Making Waves


I had not really planned on doing much in the way of a Halloween display this year. I have done some some pretty cool ones in the past. But in this patch of the forest we don't get many trick-or-treaters, and it seems silly to put up an elaborate scene that so few people will see. I lost the battle, the kids have been insistent, and we have decided on a Pirate Ship/Haunted Dock theme. We happen to have a friend's boat stored alongside the driveway, so we are going to try to make the most of it. (His wife said yes, and I really did tell her in advance what I was gonna do to it)

We had a painting party today, a few neighborhood kids came over after yet another half day (parent -teacher conference week) and we got to turning cardboard into waves! The first part of the plan is to make waves the surround the boat. The second part of the plan is to turn the little motor boat into a pirate ship. The third phase will be turning our little yellow house into a spooky stone building/dock.

I tried to keep the bigger kids tasked with painting the cardboard (with the blue paints that never come off), and the younger kids painting the formerly white boat brown with a washable poster paint that promises right on the label that it won't leave a stain. (I promise I did paint a test area first thing in the morning, it washed, um, scrubbed off with soap and water) I failed pretty miserably with the separation of duties between the young and old kids, hence the young blue-streaked children tucked into bed right now.

I'm pretty happy with how the waves have turned out so far, they should hide the boat trailer, and the cut out portions of the "waves" should be good vents for the fog from the machine that will go under the boat. Plus, it's on the far side of the driveway, so if the display gets too scary, younger kids can give it a wide birth and still make it to the front door.

Bottom line, I'm gonna need more cardboard and brown poster paint. I picked up an extra weekend at work so I don't have as much time as I would like to get it all together. The kids all had a blast, so far I'm glad I lost this battle.