Fun Fall Crafts for your Family

It’s that time of year to get into some fall fun! Between the pumpkin spice everything, Instagramming fall leaves, and picking the perfect pumpkin, sometimes it can be easy to lose sight of the more important things, like spending time with your family. There are few things more fun to a kid than making crafts with their favorite people (that’s you!).

Here are some fun craft ideas to try with your little ones this season!

P.S. If you’re looking for some FREE crafts to enjoy with the kids, we will have a craft booth at our Fall Festival on the 27th and 28th!

Pom Pom Spider

Materials:

Instructions to Make:

1. Cut the pipe cleaners into 8 pieces that are the same length

3. At the end of the leg, fold the bottom of the pipe cleaner over to create a small knot so the beads do not fall off

4. Glue each leg to the body (black pom pom) with the tacky glue.

5. Attach the googly eyes- add as many eyes as you’d like!

6. Let the glue dry

Popsicle Stick Scarecrow Magnet

Materials:

Instructions to Make:

1. Start off by using Elmer’s glue to glue on your craft sticks, 7 of them, to your cardstock or cardboard. It really doesn’t matter what you use for the backing just as long as it is strong enough to support the sticks. Also, make sure that you cut your backing so that it’s not longer or wider than the popsicle sticks. Let dry!

2. This is the step the parent will want to help with. Hot glue a few strands of the raffia onto one craft stick for the scarecrow’s hair. I just cut a few pieces for each side. Once the hot glue is dry you can then glue the stick onto the rest of the scarecrow body.

3. We choose to paint the scarecrow at this point. If you think it would be easier for your kids to paint prior to attaching the hairpiece then you can do that beforehand. We just found it easier to paint afterward. Now that everything is painted you get to sit and watch paint dry. Luckily it’s just craft paint and it will be dry in minutes, not hours.

4. The next step is to paint on the adorable face. Depending on the age and painting skill level of your children you could always paint the face on for them or cut out pieces of felt or foam and attach with glue. We didn’t add anything to the hat but I think we might go back and add a flower as well. Just dress it up, however, you like it.

5. Attach magnets to the back of your scarecrow. I used two .75 inch adhesive magnets to hold mine up. That’s it, you are all done with your popsicle stick scarecrow.

Fabric Ghost

Materials:

Instructions to Make:

1. Cut your fabric into a square, about 9”x9”. You can cut them using regular fabric scissors, but realize the ends will fray eventually depending on the fabric. You can cut the fabric squares out using pinking shears to prevent fraying. (Plus, the zig zag edge gives the ghosts a unique look).

3. Draw short dashes around the edges of the fabric. (Or try other patterns or designs like polka dots etc.)

4. Flip the fabric over. Place a styrofoam ball in the center of the fabric, and gather it around the ball to form the head of your ghost.

5. Tie a piece of ribbon around the neck to secure. (For young children you can hold the ghost in place and let them tie the ribbon, or they can hold the ghost for you while you tie the ribbon.) 

6. Draw eyes on your ghost with a black marker.

7. Tie some clear string (illusion cord) around your ghost to hang from a decorative branch or anywhere around your house or classroom!

Fall Button Tree

Materials:

  • Pipe Cleaners
  • Assorted Buttons

Instructions to Make:

  1. take 3-4 pipe cleaners in a bunch and fold them in half

.

2. Twist the bottom to form the free trunk and spread out the “branches” on the top

3. Slide assortment of buttons onto the pipe cleaner branches for leaves. That’s it!

Check out some cool ideas on how to incorporate learning into the activity:

  1. You could add numbers to the trees and children try to put that many buttons on that tree.
  2. Children could sort by color and put all yellow buttons on one tree
  3. They could try to get every single button in the bin onto a tree branch.
  4. Older children could practice skip counting by putting two buttons on each branch, or three buttons on each branch.
  5. Patterning can be practiced by making each branch of the tree a different repeating pattern (red, orange, red, orange)
  6. Really strengthen fine motor skills by encouraging older children to actually “button” the button onto the tree branches (weave the pipe cleaner in one hole and out of the other in the same button)

Clay Pumpkin Keepsake

Materials:

Instructions to Make:

1: Roll the clay out, about 1/2″ thick. Let your little one press her hand onto the clay.

2: Use a craft stick to cut the shape of a pumpkin. Smooth the edges. Make a hole in the stem with a drinking straw.

Step 3: Let the clay dry for 24 hours.

4: Use acrylic paint to turn the handprint into a Halloween design. It can be a ghost, Jack’o’Lantern, Frankenstein, candy corn. Paint the rest of the pumpkin orange and the stem brown.

5: Thread a green ribbon through the hole in the stem.

Craft ideas brought to you by:
https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/halloween-spider-kids-craft/
https://buggyandbuddy.com/ghost-craft/
https://nontoygifts.com/handprint-halloween-keepsake-make-clay/
https://todayscreativeideas.com/popsicle-stick-scarecrow-magnet/
https://handsonaswegrow.com/fall-button-tree-quiet-bin/

A Stress Free Day at the Park

Have you ever thought about how fun it would be to plan some out-of-the-house family time, then immediately started dreading all the possible scenarios in which it could turn in to a disaster and lead to more stress than it’s worth? Most parents have been there – you want to provide fun experiences for your kids, but so many planned events are full of crowds, lines, parking nightmares, expensive tickets that require commitment to a whole day of your kids actually wanting to stay in the place you brought them… the stress factors are overwhelming. 

Luckily, Funderland is a great stress-free option for you and your family to make some unforgettable memories together, without trading in your sanity. Below are the top 10 reasons that Funderland can provide Stress Free Family Time:

1. No Park Entrance Fee

If you get 10 minutes into riding rides and one of your little ones decides its time for a nap, doesn’t like the weather, or any other number of reasons for wanting to head out, you haven’t committed to a full day. Our tickets never expire, so you can just come back whenever the time is right!

2. Short Ride Lines

We know as well as anyone else that kids get impatient. Taking little ones to big amusement parks where a line can last 30 minutes to an hour can be a game in itself of entertaining them and explaining the value of patience. You can rest easy knowing our average wait time for a ride is between 0 and 10 minutes. 

3. Great Location

Kids tend to have short attention spans, and with our no entrance fee combined with the Land Park location, you’ll never go wrong finding something your kids will enjoy. Ride some rides in the morning, stop over at Fairytail Land or the Zoo, then stop back over for another go on the Dragon Coaster before you head out. 

4. Park Size

While we don’t offer elaborate 1,000 ft. coasters or endless rides to try, you can keep track of your little ones much more effortlessly at Funderland. Standing in the middle of the park, you can see almost all the ground they could cover, meaning they will never really be out of your sight! Your kids will not only be entertained, but contained as well. 

5. Open Rides

In addition to our park being a manageable size, our rides are also great for kids ages 2-8 because for a few of the rides you can actually ride with them, or watch them from the sidelines just a few feet away. None of our rides are enclosing, so you can always keep them in sight!

6. Friendly Staff

We pride ourselves on our interactive and friendly staff members. When you’re surrounded by individuals that treat you like family, its much easier to relax and enjoy the ride!

7. Affordable and Accommodating Ticket Options

We offer several options for ways to ride. You can get as little as a Single Ticket, a Pack of 10, an Unlimited Ride Wristband (if its a weekday), a Family Value pack or go all in on a Season Pass. We understand that everyone’s budget and time restraints are different, and we want all shapes and sizes of families to enjoy our park. 

8. Birthday Party Planning

We offer an all inclusive Birthday Party Package that has just about everything you need to throw an unforgettable party for your little one, without having to do all the planning yourself!

9. Free Parking

As I mentioned, committing to an all day payment and too much ground to cover are two ingredients for a stressful day. We have convenient and free parking all around the park entrance that takes no longer than a few moments to be inside our gates! No all day parking passes, shuttles to the entrance, or 10 minute walks to your destination. Phew!

10.  Old Reliable

Funderland has been operating since 1946. You or even your parents may have attended as kids, which can hold a special place in many hearts. Its human nature to trust something you know, not to mention we are experts in fun after 72 years!