COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN STORY TIME

Even though Halloween has come and gone for this year, and the sights and sounds of Thanksgiving and Christmas are everywhere, I wanted to share another Halloween post before moving on to the endless list of Christmas things I want to accomplish.

Every night at bedtime, my son and I cuddle up in the "Big Bed" and read a few books before he goes to sleep. I look forward to this time because it's a few minutes each day that I can get him to sit still and cuddle with me.  During the month of October, we countdown to Halloween with a book or two a night. My son loves to point out all the pumpkins and bats in the books.

To make it a surprise (next year he should understand more), I make selecting the book sort of a game.  First, at my local craft store I purchased some different patterns of Halloween material. Using a sewing machine, I made simple little fabric bags (big enough to hold a book each).   Next, I made an advent calendar for the countdown to Halloween, with each day/square a different patterned fabric to match each bag.  I place one book (possibly two if they are short) in each bag and place all the bags in a basket. 

Then, each night at bed time my son looks at the advent calendar to see what the fabric is for that day and finds the matching bag. And that is the book for the night. Here is a list of the books that I use for our Countdown to Halloween story time:



1. THE NIGHT BEFORE HALLOWEEN
by Natasha Wing

2. HAPPY HALLOWEEN, LITTLE CRITTER
by Mercer Mayer

3. BERENSTAIN BEARS AND THE GHOST OF THE FOREST
by Stan and Jan Berenstain

4. DINOSAUR TRAIN: THE SPOOKY SCAVENGER HUNT
by Craig Bartlett

5. THE SPOOKY WHEELS ON THE BUS
by J. Elizabeth Mills

 

6. I LIKE PUMPKINS
by Jerry Smath



7. PUMPKIN HILL
by Elizabeth Spurr

8. BUS TO BOOVILLE
by Wendy Wax

9. IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE
by Eve Bunting

10. HAPPY HALLOWEEN, BISCUIT!
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

11. IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN!
by Charles M. Schulz

12. THOMAS AND FRIENDS: THE MONSTER UNDER THE SHED
by Wilbert Awdry

 

13. GHOST TOWN TRICK OR TREAT
by Alison Inches




14. TEN TIMID GHOSTS
by Jennifer O'Connell



15. CLIFFORD: HALLOWEEN HOWL
by Gail Herman

16. SPOOKLEY THE SQUARE PUMPKIN
by Joe Troiano

17. WE'RE OFF TO FIND THE WITCH'S HOUSE
by Mr. Kreib

18. AND THEN COMES HALLOWEEN
by Tom Brenner

19. THE LITTLE OLD LADY WHO WAS NOT
AFRAID OF ANYTHING
by Linda Williams

20. CAILLOU: HAPPY HALLOWEEN
by Francine Allen

21. HALLOWEEN
by Henry Behn

22. CLIFFORD'S HALLOWEEN
by Norman Bridwell

23. SESAME STREET: WHICH WITCH IS WHICH?
by Michael Muntean

24. T REX TRICK OR TREAT
by Lois Grambling

25. THE PUMPKIN PATCH
by Dee McKay

26. BERENSTAIN BEARS TRICK OR TREAT
by Stan and Jan Berenstain

27. BERENSTAIN BEARS GO ON A GHOST WALK
by Stan and Jan Berenstain

28. BERENSTAIN BEARS AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE
by Stan and Jan Berenstain

29. THE UGLY PUMPKIN
by Dave Horowitz

30. THE HALLO-WIENER
by Dav Pilkey

31. WHERE'S MY MUMMY?
by Carolyn Crimi



There are so many more adorable Halloween children's books out there. These are just some of the favorites from our home library. It really doesn't matter what book we read, its the cuddle time that we have together that matters to me. Happy Halloween!!

HALLOWEEN FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT

It's not just the autumn air and pumpkin patches that make my love for Halloween as strong as when I was a kid. It's also the opportunity to snuggle up under a blanket with my son and watch those Halloween-themed kid's movies that I loved growing up! I've noticed in the last few years that some of the new movies will assuredly be favorites of Colton's for years to come. It seems as if we watch "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" at least twice a day. And even though I know the movie word for word now, I secretly love it! I definitely have a kid side and being a mother has given me an excuse to show it. Here are the movies that help us get into the Halloween mood. :)

1. IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN

2. CHUCKLEWOOD CRITTERS: WHICH WITCH IS WHICH
(I grew up watching this when I was little and now Colton loves it too!)

3. BEETLEJUICE

4. CASPER

5. CORALINE

6. CORPSE BRIDE

7. HOCUS POCUS
(Love this!)

8. MONSTER HOUSE

9. HALLOWEENTOWN
(This has to be one of the best Halloween movies)

10. RAGGEDY ANN & ANDY: THE PUMPKIN WHO COULDN'T SMILE
(Another movie I watched every Halloween in the early 90s)

11. THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

12. SPOOKLEY THE SQUARE PUMPKIN
(Colton's favorite, we watch the movie and read the book atleast once a day)

13. THE ADDAMS FAMILY

14. THE HALLOWEEN TREE
(Who didn't grow up watching this?)



15. POOH'S HEFFALUMP HALLOWEEN MOVIE
(My son's other favorite movie)





While I am sure that I've forgotten some, these are the ones that stick in my mind. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any that should be on the list :) Happy Halloween!  

SPOOKTACULAR SHADOW BOX

Decorating for the holidays has always been something that I look forward to doing.  One decoration that I have always wanted to make was a shadow box scene. I love how shadow boxes are a three dimensional wall decorations that stand out so much more than a regular wall hanging. And the best part? You get to use your creative side!

Shadow boxes are relatively inexpensive and come in a variety of sizes. I picked up a 4-pack of 5x7 shadow boxes for $10 on sale at Michaels. Another great thing about this craft is that your can use almost anything in them to create your look. I just walked around Michaels looking for anything that caught my eye. This Haunted House themed shadow box was my first creation and I love how it turned out!

For the background, I used a heavy piece of black cardstock and attached haunted house/graveyard themed scrapbook embellishments to it. I also found a scrapbook embellishment that said "Happy Halloween" and attached it against the glass. While walking through Michaels' halloween section, I came across a package of small glittery orange balls. I thought these would be perfect to place in the shadow box to give my scene it's three dimensional look. My husband says they look like pumpkins in the yard. I really love how this turned out and plan on making another Halloween themed shadow box soon. This was an incredibly easy decoration to make and only cost about $7 to make! 

HALLOWEEN "CANDLE" HOLDERS

When you have a toddler running around the house grabbing at everything in his reach, you obviously have to limit the type of items you decorate with. I have always loved candles, I have them in every room of my house but they don't get burned very often. So I wanted to come up with a candle-like decoration that would be safe to use in my living room. These "candles" are so simple to make and frightfully cute to look at.

WHAT YOU NEED:
*Plastic containers (I used the tall ones that the tubs of Crystal Light come in)
*Cute Halloween fabric (you want somethign that either has a white/light colored background or has a pattern in a light color....this way the light will show through)
*Hot glue
*Ribbon or any other decorative accents (be creative!!)
*Glow sticks

WHAT YOU DO:
 First, measure and cut a piece of Halloween fabric that fits completely around the container and will overlap slightly. Cut the piece of fabric a little taller than the container so that it can be folded over the top. Next, place a line of hot glue down the length of the container (this will be the seam of your fabric so it should be on the back of the canister). Line up and place the end of the fabric on the hot glue.



Pull fabric snug around container overlaping edges and glue. Once fabric is glued around container, fold and glue the fabric over the top edge of the container to the inside.

The final step is to decorate the outside with ribbon and/or other decorative accents. Be creative, the best part of DIY projects is the opportunity to pull out your creative side!

Once your "candle" holders are completed add a glow stick inside of each container for a spooky fake candle decoration. (It's hard to see the light in the picture because of the flash)