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Haunt Your House!

Haunt Your House
Party Kit
Includes over a dozen items to turn a house into a spooky haunted house of fun. Great for parties! Comes with: (3) Door Decorations, (8) Spooky Eyes, (12) Ghostly Footprints, (1) Spider Web, (3) Inflatable Halloween Heads, (1) Halloween Sound CD, (1) "Popping Pad" Sheet, (3) Hanging Ghosts, PLUS a booklet of spooky haunted house ideas!

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Halloween Pumpkin Decorations

Pumpkins pumpkins everywhere! What would a Halloween pumpkin party be without decorations? Orange, "pumpkiny" decorations to be exact. The ideas and instructions for the following Halloween pumpkin decorations fit in perfectly with our Paranoid Pumpkin theme. So let's get started!

Carving Pumpkins Into Jack-o-Lanterns

Materials Needed:

Pumpkin carving knives, spoons and gouges
Several pumpkins and/or gourds
Newspapers for work area

Instructions:

1. Trace your pattern on the pumpkin first. Cut out the top of the pumpkin in a hexagonal pattern (the top will fit better afterwards).

2. Remove seeds and pulp. (Put seeds aside to make roasted pumpkinseeds later).

3. Carve out the pattern on the pumpkin. Add a votive candle (placed in a glass container) and voila…a Jack-o-Lantern!

Getting Started: Pumpkin Carving Books, Patterns, and Tools

The Rotting Pumpkin

Materials Needed:

1 carved pumpkin
Gummy worms/bugs
Black and green paint or food coloring
Small paint brush or toothbrush

Instructions:

1. Carve out the pumpkin in desired face pattern.

2. Dip the paintbrush or toothbrush in some black paint or food coloring. Splatter it along the pumpkin, both inside and out. (To splatter, hold the brush near the pumpkin and run your finger down the brush edges, causing them to pop up and spray the paint). Do the same with the green paint. You want to make the pumpkin look like it's moldy and rotting.

3. Let the paint dry. Place the gummy worms around and inside the pumpkin. Make sure some are "crawling" out around the openings.

Mini Egg-Carton Pumpkins

Materials Needed:

Egg Carton
Green Pipe Cleaners
Orange Paint
Black Marker

Instructions:

1. Cut the cups apart on the carton.

2. Glue two cups together to form one pumpkin.

3. Paint the pumpkin orange. Glue a piece of pipe cleaner on top for a vine.

4. Color in a pumpkin face on one side with the marker.

5. Place these small pumpkins on tables around the room or create a mobile of hanging pumpkins. This is a great activity to do with your children.

Invite A Special Guest: The Headless Horseman

Materials Needed:

Old clothes: black pants, shirt, gloves
Dark cape or blanket & boots
Small black scarf or material
Lots of newspapers
Small amount of fiberfill stuffing
Real or plastic pumpkin
Safety Pins
Flashlight or LED Flasher Bike Light

Instructions:

1. Stuff shirt and pants and attach together with safety pins. (Make sure the pins don't show on the outside. Attach cape around shoulders.

2. Sit the horseman in a corner of the room. (A good place is a dark corner or the end of a hallway).

3. Place the boots under the legs, arranging pant legs over the top of boots. Stuff gloves with fiberfill stuffing and secure to shirt.

4. Arrange the scarf or black material inside the neck edge of the shirt to cover the newspaper and look like the head was cut off.

5. Set the Jack-o-Lantern down on the lap of the body. Maker sure it sits snuggly. You don't want it rolling off if someone accidentally bumps into your headless horseman.

6. Place a flashlight inside OR buy one of those LED flasher lights used on bicycles that run on batteries.

Pumpkin CenterPiece

Materials Needed:

1 Pumpkin
5 - 7 dowels cut 6"-10" in height
Orange Balloons
Green Curly Ribbon

Instructions:

1. Wash outside of pumpkin and dry well.

2. Blow up the balloons and cut the dowels in varying lengths.

3. Secure a balloon to each dowel with curly ribbon.

4. Stick the dowels into the top of the pumpkin. Draw or paint a face if you wish onto the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Luminaries

Materials Needed:

Empty coffee, juice, etc. cans
Orange acrylic spray paint
Awl or large nail
Black acrylic spray paint
Hammer or mallet
Black and yellow acrylic paints
Metal wire for handles (approx. 8" long)
Clear acrylic spray sealer
Pliers
Small paint brush
Styrofoam or paper plate
Black marker
Votive candles
Newspapers

Instructions:

1. Make sure cans are clean. Fill ¾ full with water and freeze.

2. Once frozen, draw a pumpkin face on the can. With your awl or nail and hammer, punch holes around the outline of the face.

3. Punch 2 holes near the top of the can opposite each other where you will insert the handles.

4. Let the ice melt and pour out the water. Dry the inside thoroughly.

5. Spray-paint the inside of the can with black spray paint. Spray the outside with orange paint.

6. Fill in the outlines of the nose, mouth and eyes with yellow acrylic paint. Add any artistic touches or shadows with the black paint.

7. Spray the can inside and out with the clear acrylic sealer.

8. Thread wire through holes at top and twist with pliers to secure. Place a votive candle inside and light.

NOTE: These are great for use both indoors and outdoors.

"Grow" Your Own Pumpkin Patch

Materials:

Several pumpkins in different sizes
Some twine (for vines)
Some dead leaves and twigs
Green material or "fake grass"
Wire/plastic fencing used for gardens

Instructions:

1. Decide where you want your pumpkin patch. A corner of a room or the end of a hallway work well.

2. Lay down your "grass". Scatter dead leaves and twigs over the surface.

3. Place your pumpkins within your Pumpkin Patch. Cut some of the twine and tie them to a few of the pumpkins to make "vines".

4. Set up the fence around your pumpkin patch.

NOTE: Some additional ideas might be to make one or two ghosts to "haunt" your pumpkin patch. You could also create a small sign to stick on the wall stating who's pumpkin patch this is).

General Decorating Ideas

Cover your food table with an orange cloth. Scatter some dead leaves and twigs on it. Place some hollowed out gourds or oranges on the table with either candles inside or fill with chip dip.
Use orange light bulbs in your lamps.
Print color pumpkin graphics and enlarge them. Tape them to the walls for decoration.
Use lots of orange candles and decorative pumpkin candles that you can buy.
Decorate the ceiling with orange crepe paper streamers and orange balloons.

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