Pin the Tail on the Cat

What will your kids be doing this Halloween? Keep tabs on their safety -- and fun -- by hosting a terrific party for kids.

We've come up with four tons-of-fun games to get the party rolling. These brightly colored contests -- Pin the Tail on the Cat, Witch's Ring Toss, Twist-and-Turn, and a Ghostly Pinata -- do double duty as party decorations. Orange, black, green, purple, and yellow in bold geometric patterns give extra punch to the easy-to-make game boards and pieces.

Make the games a week or two ahead of the party so you'll be able to concentrate on the food, the costumes, and the fun of the event.

 

This is no ordinary Halloween black cat. Our cool cat is jazzed up with orange, green, and purple polka dots; a yellow star marks the spot for pinning on brightly colored craft-foam tails. Repositionable tape, instead of pins, makes a game of Pin the Tail on the Cat safe and kid-friendly. Wide green scallop trim and orange foam stars finish the playing board.

Make blindfolds from Halloween-theme fabric, then give each child a twirl. Whoever gets the tail closest to the star gets a big round of applause. Remind your youngsters: No peeking!

 

• 2 large sheets of black artist paper
• 20-x-25-inch piece of white foam-core board
• Spray adhesive and glue stick
• 2-inch-wide green scallop trim
• Foam die cuts: four 2-3/4-inch orange stars and one 1-inch yellow star
• Graph paper
• Craft foam: black, green, orange, and purple
• Card stock: green, orange, purple, and white
• Large circle punch
• Permanent markers: black and white
• Repositionable tape

Pin the tail on the cat pattern

 

1. From black artist paper, cut two 3-x-25-inch top and bottom borders, two 3-x-14-inch side borders, and four 3-inch corner squares.
2. Mount the black borders along the corresponding edges of the foam-core board with spray adhesive, aligning the outer edges. From green scallop trim, cut two 20- and two 15-inch lengths. Use spray adhesive to center the 20-inch trim pieces along the outer edges of the top and bottom borders.
3. Center the 15-inch trim pieces along the outer edges of the side borders with spray adhesive. Glue a corner square at each corner of the border, covering the ends of the trim and border pieces. Glue an orange foam star on each corner square.
4. Enlarge the body, tail, and face patterns (including the facial features) onto graph paper; cut out the patterns. Draw around the body and head patterns on black artist paper. Draw around the tail pattern one time on each color of craft foam. Transfer the mouth and eye patterns to white card stock and the nose pattern to a scrap of green trim. Cut out the shapes.
5. Use the large circle punch to make circles from green, orange, and purple card stock. Randomly glue the circles onto the cat's body and head, occasionally extending the circles over the cut edges of the shapes; trim away the portion of the circles that extend over the edge.
6. Referring to the photograph and the pattern mount the body and then the head on the foam-core board with spray adhesive. Glue on the mouth, eyes, and nose. Use a black marker to draw in the teeth and color in the pupils. Add whiskers and smile lines with the white marker.
7. Glue the yellow star on the cat's body, indicating the tail position. Use pieces of repositionable tape on the tails.