Today I’m going to share with you some ideas for your family to have fun doing a little bit of service this Halloween season. I call this “13 Days ’til Halloween”–a slightly spookier version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Each day my family will leave a goody on a neighbor’s porch, ring the doorbell and RUN! Kind of like reverse trick-or-treating. 🙂
In order for this to work, you should leave the first treat on October 18 (13 days until Halloween), and continue each day until you hit October 31st!
I created a simple tag in Photoshop (using Crystal Wilkerson’s orange polka dot paper from her Spooky digital kit) and cut it out with my 3.5 inch scallop circle punch, and attached one to each gift to show how many days left until Halloween. I’ll be honest, I didn’t feel like making up 14 clever little poems each day that tied in with the gift, so I thought these little “countdown” tags would work just fine.
Here is my list of treats for each day–14 of them (because I will take a treat on Halloween as well). These are just some simple ideas, you can do anything you wanted for each day. I tried to keep things inexpensive and fairly simple, including some treats as well as some home decor.
Only 13 days ’til Halloween. . . . Halloween Banner
So many different options for this. You could make Jamie’s Trick or Treat banner, or Kirsten’s Spooky banner. Package it up really cute and it will definitely make someone’s day to find this on their porch!
Only 12 days ’til Halloween. . . . Caramel Apple Kit
Making caramel apples is always on my list of fall activities to do with my family, so why not gather up all the supplies and give it as a gift! All you need is some apples, a package of caramels, some sucker sticks or popsicle sticks, and you’re good to go. I included a little tub of orange sprinkles to give it that extra Halloween touch. 🙂 Check out Becky’s post on delicious Caramel Apples!
Only 11 days ’til Halloween. . . . Trick or Treat wall hanging
I made this sort of vintage-y decor with a few supplies: wooden board (from a craft store, I painted it black), old book paper torn into strips, and Mod Podge. And some twine to add to the rustic look.
Apply thin layer of Mod Podge onto board.
Add strips of paper and cover with thin layer of Mod Podge to “glue” it into place.
Hot glue some rustic twine around the edges.
Then I cut out “trick or treat” from some black paper with my Silhouette machine and adhered it to the board with Mod Podge. (font: LD Adornment)
I love how it turned out!
Only 10 days ’til Halloween. . . . Cookies
So simple. Whip up your favorite cookies (or buy some from the store! Do what works for you!) and package them up with some Halloweenish cellophane and ribbon. Easy as pie. Or cookie.
Only 9 days ’til Halloween. . . . Halloween Magnets
These were so simple to make. Supplies for making your own magnets are shown above: Clear glass pebbles, glass glaze, Halloween papers (I used Crystal’s Spooky Kit for these), strong magnets, and strong adhesive like E6000.
Apply a thin layer of the glass glaze to the glass pebble.
Place your paper with the design side onto the glazed side of the glass pebble.
Allow to dry.
Adhere the magnet to the back of the glass pebble with E6000 and let dry for 24 hours before using. Theyare fun.
Only 8 days ’til Halloween. . . . Trick or Treats in a can
I’ve posted this idea before (Mother’s Day Gift Ideas)—I like to make these for many different occasions and holidays. I just love those little clear plastic paint cans you can find at most craft stores! I added a Trick or Treat insert that I created in Photoshop. The dimensions for the insert are 13.5 inches by 4.25 inches. I usually will put 2 on an 11×14 photo sheet and print them at Costco. They just slip inside of the plastic paint cans and you can add ribbon or any other embellishments that you want. Then I fill the can with candy. (Credits: Digital Scrapbook Memories)
Only 7 days ’til Halloween. . . . Spooky Cake Pops
(Photo source + tutorial: Bakerella’s Trick or Treat cake pops)
Bakerella’s famous cake pops take a spooky turn in the form of jack ‘o lanterns, Frankenstein, witches, ghosts and werewolves! I think these would make an impressive gift wrapped up in some clear cellophane. Like a bouquet of scary yumminess.
Only 6 days ’til Halloween. . . . Popcorn
Another easy peasy gift idea: wrap a couple packs of microwave popcorn up with some cute paper (I used some wrapping paper) and ribbon and you’ve got a poppin’ party!
Only 5 days ’til Halloween. . . . “Blingy” Pumpkins
(Photo source and tutorial: Martha Stewart)
I’ve always loved how cool glitter pumpkins look. Grab some plastic pumpkins, some glue and some glitter. Paint the glue onto the pumpkin, add the glitter, and voila! Sparkly pumpkins.
(Photo source and tutorial: Good Housekeeping)
I also saw these fun blingy pumpkins in Good Housekeeping this month–very simple to make but make a huge impact! Make some for your neighbor and make some for YOU! 🙂
Only 4 days ’til Halloween. . . . Mini Treat Jars
This is a cute and delicious way to reuse your baby food jars–my sweet mother-in-law made these for my kids. Simply cover the clean jars with a strip of paper and ribbon, and fill with your favorite candies.
Only 3 days ’til Halloween. . . . Halloween Crafts
Another super simple gift idea. Grab some Halloween notepads and pencils (found at the dollar spot at Target), and a simple kids’ craft and put it all in a festive sack. It’s fun to offer something fun for kids to do rather than eat candy all day long. 🙂
Only 2 days ’til Halloween. . . . Scary Orange Soda
A 2-liter bottle of orange soda wrapped with black and white polka dot wrapping paper looks so spooky!
Only 1 day ’til Halloween. . . . Homemade Pumpkin Bread
This is completely delicious and perfect for the season. Bake up some homemade pumpkin chocolate chip bread, wrap it with pretty ribbon and paper, and your neighbor will love you forever. They’ll love you even more if you include a copy of the recipe too. 🙂
HAPPY HALLOWEEN (deliver on October 31)—-Halloween Cupcakes
You can’t go wrong with cupcakes, especially Halloween cupcakes! I will definitely be printing out these adorable cupcake toppers Jen made. Be sure to go and download some for yourself if you haven’t yet!
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Whew! It takes a bit of time to gather up your daily treats but I really think it is a worthwhile effort! Happy haunting!
Valerie says
Scary, sweet, all around wonderful!
Monika Wright says
These are all amazing and I definitely see the trick-or-treat sign, the popcorn treats and the scary orange soda going on my to do list. Thanks for sharing all these projects!
Kimi says
Wow!! Such cute ideas!!
The Answer Is Chocolate says
These are amazing.
chrissy says
This is so cute and creative!! Brooke, you’re amazing!
PeaceLoveTerri says
I seriously love it all!!
Can I borrow your brain for a bit??!
LOL!!
Jamie says
Holy Moly! this is amazing Brooke and oh so fun! Wish I was your neighbor!!!
Jen says
LOVE LOVE this Brooke!!! I am so excited to do some of these for my friends! You are fabulous!!!:)
Jamara says
Great idea! I love it!!
Sisters Stuff says
I wish I was your neighbor
Kirsten Wright says
Hey, I’m your cousin, does that count…..Brookie, you never disappoint!!
Mod Podge Amy says
All of these are wonderful – I love!!
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says
Wow what gorgeous projects!!
Ellie g says
Brooke…..seriously!! I’m LOVING these ideas! There’s just so many! I have to specifically mention that orange soda though. I am a HUGE fan of making something super cheap….look uber cool. I rarely succeed at it….but that lil’ bottle is TO DIE FOR! That is a stroke of brilliance that I feel I will be ripping off. Just to let you know in advance.
The baby jars are really cute too. I just went to Macys yesterday and bought a flat of tiny “jam” jars to have on hand for similar gifts. I figured if I had them here, I’d be more likely to drop off one to a friend or neighbor. Plus….there’s something darling about tiny jam jars. I can’t put my finger on it exactly!
Loving all of this. Nice one!
Michelle says
Any of these would be adorable as a stand-alone gift, too. And they are all presented so adorably!
Stacy Pearson - The Blogunteer says
Love it!!!
Jennifer says
I’m just in love with all of your creations!!!! Could you pretty please with a cherry on top please tell me where you got that awesome black and orange clear paper? I just love it and I’m in love with it!!!!!
Thank you so much!!!
Have a great weekend!
~Jennifer
Monica Montoya says
How adorable is this. I wish I could come up with ideas like this. My 9 yrl old daughter would love to see little surprises like this. She is soo excited about Halloween. Hope you don’t mind me borrowing your wonderful idea…
Brooke says
I’d love you to borrow the idea!! That’s why we love to share things on our website—I’m glad these ideas are helpful to you. Have a fun Halloween! 🙂