I love Halloween and all the preparation, spooky tales, trick or treating adventures and the rest of the absurdity that goes along with it. Today’s post is the start of a few posts related to this holiday. We’ll start with some videos, round things up with a monster dance party, and end with a book suggestion and fun Halloween activity. The party is just getting started! Fill your treat bucket with a Halloween playlist full of fresh tunes that will lift your spirits!

The Hipwaders – “Pumpkinhead” –  The legend of Pumpkinhead muhahaha… Actually, this is a fun, cautionary tale about the consequences of eating too much candy. The Hipwaders relay this tale with a smooth, reggae beat making it hip for Halloween. A great song and terrific video featuring a rotating set of vintage Halloween postcards. I want some of those in my pillowcase!

Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips – “Halloween Every Night” – This haunt floats in with some surf-rock grooves as Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips present a “spirited” video featuring a cast of spooky characters having fun together on Halloween night. There’s a bit of retro fancy in this video as well when the colorful crew takes to the “Spooky Movies” where they are presented with clips of classic freaks from the past (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Munsters even show up). Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans might feel a bit of nostalgia here as the monsters’ silhouettes are superimposed at the bottom of the scene in a similar fashion. The entire concept, drawing and animation was done by Mista Cookie Jar and family. Very cool.

Play Date – “Dance Like A Monster” – This is a classic and I encourage you and your family to “get your monster boogie on” with the rest of the Ghouligans in this video. There’s even a call to “let our your monster cry!” A perfect addition to a Halloween playlist and impromptu monster mash dance parties.

Additional Halloween Fun

When you’re through with dancing, check out “Glad Monster, Sad Monster” an awesome book that helps kids channel and communicate their emotions. This book goes through what makes each monster happy, glad, sad, mad, scared, etc, and then prompts kids to put on the monster masks and express their feelings in the same way. One of our favorites!

Looking for a fun activity? Do some Halloween Word Mining! Read this PBS Parents feature by Jeff Bogle from Out With The Kids for instructions and a printable activity sheet to get you started. http://www.pbs.org/parents/adventures-in-learning/2014/10/halloween-word-mining/