Spreading the Halloween spirit at home

Dress-up time's not just for Halloween

"What do you wanna be?" asked Carrie deBruyn, or "Gigi," to her 2-1/2-year-old granddaughter Endsley. "A dancer? An astronaut? Elsa from 'Frozen'?"

"I wanna be you!" Endsley exclaimed as she swiped poppy pink lipstick "outside the lines" and brushed pale pink powder on her cheeks.

Anticipating Halloween isn't the only excuse for playing at Gigi's make-up counter. A drawer full of lip-gloss, brushes and shadow are magical art supplies year-round for grandkids and an adoring grandmother willing to share and play.

"Any time can be dress-up time when my grandkids come by," says Carrie as she hangs a glittery scarf on a hook and tucks sparkly shoes in a cubby in a closet set up just for them. "They love to transform their looks and put on plays and fashion shows. I connect with them in creative ways when I can give them that freedom. I hope memories of coming to my home and using the dress-up stuff to design different images of themselves will stick."

With Halloween approaching, let the occasion inspire your kids and grandkids to stretch their imaginations with you as they explore what they "wanna be."

Make a costume box

Start a collection with fun dresses and suits. If you don't have a used bridesmaid's gown or Hawaiian shirt hanging in the back of your closet, look for fun and unique pieces at garage and estate sales. You'll no doubt find funny hats, costume jewelry and elbow-length gloves along the way.

Once the box is full of props and disguises, you'll find it invaluable for entertaining young children on a rainy day.

Make face paint

Face painting done in creative shapes and designs is a fun alternative to wearing a mask on Halloween night. In addition to using face paint to complete a costume, you can use this recipe for birthday parties or staging an impromptu play.

Here's the stuff you'll need:

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon water

1/2 teaspoon cold cream

Liquid food coloring in a variety of colors

Small paintbrush and cotton swabs

Small, clean and dry recycled yogurt-style container for each color of paint

Here's the fun: Stir together the cornstarch and cold cream with a spoon in a container until well blended. Add water and stir. Add food coloring, one drop at a time, until you get the desired color.

Paint designs on faces with a small paintbrush. Sometimes I use a cotton swab instead of a brush. Remove with soap and water when you are ready to take it off. Store in covered, clean containers for several days.

Reuse plastic bottle as succulent planter

A few years ago, a friend inspired me to pot a succulent container garden. I discovered that trendy jade, aeonium and echeveria are the most forgiving, low-maintenance sun-loving plants I could ever grow on our deck in the summer and indoors during Minnesota's winter chill. And they are easy to propagate. Break off an offshoot from a larger plant, stick it in the soil, and a new plant will root and grow.

Now that summer's vegetable plots and pots once bursting with green beans, lettuce and chives are almost a memory, why not encourage your young child to grow his own this fall – succulents, that is, and plant them in a container he is familiar with: a plastic soda or water bottle? It's a fun craft project to upcycle a liter size into a planter, and decorate it to enhance bedroom or family-room decor. If he's fascinated with sea life, how about a shark?

Here's what you'll need to make a fish-themed planter:

– 1 empty liter size soda or water bottle with lid, label removed

– Markers

– Craft foam sheets in 3-4 colors

– Non-toxic craft glue

– Craft paint and brush (optional)

¬– Fast-draining soil, like cactus potting mix

– Pebbles

– 3 small succulent plants

Here's the fun:

1. Set the bottle on its side. Let your child measure and draw a 2-inch-by-6-inch rectangle lengthwise where the label was removed. An adult should cut out the rectangle. (Tip: use a pushpin to poke a few holes in the plastic on a line for ease in getting the cutting started.) The opening will be the top of the planter.

2. Use the craft foam to decorate the outside of the bottle to look like a shark. The spout with lid already looks like a fish mouth. Refer to a picture or photo of a shark in a book or online to sketch and cut out shapes resembling a shark's mouth, eyes, gills, fins and tail. Glue cutouts to the bottle. Add details with craft paint, if you wish. Let dry.

3. Scoop a half-inch layer of pebbles into the bottle and about 1 1/2 inches of damp potting soil. Plant succulents, sprinkle more pebbles around them and display in a sunny spot.

4. Let your child care for the plants by giving them a drink of water when the soil is thoroughly dried out.

Donna Erickson's award-winning series "Donna's Day" is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit donnasday.com and link to the new Donna's Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is "Donna Erickson's Fabulous Funstuff for Families." (c) 2016 Donna Erickson. Distributed by King Features Synd.