I like candy, but as someone who works in the field of reducing childhood obesity and diabetes, I feel badly about handing it out for Halloween (though that doesn’t stop me from buying myself a bag of Reses Mini Pumpkins). This is the second year I’ll give away soap instead of candy. I hope that the soap we made is cool enough that the kids won’t think we’re the lame people in our neighborhood.
For anyone who wants to try this themselves, melt and pour soapmaking is super easy. You can buy “plain” glycerine soap base in either clear or white from a variety of online purveyors, including Brambleberry.com. Then you chop it into chunks, microwave it in a heatproof container for a minute or so, and then pour it into the mold of your choice. There are lots of cool soapmaking projects at http://www.soapqueen.com/category/bath-and-body-tutorials/melt-and-pour-soap/
To make this project spooky, we used a collection of plastic spiders and insects that have been assembled over the years. As you can see on the picture at left, it was hard to reign in the enthusiasm for how many yucky creatures we wanted to put in each soap. (We used this soap last year, and it did scrape up the hands a bit– fewer creatures are advisable. Caution is advised with the soaps once you get down to the scratchy plastic spider legs) Anyway, you just put the plastic creature in the soap mold, pour the soap over it, wait 30 minutes for it to harden, and that’s it, you have spooky soap.
My personal favorites are these little ones we made from the stupid little plastic spiders that they give away with the stretchy cobwebs that everyone seems to put on their houses. I am hoping to take up a collection of plastic spiders so we can do it again next year. (Having to buy the plastic stuff to put in this would be THE WORST).
Realizing that some of these soaps might not be appreciated by all audiences, this year we also made some non-scary fall soap by making a few big sheets of soap, and cutting it out with fall-themed cookie cutters. I think we’ll offer the kids the choice of the scary or not scary treat.
Anyway, if you got one of these for Halloween, comment and let me know what you think! I hope that this goes over okay and that nobody 1) tries to eat them or 2) scrapes up their hands. We’re going to try to man the door so that instructions are relayed to parents–and they are labeled (with a skull and crossbones).
