With Halloween just around the corner and me being the ‘any excuse for a party’ type that I am we are gearing up for a spooktacularly festive end of October! Florence loved it last year and was way more into it than I had thought she would be; she has continued to talk about it for the whole year so she’s thrilled that it’s coming around again and she’ll be even more thrilled when she finds out what I’ve got in store! We’re going up to Norwich to see my Mum and for the journey I have her some Halloween themed sticker books to keep her occupied. She’s then been pretty clear, as she remembers last year so well, that pumpkin carving and an Easter Egg style spooky hunt in the garden should be on the menu next and that’s all before the actual 31st where we’ll go over to my friend Sam’s for a proper Halloween party with her boys! Her three are a bit older so we’ll create the perfect party while they’re at school and when they come home the fun will begin! So… Here’s my guide to a little Halloween fun without breaking the bank!
Firstly let’s talk about those sticker books! Usborne always have a range of sticker books for every occasion and we always turn to them for a bit of inexpensive, mess free, crafty entertainment. Unlike children’s magazines which Florence is always drawn to, they provide fantastic value for money and keep her entertained for far longer and the best bit about them, for me anyway, is that they always have something interesting, fun or educational to read. Each page is a different scene and then there are masses of stickers in the middle of the book to apply to each one. For older children they can apply the corresponding stickers to the corresponding page. Each sticker is always labeled with what it is and what page it is intended for! However, if you’re more artistic or wanting to just break free and do your own thing like Florence then you can mix and match the stickers to your heart’s content! I really like these sticker books and it seems I’m not the only one! My friend recently got married and she’d thought of absolutely everything because she had goody bags for each child and guess what she’d put in them? An Usborne Weddings First Colouring Book with Stickers! Florence had a great time using hers at the wedding and afterwards! Now that all the stickers are done we still read it and remember her being a bridesmaid while we do because they’re lovely books which are to be kept after they’ve fulfilled their initial purpose.
For Halloween she will have the Monsters Sticker Book which is jam-packed with different monster scenes such as ‘Boogie Monsters’ and ‘Sewer Critters’ and hundreds of fun stickers to match! If you wanted to do this properly then perhaps you’d need to be a bit older than Florence but that in no way means she won’t love this one too because she will! The sheer volume of stickers means she’ll be entertained for ages! Give me a toddler that doesn’t like stickers and I’ll eat my hat! Show me a toddler who doesn’t like a bit of monsters and slime and I’ll have to eat another item of clothing! At £5.99 this is money well spent! With a little tale for each page and encouragement with what to do it’s a really fun project for you to do with the little ones! Another one we have is the Sticker Dressing: Spooky which is another one in their fabulous range of dress up books! All the outfits to dress the spooky characters on each page are stickers in the centre of the book! Again, do them as intended or just mix and match outfits as you wish!
With regard to pumpkin carving we will do a few. Last year we did a couple of traditional ones and then we branched out and made pretty ones and ones with words on them. It was super easy, much more so than I had envisaged! We used carving pumpkins which are much cheaper, eliminate the need to create dishes using masses of pumpkin flesh and best of all, easier to scoop out and carve! Asda have them on offer at the moment at 2 for £2! We’ll also be using their Pumpkin Carving Kit which costs just £1! Can’t get fairer than that now can you!
Us pumpkin carving last year and the creations we made! Some traditional but also a bit of ‘own style’ ones too!
It’s also Asda who will be catering our Halloween party from the sweet (but spooky) treats to the bowls we’ll eat from and the napkins we’ll wipe away the crumbs with! Visit their ‘Trick or Treat Street‘ for some fantastic bargains! Their bakery has ‘Dracula Doughnuts’, ‘Spooky Snowballs’ and ‘Slime Tarts’ amongst others! I’m no baker so to go with the cupcakes I’ll be attempting to make I’ll be stocking up on their treats to make sure something tastes good!
They also have sweets in jars all with Halloween themes, costumes and much, much more! The children will be in outfits but I’ll just make a nod to ‘dress up’ by applying some wicked eyelashes! And we’ll jazz up the children’s clothes for when we go trick or treating (which we will do safely and in the neighbourhood where my friend knows all her neighbours) with these funky spider glow in the dark stickers! Asda always offer some really fantastic goods at affordable prices and shopping there means that without having to go without you don’t have to spend too much money! They really do make some fantastic stuff for all occasions and Halloween is no different!
We’ll also be playing some really good old-fashioned Halloween games like apple bobbing! One my Dad always used to set up for us to play was creating a flour cake! Fill a bowl with flour and turn out on to a tray just like a sand castle. Place a coin in the centre on the top and then everyone has to cut a slice away. The person who causes the coin to fall has to then pick it up with his or her teeth! Bet it’ll end up being me! Happy Halloween everyone!
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