the wall or stick in the yard. Just take a long thin plank of wood about 5-6 feet high to support the costume, and nail on a shorter plank across wherever the shoulders are on the longer plank to make a cross. if your costume has arms, get some old pantyhose, stuff them with cotton or something, attach a stuffed glove to the end of each, and attach one to each end of the shoulder plank. Support the arms with fishing twine or heavy wire to make them stand up. You might have to stuff the head, or even make a new one out of paper mache or just leave it headless. You can make ghosts out of sheer white cloth and hang them around the house or out of trees. Now for the glow part: Glowsticks are a nice touch, and you can cut the non-toxic ones open and smear the glowy stuff everywhere. The problem is that it stains, it smells AWFUL, so better to use glow-in-the-dark paint. Put the glowsticks behind sheer ghost fabric for a spooky effect or just put them in the punch and stuff.
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*Ghostly haunting
You Need:
- large white garbage bag
- permanent black marker
- newspaper
- strong string

Craft:
Stuff one corner of a large white garbage bag with crumpled newspaper to form a head. Twist shut,folding other corner down and secure with string. Draw a face on the ghost with permanent markers. Let face dry. Cut bottom part of bag into 3-4" wide strips. Attach string to top of head with wide tape; knotting string so it doesn't pull out. Make lots and hang them indoors or out.
*Parents please note: please be careful of plastic bags around small children. No one should ever put a plastic bag over their own or anyone else's head or use this craft as a "costume" .


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