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Halloween is an enjoyable holiday for all, but particularly for children. Kids enjoy the opportunity to channel their whimsy and imagination, whether that involves choosing a clever costume or helping design the theme and scope of home decorations.

Parents, guardians and educators can channel the creativity inspired by Halloween into various craft projects. Crafts can not only keep children busy when the “I’m bored” lamentations inevitably turn up, but crafts also are a way to keep children off of screens. Plus, the items that children create can be used to decorate rooms in the house — helping to curb added expenses on commercial decor.

The following are some Halloween crafts children can make alone or with the help of older siblings and parents.

Jack’s slime

The toothy grins of jack-o’-lanterns can be seen just about everywhere come Halloween, and the bright orange color of pumpkins heralds the start of fall. What better way to say “Halloween is here” than with a craft that can be displayed and also played with? Slime is something that’s always a big hit with kids. Here’s a recipe for slime, courtesy of The Best Ideas for Kids.

• 6 ounces of Elmer’s glue (substituting with another brand of glue may not produce the same results)

• Orange food coloring to create desired hue

• 1⁄2 teaspoon of baking soda

• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of contact lens solution (one that contains boric acid in the ingredient list, as that is what causes the chemical reaction to form slime)

• Optional: 2 tablespoons of water added to the glue before the baking soda if you desire a stretchier slime

• Black felt or black construction paper, cut into the eyes and mouth of a jack-o’-lantern

• Small mason jar with lid

Decorate the mason jar using a bit of glue to stick the black paper or felt face pieces to the outside of the jar. Mix all the ingredients of the slime in a small bowl and pour into the decorated jar.

Forest spider

Take a trip to a nearby forest or wooded trail and gather up round pinecones that have fallen. Purchase brown pipe cleaners and cut four of the cleaners in half to form eight legs. Glue the legs on the pinecone and attach several small googly eyes and two larger ones to form the eyes of the spider.

Paper roll treat holders

Rather than discarding the tubes inside of paper towel or toilet paper rolls, let kids transform them into monster craft treat holders. They’ll be perfect for party favors or even to give out to neighborhood trick-or-treaters. Cover the bottoms of the rolls with masking tape so treats won’t fall out. Paint the outside of the cardboard rolls and let dry. An alternative is to cover the rolls in colored paper for less-messy fun. Then use markers or paper cut-outs to form faces of the monsters. Fill the rolls with treats, then stuff a piece of tissue paper in each top to add even more personality to the creations and hide the treats inside.

Ghostly leaves

Make a truly eco-friendly craft on Halloween, with ghosts made out of leaves, eliminating the need to use extra paper. Paint large leaves with white paint. On the narrow-most point on top of the leaves, paint black eyes and mouths. When completely dry, scatter on a table or sideboard for some scary fun, or use double-sided tape to stick to windows and doors.

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