We are not big on Halloween, but we love the fall harvest season. Since my kids dress up about 300 days a year and do dress up on Halloween, we just don't do the trick or treat thing. We have alternate Halloween activities ranging from going to a church carnival or staying home and having friends over and OD on candy and junk food, play games, and run around the back yard with glow sticks.
As of present, the jury is still out on what we are going to do this year. I am leaving it up to the kids to decide. They are both studying the middle ages this year and love reading about King Arthur, Merlin, and the knights of the round table. They also read Robin Hood and we watch we just watch the series on Netflix. So one idea the blue eyed one has mentioned is dressing up like characters from King Arthur and watch Merlin, make and eat a meal (stew and bread) like they did in the middles ages and digest a lot of sugar and chocolate.
So in the meantime, I made this cute pumpkin count down to whatever we end up doing on the 31st. I didn't get pictures of the entire step by step, it was 110 degress on Sept 30 when I made this and it grossly effected my brain.
You need a few apple packaging trays from the grocery store. The produce man was happy to give them to us while unpacking apples.
Flip the tray over and paint each embossed circle orange. It doesn't have to be perfect since we are going to cut them out.
You will also need some orange tissue, green pipe cleaners, and either a hot glue gun if you are brave and fearless or white school if you are patient.
Cut out each embossed circle and cut tissue into squares larger than the circles, I cut out 31 for each day of October. Place candy, small pieces of candy, in each one and glue around the edge of the back of the embossed circle and let dry or cool depending on which glue you are using. Once dry, trim off the excess tissue.
Cut the pipe cleaners into thirds, make sure you have one for each pumpkin. Fold each one in half and twist the end and bend them up to look like leaves.
Glue onto the pumpkin. Cut a piece of bakers twine, I used
black, and hang from the mantel or a stair rail. Fold the stem of the pipe cleaner over the twine and pinch it pretty firmly so it wont slide around. After that break out a sharpie and number each one for the count down. They blue eyed one did it for me.
