Autumn is a great time to collect up bits and bobs from the garden to create Halloween decorations and accessories.
Here are a few of my favourite things to get stuck into as a family over the Halloween period.
1) Apple bobbing
A Halloween favourite! Fill up a large bucket with water, and pick some apples from your apple tree.
You need enough apples to just cover the surface. Get the family together and give everyone 20 seconds to grab an apple with their mouth! No hands are allowed.
The winner is the person who picks an apple up the quickest. This best works outside because it can get quite wet on the ground.
If you choose to do it inside, use towels or tarpaulin and preferably do it on an easy-to-clean floor!
2) Pumpkin carving
This is probably the most popular Halloween activity, carving pumpkins is fun for all the family.
1 -Cut off the crown of the pumpkin (save this bit!)
2- Scoop out the contents using a large spoon (keep the flesh & Seeds, I’ve written an article on what you can do with them)
3- Draw an outline of the face on the pumpkin and cut out the eyes, nose and mouth with a knife, you could get the kids to do the drawing and you to do the cutting!
4- Cut a couple of holes in the top to let the burnt air out so it does not collect in the pumpkin and put your candle out
5- Place a tealight inside and pop the lid back on
3) Make a magic wand
A wand is a great accessory to lots of Halloween costumes, here’s how to make your very own:
1 – Get hold of a thick stick from the garden – the more crooked, the better!
2 – Strip it of side branches and leaves
3 – Collect up some twine and wrap it round the base of the stick, secure it with some glue or a knot
You could also paint the stick before wrapping the twine around it if you want it to have a particular look! If you choose to paint it, try to take as much bark off as possible, and perhaps sand the stick down for a smooth, paintable surface.
4) Make a broomstick
Get together and build a broomstick, perfect for the wizard and witches outfits! You will need a long, thick stick or branch, some straw, twine or string and some scissors or a knife.
1 – If using a branch, strip the bark off and give it a few days to dry
2- Divide the straw into equal bunches and tie up with the twine
3 -Tie all of the bundles to the end of the branch using twine or string. You can also play around with the bunches before tying them to see whether you’d rather a flat broom or one that sprays out, like a whisk
4- Once attached, cut the ends of the straw so it’s all even
5) Pumpkin apple stamps
If you and the kids love arts and crafts, this is a great and simple way of creating your very own pumpkin stamps.
1- Pick some apples from your apple tree
2- Get hold of some orange and green paint
3- Cut the apples in half and fully dry them with a paper towel
4- Squirt some orange paint onto a paper, or a dish and fully cover the inside of the apple, then stamp onto another piece of paper to create a pumpkin shape!
5- Use the green paint and a paintbrush (or your fingers!) to create the leaves and stems of the pumpkins
The kids will love doing this and once dried will be able to hang them around the house for Halloween decorations!
Check out these instructions to see how to do this!
6) Create a Halloween tree
If you have any dead branches or twigs, this is a great activity to do with the kids to create some Halloween decorations for inside and outside the house. The more materials you can get hold of to create this the better.
1 – First, stick the dead branches into an old flower pot filled with dirt
2 – Use some cotton or raw wool and create mini ‘ghosts’ to fill the tree with
3- Orange baubles work really well as pumpkins, or you could cut out your pumpkin stamps from earlier, and hang them on with string
4- You could use black paper, cut it into the shape of bats or spiders and hang those from the tree too!
7) Flower pot creatures
Empty flower pots are great to make lots of different spooky creatures. Make spiders by turning a pot upside down and sticking pipe cleaners to the side of the pots with a glue gun, or drilling small holes in plastic pots for the pipe cleaners to thread into. Stick or paint some eyes and a mouth on the front and they’ll look great and fun for decoration inside or outside. You can also create a vampire bat by sticking black wings and ears on the top and sides!
I’ve seen lots of different design for flower pot creatures this Halloween – you can see a selection on my Pinterest board.
Hopefully these activities will inspire you to get together with all the family and make or do something great out of your garden items. Remember to send me your pictures over on my Facebook or Twitter. Looking forward to seeing what you put together!
Happy Halloween!
Check out this great craft video from Haven
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
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