Halloween Parties and Crafts

I am working with my Smart Mom team on a new resource site for moms. Right now, we have a selection of vacations, parties, and crafts. The site is UNDER CONSTRUCTION, but I wanted to share the Halloween Party idea and the Halloween Crafts. I hope they are useful to make your Halloween terrific!

We trick or treat tonight in our community- it is weird, but we have adjusted. So we are off for a busy and fun day!

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Free Audio Stories and Fairy Tales

Searching the free podcasts on iTunes today, I found a lot of good resources for young children and moms. One was the Storynory audio stories and fairy tales. Prince Bertie the Frog brings you an audio story every week. Each one is read specially for him by his friend Natasha, who has a lovely British voice. They are very professionally recorded with great tone and inflection in her voice. You can download it and listen to it on the computer or download it to your iPod or MP3.

If you don't have iTunes, get it. It is free, for your use even if you do not have an iPod, and a great link to some free resources. When you download it, click on the iTunes store on the left sidebar. Then click on the podcast, kids and family. You will love what you find! There are even videos that can be downloaded right to your computer, for free!

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Making Your Own Halloween Costumes

Last year, I made an adorable no sew mermaid costume for myself and my daughter. It is amazing what you can do with felt, glue, and sequins. There are a lot of no sew options or little sewing options to help you make that unique costume for your little one (or a cheap costume!). And believe me, nothing was more unique than my no sew beauty!

Here are some great options:
A Pillowcase Pumpkin from Martha Stewart
A Cute White Rabbit featured in Parenting Magazine
A Bubble Wrap Mermaid
A Great SCUBA Diver
A Recycled Furry Puppy (the materials are recycled, not the puppy!)
A Collection of Fast Costumes (some even with crepe paper!)
A Collection of Costumes made with Velcro!

You can also buy the premade costumes and make them better. Last year, for my son, I bought the pirate costume. I used black felt to make a scarf and "boots" (kind of like leg warmers) and added some face makeup for a beard. He looked great!

(This year I bought the costumes-- no time for creating my beautiful masterpieces! My son found a $10 knight costume dress up set at Target- just add a black shirt and jeans. I also found a cute bubble skirt lady bug for my daughter- too cute to pass up. Maybe next year we will go back to the original costumes! Maybe not!)

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