Halloween Trick or Treat
by Tasneem Hatimbhai
All spooky and fun celebrations spell Halloween, and since the 31 st of October is just around the corner, here are some fun activities that everyone can ‘dig their nails’ right in to.
Art-ivity
There are all sorts of materials that can serve as Halloween lanterns, not just pumpkins. It’s always best to re-cycle, up-cycle and use sustainable materials.
Can you think of anything around your house that you could light up the night with? Here are a few ideas using glass jam jars.
Ghost Luminaries
Photo and idea courtesy https://funfamilycrafts.com/ghost-luminaries/
For the ghost lights, you will need:
• clean, empty glass jars
• white acrylic paint
• black acrylic paint
• black permanent marker
• tea light candles (and an adult to light them)
Craft away:
Paint your jars with white acrylic paint. Let them dry completely then add a second coat and let them dry overnight. Then, use your black marker to draw eyes and mouths, and finally use the black paint to fill in the eyes and mouths. Once dry, insert tea light candles, and line up your ghost jars along your windows sills or doors to create a super spppokkkky atmosphere.
Painted Jar Luminaries
Photo and idea courtesy https://craftsbyamanda.com/halloween-painted-jar-luminaries
For the emoti-jars, you will need:
• jam jars
• acrylic paint of all colours
• black permanent marker
Craft Away:
Wash and dry your jars. Paint them each with only one layer of any coloured paint you like and then use a marker to draw a face. Finally, paint the jar rims with black paint and let them dry completely before you insert a candle into the jar with the help of an adult. Instead of candles, try using LED tea lights as an alternative.
Bit of Trivia
Centuries ago, during the Celtic celebrations of Samhain, villagers disguised themselves in costumes made of animal skins to drive away unwanted spirits and other phantom visitors. They also prepared feasts which they left out to placate the ‘unfriendlies’.
Now-a-days, when ‘unfriendlies’ are not of the paranormal sort, Halloween involves dressing-up as ghosts, vampires, demons and other malevolent creatures, and kids trapezing through the neighbourhood ringing door bells and asking for candy in return for not doing a ‘trick’ on the host.
Information courtesy: https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
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