DIY Halloween Countdown Tree

Last week I posted different ideas for counting down to the fun activities surrounding Fall Festivals and Halloween.  Looking at those ideas inspired me to make this spookyish tree for our family.  Total cost for me was $0, using items I had on hand.

Supply List:

• Tree Branches from the yard (These will be used again in November for our Thankful Tree)
• White Yarn (which is what I had on hand, use what you've got)
• Construction or colorful printer paper
• white printer paper
• ink to print these free October calendar pieces
• laminator (This is the one I have.  I bought it two years ago during an Amazon lightning deal.  You can totally skip this step however without any problems.)
• sharpie to write ideas and activities on the back of the number cards
• Spanish moss for a little spookiness

First, I printed free October Calendar pieces from Rebecca Anderton's store on Teacher Pay Teachers.

Next, I had my 1st grader cut the pieces out which is a skill she is still working on.  Cutting improves hand-eye coordination and strengthens fingers for better handwriting.  Let your kids cut!

After that we put "just a dot and not a lot" of glue on the back of each number and glued them down to some orange, purple, and yellow construction paper.

I ran the pieces through the laminator and then cut them out with a pretty edge.

I punched a whole thru the top of each piece and then looped the yarn thru the hole.

The hardest part was then looking at our already filling up October calendar to write activities on the back.  The key to not stressing a mom out in a Countdown type calendar is not to over complicate the activities or make too many commitments.

Once upon a time I was the mom that promised her kids that we would make cookies and crafts and go here and go there on these type calendars.  Enough was enough when I sat in a big puddle of glitter, glue, tissue paper and pumpkin gut mess trying to create beautifully painted and carved pumpkins from a pin on Pinterest.  The kids were frustrated because they couldn't handle the level of expert craftsmanship required to make the intricate designs we had picked out.  I was a basket-case with the level of whines and tears that were flowing.  I knew it had gone too far when the older kids said, "This is supposed to be fun?"  and they pretty much quit mid-pumpkin.  I wadded it all up, trashed it and we watched "Hocus Pocus" instead.  We still laugh about "the year we didn't actually carve pumpkins".   Lesson Learned!

So what is on our cards?  10 of the days are simply blank!  On those days I will let the kids pick a piece of candy to eat, a board game to play with mom, or take a trip to Sonic during happy hour.  Leaving one-third of the days blank leaves us open to spontaneity or to just nothing.  Their world will not end if we don't do something every single day.

Other days include free activities such as "dance to Halloween music" which is available on Pandora and Amazon prime music, or watch a "Goosebumps video on Netflix".  We have "storytime" at the library on three of the Fridays.  Each of our AWANA dress up days for the months is written on the Wednesday cards.  And we have events like "Trunk or Treat" and "Field Trip to Pumpkin Patch" on a few as well.

The key is to work with the activities you are already committed to for the month and fill in the other days with non-time-consuming, no stress activities.  And most importantly, have fun with the kids!  It is so true that "the days are long but the years are short"!

Posted to Thrifty Thursday at Living Well, Spending Less