Welcome to October!

This spring may look a little different than past years as activities during COVID-19 aren’t quite the same as your traditional activities for this time of year. As we continue social distancing and begin slowly reopening, there are still wonderful things you can do at home or in the community while social distancing.
This month we have put together a great list of activities for the whole family to enjoy at home with your close ones.

We also have a fun Halloween competition for you to participate in, where we want to see your best Halloween dress, home decorations, food platters, spooky clips and best home activity. Get super creative when channelling your spooky side as there are great prizes to be won. Details of entry can be found on the blog.

Also, don’t forget to join Eliston’s Spoonville & Rock Garden. We are so looking forward to seeing all the decorated spoons or rocks in the garden at Oak Park.
We love seeing photos of your activities as well, so please share with us or tag us @elistonclyde, so we can repost on Instagram and Facebook.

Have a fantastic month ahead!

 

MAKE YOUR OWN ICE CREAM

Now that the weather is heating up, what better way than to keep the sweet tooth at bay, than to make your own ice-cream.

You don’t need an expensive ice cream machine to enjoy homemade ice cream. Bigger Bolder Baking has created the best way to make ice cream at home with a two-ingredient, no-machine ice cream recipe that is easy to whip up and so versatile.

Head to https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/homemade-ice-cream/ for the base vanilla recipe, and for those looking to spruce it up, there are over 50+ flavoured recipes as well.

 

TRY YOUR HAND AT FACEPAINTING

Spring is in full swing, and Halloween is just around the corner. From carving pumpkins, to costumes to candy, it’s no wonder kids love Halloween! This year, step up your “costume game” and incorporate homemade face paint to any costume or character.

Homemade face paint is an affordable, easy way to celebrate Halloween, without the toxins of store-bought face paint. Because this paint is made from household items, it is easy to wash out with soap and water, which makes it great for younger kids or kids with sensitive skin. That being said, it’s also easier to rub off, so it isn’t the paint you want to use if you want the design to last for an extended period of time.

You’ll love how easy it is to whip up this homemade face paint, and the whole family will be excited to try out fun patterns and designs!

To find out how you can create your own homemade face paint, follow this step-by-step guide which has colour instructions as well via:

Homemade Face Paint Recipe and Color Chart

And, don’t forget to enter the Eliston Halloween Competition with your spooky face designs.

 

MAKE A SCRAPBOOK OF YOUR DREAM TRAVEL ADVENTURES

We all know that travel is probably not on the cards for some time, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t all dream about it.

If you’ve got newspapers, magazines or print outs of some of your favourite places or things to do that are out of town from travel blogs or websites or, if you have been to places that you want to revisit, add some photos or ticket stubs or relics that you may still have too. Spend a day putting them together in a scrap book or even on a dedicated travel pin board instead. You will be surprised how excited you feel.

It’s very inspiring and can really help you plan for something down the track when travel restrictions have been lifted.

 

TAKE A VIRTUAL MUSEUM TOUR

History and art buffs will love this one!

See the masterpieces, antiques and artifacts in the British Museum, The Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Guggenheim and the Rijksmuseum, to name a few.

The tours allow visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop or mobile device.

Visitors can also access select collections and research areas at the satellite support and research stations as well as past exhibits no longer on display.

A good list of the best museums offering digital tours can be found via: https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

 

MY KITCHEN RULES

This one is probably for the older kids but can be adapted to suit the little ones if supervised.

Give each person in your house a night of the week where they have to cook and get them to choose a fancy cookbook meal to prepare and serve. Or you could have a theme, for example, they have to cook a dessert on one night and an entrée on another or a different type of cuisine on another that you pick for each other. There really are endless possibilities. Rate each meal in terms of taste, creativity and presentation.

From the creativity and presentation side of things, you can even get some friends involved on Zoom where you judge each other.

 

HAVE SOME CREATIVE HOLIDAY FUN WITH CLAY

We all know that kids love getting their hands dirty, and so do the big kids when it comes to getting creative, so why not try your hand at ceramic making with clay?

The Spruce Crafts has loads of creative ideas for both kids and adults! From Christmas trees and caterpillars to bowls and mugs, the possibilities are endless. Don’t have any clay at home? No worries, you can make your own clay-ish dough with just flour, salt, vegetable oil and water and some food colouring (optional).

And, the best bit is the decorating.

For directions and clay making inspiration, head to: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/oven-flour-clay-recipe-.

 

CARVE HALLOWEEN ‘JACK ‘O’ LANTERN PUMPKINS

No Halloween celebration is complete without some fun pumpkin carvings and Jack-o’-Lanterns ready to impress the neighbours.

From glamorous witches and spooky Medusas to beaded globes and tin men, these pumpkin carving ideas will take your Halloween decoration game to another level. And no need to worry about being an expert with a carving knife or spending too much money on decorations, because these designs are easy.

Let your imagination run free by decorating them with plant wigs and pieces of cloth after carving out their adorable faces.

Whether you’re a pro or a first-time carver, scroll through these fun pumpkin carving ideas for some major inspiration. They are built to make you, your family, and your guests smile! And if you really don’t want to be cleaning out goopy pumpkin guts, you could decorate your pumpkins with stencils, paint, or no-carve ideas.

For pumpkin carving ideas head to: https://www.womansday.com/home/crafts-projects/g950/funny-pumpkin-carving-ideas/?slide=1

And, don’t forget to enter them into our Eliston Halloween competition to go into the draw to win a great prize.

Details of entry and prizes can be found via: https://www.eliston.com.au/halloween-competition-2020/.
The Eliston community would love to see some of the pumpkins too, so don’t forget to post and tag us via: @elistonclyde.
Happy Halloween!

We hope that these activities help you and the whole family have an enjoyable month.