Halloween is fast approaching and some of you may still be at a loss on how to celebrate this much-anticipated holiday. Believe me. You’re not alone. A lot of us are still unsure about going out because of the pandemic and skipping trick-or-treats and Halloween parties seem like the wise thing to do. Correct that. It IS the wise thing to do! For now, we should settle with a simple yet fun celebration with the family at home. One way to achieve that is to make different Halloween projects to keep ourselves busy yet happy while we’re stuck at home.
Jack-O’-Lanterns
Halloween without a jack-o’-lantern is just not the same. It’s like Valentine’s Day without Cupid or Christmas without Santa. You’ll probably be skipping trick-or-treating this year and it would a lot sadder if you skip on carving pumpkins, too. So put your face masks and face shields on, bring that hand sanitizer, and head on to the nearest pumpkin patch. There’ll likely be a number of people looking to make their jack-o’-lanterns, too, so remember to still practice social distancing while you’re out pumpkin hunting.
Aside from pumpkins, you’ll need tools to carve them. The PG001 Pumpkin Gutter & Carving Tool from Dakota Products helps remove the seeds and strings in a quick and less messy manner. All you need to do is attach the stainless steel tool to a cordless or electric drill and let ‘er rip. The dishwasher safe gutting tool makes it easier to scoop out the insides without damaging the pumpkin seeds.
The BOOtiful Carving Tools Professional Pumpkin Carving Kit, meanwhile, will help you carve and sculpt the pumpkin. The basic carving tool set includes two saws, a poker, and a scoop.
Now that you know what tools you need, it’s time to choose your designs. You can always wing it and let your imagination go wild, of course. But if you wish, you can get some jack-o’-lantern carving ideas here. The pandemic-safe pumpkin is one design that is definitely appropriate these days. Simply carve out the face as you normally would and then wrap a face mask over its nose and mouth. This will be a good reminder for anyone who sees it to wear their face masks to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus.
Paper Pumpkins
If going out to purchase pumpkins is out of the question, you can probably have them delivered to your home. Call your local pumpkin farmer if they provide this service. Otherwise, you can just ask a relative or family friend to buy the pumpkins for you.
If you really want to be safe and not have anything to do with pumpkins that have been touched by other people, fake pumpkins are your best option. Halloween projects for kids such as paper pumpkins courtesy of DIY Inspired are pretty easy and should be safe. It only requires construction paper, glue, twine, and sticks plus some basic arts and crafts tools.
For this specific Halloween project, you’ll need two sheets of 8.5 x 11 inch orange construction paper to make one paper pumpkin only. The number of pumpkins will depend on you but make sure you have enough construction paper for your DIY project.
Use a ruler, pencil and a pair of scissors or paper cutter to cut the sheets into 1.5-inch wide vertical strips. You’ll need two strips measuring 7 inches long and four strips measuring 9 and 11 inches. Fold each one into accordion strips then use double-sided tape to tape attach two strips of the same lengths together to make a circle. You should have one circle using the 7-inch strips, two from 9-inch ones, and another two circles made from the 11-inch strips.
Apply a dab of glue at the center of each circle using a hot glue gun. You may want to invest on a cordless hot glue gun. Hold it together until the glue dries up. Check the photo above to see how it should look like. With regards to your glue gun, you may want to get the cordless version. While the typical glue gun works as they should, a cordless one will make it easier for you to move around.
Next, glue all circles or medallions together. The 7-inch circle will be the top part of your paper pumpkin. Follow that with one 9-inch medallion and then an 11-inch one. Glue the other 11-inch circle next followed by the last 9-inch circle. This will be the bottom of your faux pumpkin. Set aside for a few minutes to let the glue dry.
Finally, glue a twig, paper leaves cut from green construction paper, and a piece of twine to the top of each pumpkin. Let the glue dry before hanging the paper pumpkins. Easy peasy.
Halloween Projects Using Wooden Pallet
Here are a couple of Halloween projects for the big boys and girls – pumpkins and monsters made of wooden pallet. For this easy DIY project, you’ll need wooden pallets, of course, along with primer, paint, paintbrush, and some woodworking tools.
First, make sure your wooden pallets are safe to use. Before purchasing, check if the pallets have been treated with chemicals. There should be an IPPC stamp on the side of the wooden crate. If it says “HT,” it means it was heat treated. This is safe to use. The unsafe ones have marks that say “MB” for methyl bromide, a pesticide that affects human health and the ozone layer.
Wooden Pallet Pumpkin Decoration
The first wooden pallet Halloween project you can do at home is a one-dimensional wooden pumpkin similar to this one from Better Homes & Garden. This DIY Halloween decoration requires a wooden crate, which already has planks of equal sizes. If you’re using a pallet, you have to cut the planks according to your preferred size. You’ll need a handsaw or circular saw.
Once the wooden planks are ready, simply nail them together as if you’re making a wooden sign. Use a sander to smoothen the wood. If you don’t have one, sandpaper and a little elbow grease will do. Clean the board afterwards.
Apply primer then let dry. For the next steps, you can enlist the help of your younger children. Paint the board with your chosen background color. Since you’re doing a pumpkin, you’ll need orange outdoor acrylic paint. Once the orange paint is dry, draw the jack-o’-lantern face on the front side of the board. Then, use black paint to make the face.
Wooden Pallet Monsters
If you’re looking to challenge yourself, might as well make a more complicated wooden pallet Halloween decoration. This one is similar to the previous Halloween project but this time, you’ll be doing a lot more sawing and painting.
To start this project, follow the same instructions as above. After nailing the planks together, draw an outline of the monster of your choosing. Check this post by Crafty Morning. There you’ll find different designs such as ghosts, skulls, and jack-o’-lanterns.
Basically, you just have to saw the board along the outline using a jigsaw. This basic woodworking tool allows you to saw curved and irregular lines. As you saw along the line you drew, be wary of nails. Running through one will dull your blade. Check the position of the nails and avoid them when drawing your outline. Drill holes on the board right where the eyes and mouth will be. You need these holes to pass the jigsaw blade through so you can start sawing.
This wooden skull décor takes a different approach but with the same results. They first printed the pattern for the skull then traced it on a single plank of wood. This particular design comes in three parts – the left, right and center parts of the skull.
After tracing the pattern, cut it using the jigsaw. Drill a hole on the center piece so you can cut out the nose. Next, sand the pieces if necessary then glue the parts together using wood glue. If you wish, you can drill holes on the sides and use wood glue and dowel rods to keep the parts together. Once the glue has dried, you can start painting.
Skull Bookends
When doing Halloween projects, you’re not limited to decors that you can only use once a year. Take these skull bookends by Martha Stewart, for example. They’re great as Halloween décor but you can also use them all year round.
To make one, you’ll need a plastic skull and metal bookends. Saw it in half then glue each half to a bookend. Once dry, paint both the skull and bookend. Use metallic gold acrylic paint to make it look shiny and scary.
Candy Chute
Even if you, or more particularly your kids, are not going out to trick-or-treat, you can still participate in the festivities by sharing some sweet treats. However, safety should still be your main priority. That means staying physically distant from the trick-or-treaters.
One of the many Halloween projects that is gaining popularity is the candy chute. You read that right. It’s a chute where you slide down candies for trick-or-treaters to receive. This way, you can still make the children happy while keeping your distance and making sure everyone is safe. Brilliant, right?
To make your candy chute, you will need a PVC pipe or a throwaway cardboard shipping tube, which an Ohio dad did as seen on his viral post. The Dad of the Year candidate simply wrapped the tube with black stripes making it look like a candy cane. He then attached it to the hand rail. Simple but serves its purpose.
To attach the chute to the hand rails, use zip ties, duct tape, or string. Just make sure it stays in place. Also, place a sign near the end of the chute to tell trick-or-treaters how to safely get their candies.
If you don’t have porch railing, make a freestanding candy slide instead. As the video above shows, they built their candy chute on their lawn and added a scary mummified skeleton to keep up with the fun Halloween spirit.
The Halloween project requires 3-inch and 1-inch PVC pipes, connectors or fittings, and a hacksaw or miter saw. Use the saw to cut the pipes according to your preferred measurements. The chute should measure at least six feet so you can maintain enough distance between you and the trick-or-treaters. If you’re using a handsaw, secure the pipe with clamps first to keep it steady and avoid accidents.
For your stand, plan everything first. In the video, the couple encountered some problems since they were rushing things. Make sure each piece is measured and cut correctly to avoid ending up with an uneven stand.
If that seems a tad too complicated, check out the video below. They managed to build their candy slide using 2-inch and 1 1/2-inch PVC pipes, T and Y fittings, and pipe end caps. They also used tape to block the unnecessary holes or outlets so the candies will slide directly down the other end of the chute.
If you want a little flair, use a flexible PVC pipe. Make it look like a water slide with bends and curves. Shape it however you want as long as one end is lower than the other so the candies will still slide down.
Now for the fun part, decorate your candy chute anyway you like. You may want to ask your children for design ideas since they’ll be helping with this part. Use spray paint on the PVC pipes if you want a different color. If you’re a doodler, get some Sharpie and doodle away. When it comes to decorating your candy chute, let your imagination run free.
A word of advice, make sure to protect yourself in order to protect the kids that will drop by for some treats. Wash your hands and disinfect the bag containing the candies before ripping it open. Since they’re factory-sealed, the candies should be safe. You don’t have to disinfect them one by one.
Some kids may be tempted to touch your candy chute. Post a sign warning them not to do so for safety reasons. You can also go out once in a while to disinfect your chute. Don’t forget your face mask when you do.
These are just a few of the many Halloween projects you can do at home right now. If you’ve already finished a Halloween project and want to share it with us, please do so in the comment section. We can use as many ideas as we can get to help keep us sane during this trying time. Check us out at Gentleman Pirate Club and stay up-to-date on new DIY projects and more tips on how you can survive self-isolating at home during the pandemic.
