Other decorations we've used in the barn are milk cans with floral arrangements. Go for a walk in the woods and look for items or watch for cattails on the side of the road. I'm not sure my husband will ever get used to the "Stop! I see something." I usually keep a pair of scissors in the car ...you never know what you're going to run across. Goldenrod and cattails are usually plentiful. Sometimes I use branches of sweet gum trees, hickory...you just have to get out and look for things. Spent lilly pad blooms are perfect but you have to be careful with stems. The pods are great for floral arrangements. Raffia tied around cans and vases works well.
Table Decorations: We usually set up folding tables with white cloths for the majority of the food and reserve a special table for "Halloween Treats." This table is usually covered with black material. Whatever pinata we are having is usually suspended over the table until time for breaking. Some purchased Halloween decorations can be used of course. A gnarled Halloween tree is a great table decoration. This can be made from branches which have been taped together to make the shape you want. If you can find an uprooted tree or bush, the roots turned upside down make a perfect gnarled tree. If one root isn't enough, tape more together for the shape and height you want. If the roots are not dry already, let them dry out for several days or weeks. Spray paint black and place in a container. Hang Halloween ornaments and spider webs.
Take boxes or large pans (anything sturdy) and place under the black cloth and then place your containers of treats at varying heights for more visual effect. We usually place the "kid type treats" on this table and put the real food in another area. I'll get around to my favorite recipes later. Other floral decorations of course includes pots of mums. Sometimes we just place them in large clay pots, black kettles, old wooden containers or buckets. Stagger clusters of three at varying heights. Pumpkins piled around in corners add just brilliant color. We start out with a bunch of pumpkins piled up out at the barn for kids to paint and take home, then scatter clusters of at least three in other areas. We seem to have gotten away from carving our pumpkins and sometimes decorate them with small gourds. You can take a stack of three, large, med, small, hot glue them together in snowman fashion and use little tiny gourds for eyes and nose. Tie a bunch of raffia around the neck and slap on a straw hat....very cute. Small gourds laying around on the food table look good along with small pie pumpkins. Pumpkins make a great holders for flowers also. Just cut off the top, hollow out the inside and use it for your container.
Activities: We start out with pumpkin painting, mainly because of the light. We live out in the country and when it gets dark, its dark. So we desiginate a place to paint pumpkins away from the back porch area. This gets the children out away from the house where most of the adults sit to talk. We purchse several pumpkins (tried to grow some and so far have had no luck) and pile them up usually out close to the barn. An aluminun cattle watering trough turned upside down makes a great table out there. Put an inexpensive plastic Halloween cloth on it and lay out your paints and brushes. The children have a great time picking out their pumpkin. Get some of all sizes. We tend to use the smaller ones for painting. The kids like to carry them around and of course they take them home. Use water based paints and have plenty of brushes and small containers of water, paper towns and wet wipes. My daughter and niece usually handle the pumpkin painting. You need someone to get the kids as soon as they get there and direct them toward painting their pumpkin, that way no one gets missed or finds out too late that they've missed the pumpkin painting. Afterwards, any salvagable paint is recapped and saved. Large markers work well along with glitter markers too. Its suprising how creative kids can be if you turn them loose with paints and brushes!  Face Painting: We set up a small area with something to sit on like hay bales and another niece paints their faces. There again, its important to have someone like her that seeks the children out to get their faces painted so that no one misses an opportunity. Face paints can be purchased at discount stores for just a few dollars You will also need facial wipes, water, paper towels, etc. 
Hay Ride: For the first few years we only did a hay ride for the very small children. My husband takes a small trailer and places 5-6 hay bales around and pulls the trailer with his 4-wheeler. We wait until after dark of course and just ride the kids around in the front and back yard. This has been plenty "scary" enough for them. We have continued to do this every year, but for the last couple of years we added a hay ride for others also later in the night. We use the same hay along with more bales, larger trailer and pull with pickup along dark country roads with another vehicle following close behind. Safety is number one. No small children go unaccompained by a parent, send plenty of flashlights and keep the ride to 20-30 minutes.  Apple Bob: This can be done multiple ways. We used to use water in a tub which is a lot of fun, but folks get their hair wet and so on.  Last year we tied string to apple stems and hung them from a swing frame. We tied the apples at varying lengths and had 4-5 apples tied up there at a time. This way 4-5 chidren can be going for their apples at the same time and regardless of age, its a lot of fun for them. No hands! It's really harder than it looks!  Pinata: We typically have a pinata to break before the night is over. We usually do this in the barn so the kids can swing away with minimal danger. The pinata is hung from a rafter and we start out with the youngest getting a couple of swings and then proceed on up with ages. Most of the time, everyone gets a swing at it. It's suprising that the pinata was started primarily for the small children, but even the bigger kids jump right in there and beg to get their turn! I plan to do an article later on how to make a pinata. Usually we have a pinata with a Halloween theme....a witch's head...a spider....etc. Fill the pinata with individually wrapped candies and small toys. I have found to tootsie roll pops work well, plus when they fall out they're easy to find on the ground. The kids dive bomb the ground once the pinata has spilled its goodies! Depending on the ages of the children, we have used anything from witches brooms to swing with to plastic bats. Of course, purchased pinatas work equally as well and are easily filled with goodies.
I hope this article gives you some ideas for your party. We've learned to always have Plan B....just in case it rains (which it has)...and we moved into the garage and still had a great time. Bathroom facilities in a place other than the house is nice. Take advantage of decorating any structures you have in your yard ...we decorate the granddaughter's playhouse as a mini haunted house, strap full size skeletons to the tractor, on a tire swing etc. My 6 year old grandson came up with a great idea for this year......place one of the skeletons on a raft and let him float in the pool! Involve children in the plans and allow them to help out with the work! It's amazing what they really can do and the ideas they come up with. It's all about making memories with the ones you love ...family and friends....Halloween can be a fun time....but beware!! You never know what kind of creatures will turn up at your door! 
Have a safe and Happy Halloween!!
|
