I hope everyone had a great week! We took a break from homeschool this week, so we could get things done around the house. My daughter finished up the first 9 weeks of her curriculum, so it was a well deserved break. We were also expecting some snow, so my husband and I got outside and worked on the yard for a bit. For not doing school, we were still very busy. We spent the entire week cleaning and getting ready for our Halloween party! Normally we are not big Halloween people, but my daughter wanted to make a piñata this year, so we needed others kids to help break it! The whole party ended up being a lot of fun!
Party Games
The first thing we did was string the piñata up on a tree in our backyard. We wanted to get this out of the way before it got darker or colder outside. It took longer than I ever expected it to take to tear that piñata apart. We needed some older kids, but the 6 year-olds managed to whack it into pieces after awhile. After dinner I had the older kids play “pin the nose on the witch”. They had a silly good time trying to figure out how to get the nose in the right spot with a blindfold on. Both the piñata and witch game were homemade, so I will explain how those were created below.
Other than that, I just found a couple other cute game ideas at Target in the Halloween section. While the kids were distracted, the adults hid Halloween scavenger hunt pictures all over the house. Then the kids took their scavenger hunt cards around the house checking off what they found. It was so much fun and it definitely kept them busy! You can find the scavenger hunt here: https://www.target.com/p/scavenger-hunt-activity-kit-halloween-party-favor-hyde-38-eek-boutique-8482/-/A-87305710#lnk=sametab. We also had three toddlers at the party, so I wanted something just for them. Target had these super cute little jack-o-lantern eggs, that I filled with toddler safe candy, and poured them all over the floor for them to go after. Here are the eggs: https://www.target.com/p/24ct-orange-printed-scavenger-hunt-halloween-fillable-eggs-hyde-38-eek-boutique-8482/-/A-81617408#lnk=sametab. Lastly, something that almost every child touched during the evening was this fun monster mash up tower. It is silly, and so much fun to spin and change! It can be found here: https://www.target.com/p/festival-of-frights-rotating-wooden-character-halloween-decorative-prop-hyde-38-eek-boutique-8482/-/A-87305695#lnk=sametab.
Let’s Make a Piñata!
Supplies
- Balloon
- Orange tissue paper
- Green, brown, and black construction paper
- Toilet paper roll
- String
- Roll of thin project paper or newspaper
- Flour
- Water
- 2 bowls
- Elmer’s glue
Step 1:
Let’s get set up first! Blow up a balloon as big as you want your piñata to be. Then find a bowl or a cup that the tied end of the balloon can sit in. This will help when applying the paper mache technique. Cover your surface if you want to. This can be a very messy process. I didn’t cover my surface, because I made it on the kitchen counter, which is easy to clean up.
Step 2:
Now you can make the paper mache mixture. In a bowl, add enough water to make the amount of paste you want. Then slowly whisk in a little bit of flour with the water. Add more flour until it is a runny pancake mix consistency. If you rub your fingers together in the mixture, it will feel silky. Add water to the mixture if it gets too thick. When you are not using the paste, make sure you have it sealed shut with a lid. Then when you use it each day, you will need to whisk it together again, because the flour will separate from the water.
Step 3:
Take the roll of project paper or newspaper and cut 2 inch wide strips. Then cut the strips into smaller pieces that will easily mold to your balloon. These strips do not need to be perfect. It should take very little amount of time to get enough pieces cut to cover the balloon.
Step 4:
Let’s start our very first layer of paper mache! Take a strip of the paper you just cut, and immerse it completely in the water and flour mixture. Then pull the strip of paper between your fingers to remove as much of the paste mixture as possible. Apply that strip to the balloon. On the first layer, I ended up applying all the paper strips vertically. Make sure the whole surface is covered and each paper overlaps each other. Once this layer is done, allow time to let it completely dry. I did this layer late at night, so the next morning, it was ready for another layer.
Step 5:
Layer two of paper mache! This layer, I applied the strips of paper horizontally. Again, make sure the whole surface is covered and that the papers overlap. Let this layer dry completely before moving on.
Step 6:
This is the last layer! Turn the paper strips again and apply them vertically. Let this layer completely dry. I did the second layer first thing in the morning, and was able to do this last layer around dinner time. You can definitely add another layer if you feel like it needs to be stronger, but I did three layers, and it took a good twenty minutes for the kids to break it open.
Step 7:
Now that everything is dry, go ahead and pop the balloon and remove it from the piñata shell. Take the orange tissue paper, while it is still folded, and cut approximately 2 inch strips out of it. Keeping those strips still folded, cut fringe about half way into them. When you unfold the strip, it will be completely fringed for you!
Step 8:
Cut out a circle of orange tissue paper, and glue it to the bottom of the shell. This is the bottom of the piñata. Now take the fringe, and apply glue to the edge that isn’t cut, and add it to the shell along the edge of the circle you just glued on. Make sure you glue it on to where the fringe points towards the bottom of the piñata. Continue to add fringe to the shell until there is about 4 inches left.
Step 9:
Poke two holes on each side of the piñata about 2 inches down from the top edge. I used a thumbtack, and then took a skewer to the holes to make them slightly larger. Then cut a string to your desired length, and tie it through the holes on each side. I cut my string long enough to fit over the pumpkin stem I added. Then go ahead and add candy to the inside!
Step 10:
Cut out another circle of orange tissue paper to cover the opening of the piñata. Glue the circle on, and then finish gluing the fringe on the rest of the way. Make sure to glue it on above and below the string, so that it can still hang without tearing the tissue paper.
Step 11:
Wrap a toilet paper roll with brown paper, and tape it on to secure it. Cut strips of the paper until it meets the toilet paper roll, and shorten them to where they can still wrap over the top of the piñata opening. Cut out a jack-o-lantern face from black paper, and some leaves and vines from the green paper. Glue all of these items on, and it is all done! I ended up gluing them on with a hot glue gun, so I wouldn’t have to wait for it to dry, but I am sure regular Elmer’s glue will work as well.
All of this can be done with your child’s help. My daughter is not a huge fan of touching gross feeling things, so she was very against helping during the paper mache process. She also didn’t help add the fringe, because she was busy making invitations for all of her friends. She did cut out the face for me to glue on at least. Even if she didn’t help very much, she was beyond excited watching it be created. I absolutely love making things for my children, and I hope you enjoy this piñata as much as we did! Make it your own! It does not need to be a jack-o-lantern. You can make a different piñata for any party. Piñatas are not just for Halloween!
Pin the Nose on the Witch
This is a super simple game that I came up with a few days before the party. I found a cute little cartoon witch face online, and drew what I saw on a large piece of paper. Then I painted it to look like that witch. If you are not for drawing or painting things, you could probably just get a witch printed out on a large piece of paper. Once this was done, I put it up on the refrigerator with some magnets. Next, I made the nose! I cut out a triangle nose from some green felt, and hot glued it to a magnetic strip. Then all you need is a blindfold and some kids to try it out. My daughter and her cousin thought this was the funniest thing ever and it kept them entertained for a good 30 minutes!
Have a Wonderful Week!
I hope you enjoyed these Halloween party games! It has been such a fun week for us. We are definitely ready to get back on a schedule this next week, and start working on school again though. While getting ready for our party, I had music playing in the background, and I heard this absolutely amazing song. I have heard it before, but I have never actually listened to the words. It is one of those songs that sends shivers down your spine, because it moves you so much. It reminds you that no matter what trials you go through in life, God will always be there to pick you back up when you run to Him. He will always love you. We are His children, and His love is for us. Jesus died on the cross for us, so that we may have eternal life. What an incredible way of showing His love for us! I hope you go into this week feeling completely loved, no matter what you are going through.