Halloween Crafts, Activities With the Grandkids

Handprint ghost garland

By Melissa Thompson, motherhood and lifestyle influencer on Instagram as @melissathompsonhome

Influencer Melissa Thompson loves a craft that doubles as a keepsake. That’s why she recommends that grandparents add a handprint ghost garland to their list of activities to create with the grandkids.

“This is such a sweet activity for grandparents and grandchildren to make together because it’s simple enough for little hands to help with, and grandparents are left with something that captures just how tiny those hands were that Halloween,” Thompson says.

MATERIALS

• Brown or black craft paper or cardstock
• White washable paint
• Black paint or a black marker
• Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Twine, ribbon or string
• Pen or marker to add each child’s name and year
• Optional: small bows or other embellishments

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Paint your grandchild’s palm and fingers with white washable paint
2. Press the painted hand firmly onto a sheet of brown craft paper or cardstock and keep the fingers slightly separated to create the bottom of the ghost.
3. Carefully lift the painted hand straight up and allow the handprint to dry completely.
4. Repeat to make as many ghosts as you’d like for your garland.
5. Once dry, cut around each handprint, leaving a border of brown or black paper around the white paint.
6. Turn each handprint upside down so the palm becomes the ghost’s head and the fingers become the bottom of the ghost.
7. Use black paint or a black marker to add two eyes and a mouth to each ghost.
8. Add any fun embellishments you’d like. Thompson recommends adding little ribbon bows to a few of the ghosts for some extra personality!
9. Write the child’s name and year on the back so each ghost doubles as a Halloween keepsake.
10. Punch a hole near the top of each piece.
11. String the ghosts together using twine or ribbon.
12. Hang the finished garland on a mantel, doorway, shelf or wall for Halloween!

Gauzy ghosts

By Seri Kertzner

Once you make some ghosts for the inside of your home, try making some to go on your lawn. Kertzner says her gauze ghosts are a perfect craft for you and your grandkids because they’re a little messy but impossible to mess up.

“Kids can really make them their own, and grandparents get to be part of creating a Halloween decoration that can come out year after year,” Kertzner says.

MATERIALS

• White and black paper
• Masking tape
• Hot glue gun (for the adults only)
• Wooden dowels or long skewers
• Large paintbrush
• White craft glue
• White tissue paper, cut into small squares
• White plastic tablecloth or fabric
• Gauze
• Googly eyes
• White string

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Ball up paper and hold it together with masking tape to make the head of the ghost.
2. Make a hole in your paper ball for the wooden dowel and secure them together using hot glue.
3. Coat the ball with white glue using your paintbrush.
4. Stick the tissue paper squares onto the wet glue, using your brush to smooth them down in layers.
5. Cut 1.5- to 2-inch-wide strips from the plastic tablecloth in a variety of lengths.
6. Use the hot glue to attach the long plastic strips to the top of the stick, right near the ball. Attach as many as you would like around the dowel.
7. Take another piece of the plastic tablecloth, about 14 by 14 inches, and pierce a hole through the middle.
8. Pull that piece of tablecloth over the ball and pinch it around the stick, like a skirt, and attach it with hot glue.
9. Cut some pieces of gauze into 12-by-12-inch or 12-by-6-inch pieces.
10. Hang the gauze pieces over the ball, cinching under the ball with a piece of string.
11. Attach googly eyes to the head with craft glue.
12. Cut a mouth shape out of the black paper and attach it using craft glue.
13. Repeat these steps to make as many ghosts as you’d like.
14. Stick the ghosts onto your lawn.

Fall leaf place cards

By Mackenzie Biehl

Having your loved ones over for a meal? Biehl recommends helping your grandkids use fallen leaves to make place cards for the whole family.

“Kids love seeing the leaf patterns appear, and grandparents can turn a simple craft into a little lesson about making people feel welcome,” Biehl says. “Imagine everyone’s reaction when they find a place card made just for them.”

MATERIALS

• Fallen leaves with visible veins
• Plain white paper
• Crayons with the wrappers removed
• Blank folded cards or cardstock
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue sticks
• Markers or pencils

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take a walk with your grandchildren and gather a few fallen leaves in different shapes and sizes.
2. Place a leaf beneath a sheet of paper with its veined side facing up.
3. Hold the paper steady and gently rub the side of a crayon over the leaf until its outline and veins appear.
4. Repeat with different leaves and colors.
5. Cut out the leaf rubbings, helping younger children with the scissors.
6. Glue each rubbing onto a folded card, leaving room for a name.
7. Let the grandchild write a family member’s name on each card, with help as needed.
8. Set the table together and place a personalized card at each seat.

Spooky gluten-free blondies

By Alyssa Brantley, cookbook author and creator of the food blog Everyday Maven

This gluten-free blondie recipe is perfect for kids, says cookbook author Alyssa Brantley. And, as an added bonus, grandparent cleanup is minimal.

“This is an easy, one-bowl recipe with two steps that kids love to do — push in the chocolate chips on top and make the spider legs,” Brantley says.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large egg, room temperature
• ½ cup creamy unsalted peanut butter
• ¼ cup coconut oil melted (plus ¼ teaspoon coconut oil for spider legs)
• ⅔ cup coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond flour
• ¼ cup cassava flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon finely ground sea salt
• 4 ounces chocolate chips (plus 1 teaspoon chocolate chips for spider legs)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the baking dish with a piece of parchment paper and set it aside.
2. Combine the egg, peanut butter, ¼ cup melted coconut oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until smooth.
3. Add the almond flour, cassava flour, baking soda and sea salt, and mix until well combined.
4. Fold in 3 ounces of chocolate chips.
5. Transfer the batter to a parchment-lined 8-by-8-inch baking dish.
6. Use your fingers or a spatula to evenly spread and flatten the batter.
7. Press 1 ounce of chocolate chips, pointy side down, into the top of the dough.
8. Bake the blondies on the center rack of the oven 18 to 20 minutes or until the blondies are light golden-brown.
9. Transfer the blondies to a cooling rack.
10. Melt 1 teaspoon chocolate chips and ¼ teaspoon coconut oil for 30 to 45 seconds in the microwave.
11. Make the chocolate chips into spiders by using a toothpick to draw on spider legs. (Spiders have eight legs, but Brantley recommends doing six because it looks better.)
12. Allow the blondies to cool completely in the baking dish (at least an hour). Cut into 16 squares, and enjoy with your grandchildren!

Start an apple-picking and movie-night tradition

By Melissa Thompson

Combining a simple fall outing with a cozy night in can make for a wonderful tradition for grandparents to have with their grandchildren, Thompson says.

“Some of my favorite traditions with kids are the really simple ones,” she says. “Apple picking, baking something together and ending the day with a Halloween movie gives grandparents and grandkids an entire day of memories without needing anything elaborate. If you repeat it every fall, it becomes one of those traditions the kids look forward to every year.”

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• A local apple orchard
• A family-friendly Halloween movie
• Cozy pajamas or blankets — Halloween theme optional
• Popcorn or another favorite movie snack
• Apples from the orchard
• Optional: peanut butter and Halloween cookies

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Visit a local apple orchard with your grandkids. Let them pick the apples to bring home.
2. Once you’re home, let the grandkids choose a favorite family-friendly Halloween movie.
3. Put on cozy pajamas.
4. Make a simple treat together using the apples you picked, like cutting them up and adding peanut butter as a dip.
5. You can also make some popcorn, Halloween cookies or your favorite movie snack.
6. Grab some blankets and settle in for the movie.
7. Commemorate the tradition by taking a photo together each year.

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