Halloween Crafts

Halloween is a holiday of the night, when jack o' lanterns carved from pumpkins--and lit by candles inside--chase away evil spirits. Scary clothes and disguises are intended to frighten people into giving treats, so a mean trick won't be played on the household, when the wearer demands "Trick or Treat." In the cities especially, it's wise to hand out the candy, though country kids have done their share of soaping windows, and worse.

While teachers can emphasize the fun side of Halloween and teach children to draw good witches and wise owls, many church groups consider Halloween to be a bad holiday. They ignore it or discourage Halloween crafts in their school classes. Others have their own private Trick or Treat parties, so that children can display all the orange, black and brown crafts they've made, and collect candy in safety.

Many mothers sew the outfits for their smaller kids to wear. Most prefer to dress them in pretty clothes or cartoon character outfits rather than nasty getups. In fact, many make sure the children say thank you for the treats they collect. Each one of a family of children knocking on the front door last time actually said God Bless You, a rare treat in return for the candy or prepackaged nuts or cookies handed out to them. So there's still polite behavior being taught, a social skill that will always produce good feelings.

Halloween Craft Kits Sell Well

Halloween is a huge holiday in the United States, though less so, elsewhere. It's met with mixed emotions by grownups. They adore the little ones in their colorful, creative outfits, but object to young adults dressed like ghouls and bringing pillowcases to the door for their share of the loot. But there's no doubt Halloween means a great deal to retailers, and to children drawing and cutting out paper pumpkins and broomsticks, black cats and witches. The adults who must decorate for Halloween parties buy craft kits in great numbers.