Paper Parade Co.

Not everyone loves a spooky Halloween. Sometimes the bloody limbs and cackling witches are too much for the littlest of trick-or-treaters. So, depending on your audience it might be a good idea to switch up your decor for something more fun and festive rather than creepy and terrifying, unless of course you want lots of Halloween leftovers. From a no-carve, painted pumpkin menagerie and a murder of crows, yes murder! that's what a flock of crows is called, to funny faced veggie, here are three fun Halloween ideas that to help you create a Happy Halloween.

Put a friendly face on it.


Woodland creatures make adorable pumpkins.

You'll need:

• craft paint
• felt
• craft paper
• and a glue gun to turn pumpkins of any size into a darling menagerie.

To make the bat, paint the pumpkin using grey paint. Let dry. Cut out a set of wings, eyes, mouth and fangs using black felt. Add accents to the eyes and fangs with paint. Use a glue gun to attach the felt to the pumpkin.


To make the fox, paint a face on the pumpkin,. Use scissors to cut out the paper shapes of the ears and tail and then add accents with paint. Let dry. Use a glue gun to attach the paper ears and tail to the pumpkin.



To make the owl,  paint a white face on the pumpkin. Cut out circles of felt for the eyes and a triangle for the nose. Attach the felt using a glue gun.



To make the raccoon, paint the pumpkin grey. Let dry. Cut out a pair of ears, eyes and a snout from black and white felt. Cut out a tail from paper. Add stripes to the tail using paint. Use a glue to attach the pieces to the pumpkin.


Turn a creepy flock of dollar store crows into a kooky bird party.


To make the party hat, make a cone shape out of decorative paper. Use glue or double-sided tape to hold the cone together. Glue a pom pom to the tip of the hat. Apply a thin layer of glue (using a glue gun) to the bottom edge of the cone. Place the cone on the bird's head. Let dry.



 Funny face veggies


A fun alternative to the pumpkin. Let the kids draw faces on their veggie using an edible marker purchased from a bakery supply store. Silly but a fun activity for the kiddos.

These images were originally created for and published in a diy column I wrote for The Toronto Star.
*This post contains some affiliate links for supplies you might need.