Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Tradition Tuesday - October Traditions



Fall’s Beauty:
Make an annual trip to see Autumn in all of it’s glory.  Make a picnic lunch to enjoy together amongst the fall leaves.  Gather leaves and purchase pumpkins, cornstalks etc. to decorate the house with.

Columbus Day:
Review stories of his life and put pictures up.  Have an Italian meal for dinner in his honor.  The internet is full of fun and easy craft ideas for this day.

Family Cemetery:
Make a "family cemetery" with tombstones for each of your family members.

Magic Pumpkin Patch:
Tell your children that this year you have found some magic seeds to grow pumpkins.  Gather your kids together and give them each 3-5 pieces of candy corn, the “magic pumpkin seeds”. Have them bury each piece of candy in the front or backyard and place a toothpick marker for where they buried their seeds.  While they are sleeping, place a small pumpkin on each place they planted a seed.  Watch in the morning when they are amazed by the beautiful pumpkins their magic seeds have grown into.  Take a picture of each child with their favorite pumpkin.

Halloween Family Night:
On the Monday before Halloween, have a special family night to carve pumpkins and tell ‘scary’ stories.  For dinner you may wish to do “Dinner in a Pumpkin” or try some "ghoulash" or "Spooketti" with a "blood" red drink. Make "bones" (breadsticks) to go along.

Halloween Poetry:
Gather your family to create spooky, funny or cute Halloween poems.  Have each person read their poem aloud during dinner or at your Halloween party.  Once your poems are perfected, type them on the computer in a Halloween-y looking script on ivory paper.  Then collage the poems onto one sheet and feature this keepsake in a black frame sitting out among the Halloween décor for all to see each year.

The Ghost Hunter:
This is a game that you can play with children of all ages and is fun year after year.  Take white tissues, fold them in the middle and glue on plastic eyes, which can be found at most craft stores.  Poke a hole in the top and insert a piece of string and tie a knot on the end.  You can make as many as you want, but be sure there are at least a few for each ghost hunter to capture.  String up your little tissue ghosts all over the house and/or outside on tree branches and plants.  Right before it gets dark have your children collect as many “ghosts” as they can find.  The winner is given the official ghost hunter crown (you can make this or just buy one at a local costume shop). Take a picture of the “official ghost hunter” of the family and put it in a sectioned frame, add a new picture to the frame each year.