Stuck for ideas this Half Term - have a Halloween Party!

What to do with the children in October .....Have a Halloween Party!

With the nights drawing in and days getting so much colder it's harder than ever to find things
to occupy the children this half term. But don't despair and resort to watching Cbeebies all
day! Little Terra always has lots of ideas on what to do with your
children that you'll all love, and which won't cost you the earth either.

October is the month we all enjoy being scared! Halloween is almost upon us and all kids,
even little ones, just love it. If you like Halloween, but hate Trick or Treat, then why not hold
your own Halloween Party?

Here's the Little Terra Guide to having a fabulously entertaining ghostly party - and not a trick
in sight, just lots of treats and fun.

1. Choose a scary theme for your party as this can really inspire children's imagination,
like Monsters or Robots for boys, Witches or Fairies for girls. There are a host of
different websites where you can print off everything you need from invites to posters
to colouring pages.

2. Issue scary invites designed by your children. Most computers have programmes
which show you how to design and print invitations and it's likely that your children
probably know how to use them better than you do, or for more ideas - search online.

3. Talk to other mums and dads and try to ensure that everyone comes in fancy dress -
the most inventive and originally dressed boy and girl each get to win a ghoulish treat.

4. Make your own Halloween fare like toffee apples, spider or bat shaped biscuits,
monster cupcakes, green slime ice cream (colour vanilla ice cream with food
colouring) and little raisin insects - deliciously yucky.

5. All kids love games and when they're a bit scary too it's even more fun.
Try out some of our favourite games:
* Pin the hat on the witch - a seasonal variation on the classic donkey game
* Apple bobbing - wet and messy and kids will be surprised just how hard it is
too
* Make a Mummy - this is very funny. Kids need to pair up with a roll of toilet
paper between each pair. One child then has 60 seconds to cover their friend
with as much toilet paper as possible to make them look like a Mummy
Monster. Best covered Mummy gets a prize.
* Ghostly zombies - like musical statues but instead the children have to act like
zombies whilst you play ghostly music.

6. Pumpkins and Halloween go hand in hand and nothing looks better than a room
decorated with Pumpkins lamps filled with twinkling candles. Make sure you
supervise the children when making these, especially if using sharp knives and try to
put the candles out of reach when lit. You can get small pumpkins ideal for littler
hands from most supermarkets the week before Halloween, or better still, grow your
own. Pumpkin seeds need to be planted around the end of April but are very easy to
grow. If you have two or three children you can hold growing competitions too. Buy
your seeds now and pop a circle round April on next year's calendar to remind
yourself to help the children plant them.

Whatever you do have fun with the children this half term.