Here is a fun project for Halloween---help your child make his or her own Trick or Treat Bag! The instructions are easy to follow, and the Trick or Treat Bag can be as simple or elaborate as your child's imagination wants it to be! This project would also be a fun craft to do as an activity for a pre-Halloween party or in the classroom and can be done easily in an hour or so (depending on how much fun everyone is having and how creative the kids are!).

You will need:

• A plain-colored paper shopping bag with handles (plain paper bags are best, see http://freecontent.janktheproofer.com/HalloweenBagExample.doc for an example)

• Halloween printables (see below)

• Kid-friendly scissors, glue stick, tape

• Colored paper, glitter, Halloween stickers, etc. (anything Halloween related that can be glued or taped to paper)

Halloween Printables

You will need a Halloween picture, image, or cut-out to use as the primary decoration for the Trick or Treat Bag. As an example, you could use a Jack-o-Lantern (see sample, which will open in a new window for your convenience): http://freecontent.janktheproofer.com/Pumpkin.doc

This is just an example of a Halloween graphic (picture) that you can print on computer paper. For a list of more Halloween graphics that are available free of charge at Mom's Break, go to http://freecontent.janktheproofer.com/HalloweenList.htm (this will open as a new window for your convenience).

Print as many as you like---of any of these Halloween graphics or any others that you find. Think creatively! Get a Halloween coloring book, and have your child color his/her own Halloween pictures! Use newspaper ads...anything that can be cut out and glued to the Halloween Trick or Treat bag.

Making the Trick or Treat Bag

Once you have printed the Halloween printables you want to use, or have assembled any other Halloween pictures you are going to use, help your child to cut out the pictures. Remember this is a fun project, so cutting along with lines perfectly isn't the goal---allow your child to have fun and help only as needed.

Laying the bag flat on the table, with the handles at the top, have your child first place the Halloween pictures on the bag, to try out different designs. Once he/she is happy with where the pictures are, the pictures can be glued or taped to the bag. If you are using glue, please be sure to glue all the edges, so that the picture doesn't peel off. If you are using tape, use enough across the top and bottom to secure the entire picture to the bag.

Now, the rest of the bag can be decorated with glitter, Halloween stickers, and colored markers as desired! The fun is in the making---and it won't matter what the Trick or Treat Bag looks like when it is done, as long as your child thinks it looks great! For illustrations of a sample bag, go to http://freecontent.janktheproofer.com/SampleHalloweenBag.doc.

Now that you have a Trick or Treat Bag, you may need some ideas for what to do for Trick or Treat night! Visit "Halloween Can Be Fun" at http://articles.janktheproofer.com/Aug24/HalloweenCanBeFun.htm.

Need ideas for Halloween Costumes? Here are several great ideas for actual costumes, as well as ideas for coming up with a costume idea on your own:

http://freecontent.janktheproofer.com/HalloweenCostume.htm

For Trick or Treat treats, visit "Halloween Popcorn Balls" at http://articles.momsbreak.com/HALLOWEENPOPCORNBALLS.htm.

Jan K., The Proofer is a freelance proofreader and copyeditor. Visit http://www.jansportal.com for more information about Jan’s proofreading and copyediting services and Jan's other free resources. Please visit Mom's Break (http://www.momsbreak.com/) for free printable crafts and projects. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.