Treat Tables: Trick-or-Treat, Socially Distant Edition

 

Trick-or-Treating, what to do?!?  It's not what could be inside the treats that could be troubling this year but just the very act itself that is causing consternation.  I've seen that folks are offering drive thru ToT while other communities are trying, fruitlessly I suspect, to ban it altogether.  Yesterday I saw a fantastic TikTok from Jersey of a zip line delivery system that delivered treats for the kids, and beer for the parents.  Pure genius.  

Another option is the Treat Table.  Individually wrapped treats can be left out on a table for little goblin hands to grab and the right size table forces some social distancing between the treat giver and recipient.  And for a Haunter like myself it quite generously offers up yet another landscape for me to decorate.

My daughter's school is going this route, the kids will ToT to the different rooms, each classroom pod setting out a table with treats.  You just know I had to offer up my decorating services.  My goal is to have a different theme for each table.  One catch: I won't know until I get there what size tables I'm working with.  Each classroom will free up what they can, so it will be a mismatch of long, short, round, square which means I need to be able to adjust the designs on the fly.

First up, the Giant Monster Mouth!  Variation on a fantastic porch decorating theme you likely have seen before.  And easy peasy.

Materials:
Red plastic table cloth (I like the giant rolls you can find at supply stores like Smart & Final)

Tablecloth clips
Foam Core Board
Command Poster Strips
Ruler
Xacto Knife
Scissors

Pretty self explanatory from here.  Cut the teeth out of the foam core board using your knife and ruler. I cut one and then flipped it over and traced it so the two sides would match.  No need to be as exact, some random lengths, different sizes would also look equally monster mouth-y.

I cut the tablecloth to the desired length, making sure it went all the way to the ground to hide the table legs.

Attach the clips to the table, making sure they line up behind the teeth.

Finally, use the Command Poster Tape to attach the teeth to the clips.

I'm cutting out all sorts of sections of teeth so that I can do this on anything from a 4' to 6' table and have either teeth all the way across, or just side fangs like in the picture above.

Check back in the coming days as I add more designs to this post.  I was just so happy with my Monster Mouth, I had to share it straight away!

Tarantable!

I'm so in love with this Tarantable, I just giggle when I see it.  It turned out as good as I had hoped for despite some hiccups in my initial plan.  There's likely some more tweaks I could make to improve upon it more but for now...

Materials:

4 pcs 1" x 6' Pipe Insulation

Black Electrical Tape

Black plastic tablecloth

1 package Tablecloth Clamps

1 package large plastic ornament ball halves, 2x halves total

2 packages small plastic ornament ball halves, 4x halves total

Krylon Metallic Silver Spray Paint

Krylon Black Matte Spray Paint

Hot Glue

Sharp Scissors

Xacto Knife

Duct Tape

I can't find a link to the plastic ornament balls but they're in the DIY ornament section and they come in two pieces that are meant to then be snapped together.  The paint doesn't come out as shiny as the cap would lead you to believe so to keep the reflective effect for the eyes, I sprayed the insides of the balls rather than the outside.

I laid the half dome pieces out on a piece of cardboard, traced around them, cut it out with my Xacto and then gave both sides a quick coat of Black Matte Spray Paint.

To attach the domes, I used VERY hot hot glue on the inside lip of the dome and then flipped it over and into place, allowing the glue to drip down and dry, holding the dome in place.  I double checked they were on there good and added glue where needed.

By spraying inside the domes, they eyeballs stay perfectly
arachnid reflective

I cut the plastic table cloth so that it would just cover the top of the table and used the clamps hold it in place, keeping in mind these clamps would also serve to help attach the side legs.

The legs will depend on your table but basically I just eyeballed the first one, cutting the foam at the length and angle where I wanted the "knee" to be.  When you flip one the pieces you've just created, they'll line up and form the "bend" in the leg.  You may need to futz with it a bit to get the angles the way you want them and be sure to cut the end that attaches to the table at an angle as well so that it lays flush.

I first used hot glue to attach the two leg pieces together but the glue was so hot it was melting the foam.  The result was a partial attachment with some melted gaps.  So I grabbed some black e-tape and used that to cover the seam and it worked like a charm.

To attach the legs, I cut small pieces of cardboard, just slightly bigger than the diameter of the table end of the leg.  I slid this under the tablecloth clamp and then used e-tape to attach the leg to the cardboard, cover the bit of brown entirely to help maintain the illusion.  I extended the tape a bit beyond the cardboard as well to make sure it was on really good.

The front and back legs are easy - just cut the insulation to whatever the table length is and wrap the insulation straight onto the leg.

I used 2 of the metal clips at the front to attach the eyes to, sliding a piece of Duct tape sticky side out between the tablecloth clamp and the table that was shorter than the width of the eyes.  This turned out to be far more secure than I expected.  I'll likely add more tape when I set this up at my daughter's school because, well, 3-5 year olds.

One more angle, just for fun...

PS this is just a short kids table, the angle of the photo
makes it seem like a monster!

This is a simple one that would work in a variety of Haunt themes and I'm calling it, Sad Sack. 

Materials:

Garden Burlap

Manilla Rope

Cut burlap to length and then use the rope to hold it in place by threading the rope through holes in the burlap.  Cut strips and pull a the loose fibers to give it a more aged look.  Done.  You could also dye the strips with green and brown Rit dye to give it a swampy, mossy look. 

Witch Way to Treats?! Right here my pretties!

For this sweet sorceress, you'll need:

Halloween Themed Fabric

Pipe Insulation

Striped Knee Socks

2x Black Glitter Foam Sheets

Spool of Ribbon

Scissors

Hole Punch

With the exception of the pipe foam, I was able to get all of the necessary supplies ON SALE at Joann's.  Late Halloween shopping at 75% off is my kind of shopping although I have noticed they put the stuff out so early each year, it's already 30% off by October 1st.

I stop by the the remnant bin every trip to the fabric store, especially this time of year as there's often a bounty of Halloween prints at a fraction of the cost.  This time I found 2, a shiny purple and then a reflected black with shiny, opalescent dots.  Very witchy!

They had lots of color combo options for the knee high socks: black/orange, purple/black and green/black.  I bought them all, I just couldn't decide!

Using a sheet of plain paper, I drew up a basic outline for a boot and lined it up so the heel side was along the fold.  I lined this up with the foam and cut it out.  Make sure you keep the boot wide enough to wrap around the table leg but if it's a little short, you can always use more glitter foam to make a "tongue" for the shoe to help hide the sock.

Had to use my scissors to keep it from opening up
when I took the picture :)

I used my single hole punch to make holes for the ribbon shoelace.  My hole punch couldn't accommodate both sides so I did one and then did my best to line up the holes on the other side.

From there it's just a matter of lacing up the boots with the ribbon which I did by lacing up one side and then figuring out how much I needed to do the other side.  Be sure not to cut the ribbon too short that it won't make it around the table leg (I may have made that mistake on my first try.)

 

I had the pipe foam already on the table legs from the Tarantula so it was just a matter of slipping on the socks, sliding on the boots and draping the fabric.  I left the edges of the fabric remnants for the skirt raw as I know very few witches with tidy hem lines.

  

A Haunting Hiatus

 

Little Pearl is dark this year.  And my heart hurts.

It wasn't COVID that shut it down, but that had been weighing heavily on my mind as to whether or not we'd even have a Halloween this year.  Rather, it was a decision to move back to the area I grew up that I now find myself sitting here on the 3rd day of the greatest month of the year and all my haunting goodies are in a 16' POD somewhere in Oakland, CA.  And I am not handling it well.

What will all those kids who've come by to Trick-or-Treat think when instead of a Halloween feast for the eyes, they find only a "FOR SALE" sign?  Have I let them all down?

I will of course rebuild.  I told the realtor that my #1 priority was that my new neighborhood had to be Halloween friendly.  Because I'm coming in hot and with zombies.  On October 1st.  Every year.

In the meantime, I drive around with painful envy of the most meager of yard displays.  Even poorly done spider webbing makes me jealous (sort of, it's still pretty bad. Stretch it people!  Stretch it!)

What this has afforded me is the opportunity to tackle an idea I've been knocking around: the "$100 Haunt."  Halloween props, GOOD Halloween props that is, can be expensive; the high price a deterrent to decorating for just "one day."  Home Depot's 12ft Skeleton nearly came home with me when I went to get some soil in August.  At $300 and in the middle of a move, it would have been hard to explain to the Mr.

You can pull off any number of my Property Possession themes with a handful of smart purchases for around $100.  From there, you can add as you desire, growing the display as you find more treasures over the years or you can choose to leave it at it's economic perfection.  As I was feeling rather low, I hit the nearby Home Depot for some Halloween Retail Therapy and bought everything for a Witch's Lair display, including the pumpkins.  Here's how I did it.

Shopping List:

1x Wood Crate                         $12.98

1x Lantern Candle Holder        $13.98

2x Metal Paint Bucket              $10.44 (pack of 3)

1x 3/8x 50ft Manila Rope         $9.97

1x Jute Twine                           $2.87

1x Steel Pail                             $22.88*

BBQ Brush                               $5.98

Paint Brush                              $2.00

Cinnamon Broom                     $4.99

Total:                                        $86.04 (w/o tax)

*This is an old pail I have been using for years to mix concrete for my tombstones so technically I didn't need to purchase it this go around.  I've included the cost to be fair.

The following are items I always have on hand for crafty stuff.  Whatever you can't find at Home Depot you can pick up at the grocery or dollar store:

Paper Towels

Distilled Vinegar

3% Hydrogen Peroxide

Salt

Lemon Juice

SOS Pads or Steel Wool

Rubber Gloves

Goof Off (degreaser)

2x Pumpkins

    *At Home Depot they were around $5 a piece which is a great value.  Add to your discretion.  My personal minimum of double digits had to be curtailed this year.  Grr.

I aged the crate with my favorite SOS Pad solution and rusted the buckets over the course of 2 days until I got the color and look I wanted.  That's pretty much it! 

Stacking rusty metal buckets is another idea I've been wanting to share.  Straw bales and crates are great, I obviously very much like crates.  It just felt like in order to have fun with levels and height, that's all there was.  Meanwhile, I was working on my rusted buckets post which produced, mildly put, A LOT of buckets.  And when you're doing things like this to make it happen:

...funny how creative genius works.  The crate reached a particularly lovely deep grey color; SOS Pad solution still beats Steel Wool in my book.

The lantern was discovered in the clearance area they set up outside the store, an area that frequently offers up great props at a great price, especially candle holders & lanterns.  What would have been a lovely lantern for an outdoor summer dinner party is now at half the price and ready to illuminate a haunt instead.  P.S. Later I picked up one more VERY cool lantern online that was also on sale not because the display really needed it, I just couldn't help myself when confronted with it's coolness. 

Just those items alone produces a display rich in color and texture that could take you all through Fall.

From here, just about anything could be added to this base over the holiday, the months, or years.  In my case, it was more like hours.

My 4 year old has an eye for the Nefarious by Nature and found some old wasps nests, a Magnolia tree seed pod, feathers, oak tree branches with lovely green lichen, and some detritus from a tree that look like snakes.  Corn stalks were picked up from Michael's "Fall Foliage Sale."  A fossil, picked up on a trip to Wyoming many years ago, was found in a drawer at my dad's and ticks both the Nefarious by Nature box and Sinister Souvenir.

My Haunter Hoarder stash contributed the rusted tin can and stained glass jar.

Goodwill offered up some Thrifty Thrills in the form of a pillar candle stand, small engraved metal pitcher and an engraved metal ball.  Side note, my metal bucket stash was mostly built from thrift stores.  Beverage buckets, buckets from gift baskets and flowers, etc. often find their way to these stores so you can stock up on metal buckets in all sorts of sizes and shapes for far less than retail.  My amazing stash that sits, scared and sad in a POD in Oakland, will eventually make for a killer post. 

I also wound up getting a roll of burlap and made a creepy cloth drape for the door and used the rest to cover up some building supplies that were seriously effecting the Halloween vibe.  Burlap has many uses in a haunt, from false walls, to covering areas you don't plan on decorating, to creating vines or creepy curtains.  And all for under $11!

Here's the end result.  I really wish I had access to my antler sheds as I think they'd look great in the mix.  Otherwise, I'm very pleased with my set up and can't wait to show you how to flush out more haunt themes without breaking the bank.

3/8 Manila Rope threaded through the burlap, hung from hooks.
I cut the rope long so it would hang down & then used it to tie the
"vines" back so we weren't getting tangled every time we went in or out

Untied, blowing in the breeze.  Creepy!