Spooky Spotlight!

"Halloween-ery" has extended its sticky tentacles deeply within my family, infecting yet another generation. Mommy recently caught two year old Austin intently poring over a catalog, exclaiming with glee, "Want that! Need that! This, too!" at every spotted spider, hallow-eyed haunt, and gasping ghost within its pages. Two years old! Could this be an inherited trait? Any aspiring geneticists out there in pursuit of a dissertation topic? We'll help you prove this thesis with a hearty supply of test subjects for your case study experiments!

I offered a day of respite to Austin's mommy last week when daddy flew overseas on business for ten days. Meals, snacks, housework, babysitting, crafts.....all graciously accepted with only one specification: HALLOWEEN PROJECTS, please, grandma?!

And so, today I focus my spooky spotlight on Austin and older sissy, Brielle,* for a trio of satisfying seasonal crafts easily doable with your very own little grand-goblins!

*(One year old brother, Channing, still can't be trusted not to eat glue sticks. That's okay. We'll reel him in next year!)
















Pumpkin Portraits!

This ages-old decorating exercise is suitable for the five year age span I entertained here. That was my biggest challenge. Which activities would keep Bree engaged while not frustrating Austin?

Prep was as easy as the embellishing both kiddoes enjoyed. Wide open mouths invite a collection of teeth cut from the paper scraps you'll provide along with safety scissors, glue, and glitter! Dig out your craft punches to supply giant, friendly eyeballs!














Haunted House!

My grandkids are sticker crazy, and quite frankly, so am I! Problem is, sometimes these pesky little things (also known as "tickers!") end up on inappropriate surfaces - windows, walls, shoes, and dogs' ears! So, whose fault is it when there's not a worthy place to plant them?

Leave it to grandma to find the best solution at Sarah Jane's! This ultra-creative lady provided exactly what I was searching for - full instructions and a free haunted house template sporting open-and-shut windows that invite filling with small spider, cat, and pumpkin stickers.

This one takes a bit more time to prep than the pumpkin portrait, but the kids were delighted with the 3-D effect, and I was treated to many exuberant challenges to "Open it, grandma! See what's inside!" I wore myself out fainting in horror over a flutter of bats and grinning ghouls peeled from the pages of these books priced at only one dollar each at JoAnn Fabrics! Hurry on over if this one appeals to you - or if your pets need earfuls of cute "tickers!" :)















Spider Races!

Time for something the kids don't need to work at! I constructed every component of this game myself, although kids as young as four could put it together with a bit of help. All you'll need is one game board, and a pom pom spider and paper straw for each player. Then stand back and watch the competitive fun!

The board is a 12" x 24" strip of orange paper - piece it together if needed. I used decorative craft tape to indicate a start line as well as interim markers. Lay out a web opposite start line with purple craft tape (or draw it with a marker.)

Spiders ("pie-ders!") are 1.5" craft pom poms. Glue on a pair of wiggle eyes and yarn strand legs to complete each one - different color bodies, legs, or eyes suggested for each competitor.

Ready for action?! Place your runners on the start line, pick up your straw, and BLOW! First one to reach the safety of the web without flying off the board is the winner of each fast paced heat! Prizes optional - although when grandma's in charge, I think you already know they're an "everybody's a winner!" requirement!
















And finally! Enjoy rattling the funny bones of your grandkids with hoots of laughter while they craft and play. Challenge them with the 47 howling cute Halloween jokes you'll find here, at Grandma's Briefs. Thanks, Lisa! (she's my ghoul-friend!)

Bet you don't know why the skeleton didn't dance at the party!
Well, I do!
He had no body to dance with!