It is October and this is Hazel's least favorite month. Many of the Halloween decorations and costumes scare her. In fact there are only a few stores she will go into with me this time of year. Yes, just seeing the Halloween displays can give her nightmares. But she does love to dress-up and loves to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood, so I always try to find a friendly way to celebrate Halloween. Last year we did a Christian Halloween party. This year Hazel discovered Snoopy and the Peanuts gang so thanks to Oriental Trading we are hosting a Peanuts themed Halloween party.
We just sent our invitations out. I made one up and also made a fill in the blank one for you to use if you would like. I had Hazel pick out some of the Peanuts themed Halloween items at Oriental Trading. She really liked the Peanuts Halloween Luncheon Napkins, Peanuts Halloween Roll Stickers, and the Peanuts Halloween Beaded Necklace Kit. We used the stickers on the back of the invitation envelopes and will also put them on orange paper cups for the party. For bags we loved the Faith Over Fear Totes.
For activities we are planning on playing Peanuts Bingo. I did not find a Halloween Bingo game I liked (that was non-scary) so I made one up using pictures I found on-line of the Peanuts Gang in and out of costumes. I made eight boards and made the call pieces with and without the letters depending on how hard of a game you may want. You can download it for free. It is for personal use and if you would like to share it please send people to this post. We are using candy pumpkins and/or candy corn as the markers in the game. We are also planning on blowing up orange balloons and have a stomp the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch, and a relay with balancing fake pumpkins on their heads. For snacks I am thinking Charlie Brownies and Snoopy Slobber (water) and of course some Peppermint Patty Popcorn when watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"
Now I mentioned Hazel loves to dress up. This summer we went to our local theater that has Kaleidoscope Children's Theatre perform shows (usually fairy tales). The group always sells items as a fundraiser. There is always some form of tiara and Hazel was upset I would not buy her one this year. However I told her she could get a nicer one from Oriental Trading and she picked out the Victoria Tiara. She also fell in love with the White Lace Parasol. She kept telling me she always wanted a parasol. She wants to use it to play tea party!!
She insisted on bringing it on one of our shopping trips to the outdoor mall. We both noticed the fun shadows it made. She loves this parasol!!
Our final items from Oriental Trading were small toy ideas to give out as non-food items to trick-or-treaters as part of the Teal Pumpkin Project. Hazel has several friends with severe food allergies so we are very sensitive to the issues. One of her classmates gives all of his Halloween candy to his siblings since he cannot eat any of it. I had Hazel pick out some items for this purpose. She wanted the Unicorn Rubber Duckies, Plastic Police Badges, Magic Wands, and Bendable Fairies. She plays police with the little boy down the street at my parents and wants a badge to play with him (he has a uniform). She also has been into magicians and magic tricks ever since learning about Houdini (she also recently read the Houdini Magic Tree House book). The unicorn rubber duckies and bendable fairies will also work in the pinata for her fairy birthday party coming up later in the year, so if there are extras they will be perfect. Do you do non-food items? There are so many great little things to give besides candy and food. Be sure to check them out at Oriental Trading!!
Be sure to join us tomorrow when we take a look at Halloween costumes!!
