Finally, the seasons are changing! Here in California, as I am sure you are aware, we have been dealing with a drought that has claimed the lives of countless lawns and put dramatic water restraints on all of us. This parched earth has not been made easier with our sporadic triple-digit temperatures that seem to pop up out of nowhere. However, it seems that a reprieve is imminent.

For the last 5 days in a row, we have had to close the windows in the house at night and turn the heater on the early morning hours. Before the dust could burn off the grates, we have rushed to storage and taken down the bins of autumn and Halloween decorations to properly receive the season.

As our annual archeological dig commenced we were once again reminded of our bounty and how they came to be in our possession. So much of our décor was created with the help of our young children as a testament to their growth as well as the holiday.

Here are our 4 favorite items and how they were created.

1. Spiders and Ghosts on Canvas: For our son we painted a canvas all black then let him put his bare feet into a plate of white paint. He then proceeded to place his foot onto the now dry canvas. When the picture is turned upside down, his foot is the shape of a ghost. Let dry and draw in eyes and a mouth! For our baby, we were a little more hands on (literally). For her we painted her canvas bright orange then painted her little sausage hands black then pressed her whole hands on the now dry canvas. When turned upside down they look like spiders. Add a few cobwebs, eyes and the work “EEEK” at the bottom and voila!

2. Monster Hands: For this we traced our kid’s hands, all the way up to their forearms, on green construction paper. Then we cut them out and glued them to a black and orange sheet of paper. We then gave them dried beans and lentils to glue wherever they wanted on the hand. This gives the effect of warts and lesions. With a couple of candy corn nails, you have monster hands.

3. Window Spiders: On the inside of the windows to their bedrooms we took black paint and again painted, or let them put their hands in. Then they press their hands to the windows with the left and right fingers facing out and the palms overlapped to make a really large spider right on the window. They can then wait for the paint to dry and scrape off the eyes.

4. Outdoor Ghost: We bought a cheap white bed sheet and inflatable ball from the local drug store. Cut a hole in the top of the sheet and place the ball in the middle of the sheet. Run a string, rope or wire hanger through the hole in the sheet and attach to the ball, then draw a face on the ghost. We have our ghost hanging outside the dining room window from the roof and lit him from underneath with a floodlight. Ours is a friendly ghost with soft eyes and a smile as to not scare the little’s when the wind blows.

One of the major things to take into consideration when doing any of these projects is things will most likely get messy. Paint very rarely goes exactly where you want it to when applied to your toddlers, so be sure and use patience and washable paint. The best part of these projects (with the exception of our friendly ghost) is that year after year you get to see the growth of your little ghouls, and of course the kids think that being allowed to draw on them is a blast.

Happy Haunting!