Crafty Tuesday – Halloween 1

Halloween is a fairly new tradition in Denmark but it’s getting bigger (read => commercial) all the time. But my kids certainly enjoy all the spooky crafts that they do at the afterschool club and, of course, Halloween night when they go out ‘guising’.

Here are a couple of food ideas to get the Halloween pumpkin rolling. Both are simple enough for kids to do on their own. We’ve made these several times to take into nursery and school and they’re always a huge hit.

First, the politically-correct, healthy option…

SKELETON HANDS

You need:

• box of disposable plastic gloves
• popcorn (ready-popped if you’re pushed for time, and who isn’t?)
• sellotape, ribbon or wool
• raisins or small sweets (optional)

Fill the plastic glove with popcorn. If you want the ‘hand’ to have fingernails, you can put a few raisins or sweets into the bottom of the fingers of the glove first. But be warned, it is fiddly and time consuming – especially if making for a large class… You have been warned! 😉

Tie the top of the glove with sellotape, ribbon or wool. We used orange and black ribbon in keeping with the Halloween colours.

And now for the not so healthy – but very cute – option…

GHOST CUPCAKES

You’ll need:

• cupcakes (I use Nigella Lawson’s blender recipe – easy peasy and deee-licious)
• marshmallows
• ready-to-roll white icing (not available in Denmark, so my Mum brings it over from Scotland for me)
• food colouring (black is best) and a cocktail stick/toothpick

Roll out the icing between two sheets of baking paper (or an unused bin bag, cut open) until it is really thin. Cut out large circles using a glass or a bowl.

Top each cupcake with a marshmallow and ‘drape’ the icing over so it looks like a ghost.

Dip the cocktail stick in the (black) food colouring and make two dots for eyes and a slightly bigger one for a mouth that says “Woooooooo!” on your ghost.

There you go! More Halloween crafts next Tuesday – see youse! 🙂