Kitty Croquet for a Kid's Halloween Circus Party

For nine cats:

• Cat pattern (download below)
• One 4x8-foot sheet of 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch plywood
• Jigsaw
• Sandpaper
• Power drill with 1/2-inch wood-boring bit (brad-point, Forstner, or spade)
• Eighteen 1/2-inch wood button plugs (For eyes on both sides of each cat. You'll need 36.)
• Acrylic paint: gray and white
• Paint pens: white, pink, and black
• Exterior wood glue
• Ticket markers (download below)
• White cardstock
• Scallop-edge scissors
• Crafts glue
• Croquet set or game rings

Get the kitty croquet downloads.

Get the ticket markers downloads.

1. Enlarge cat pattern 245 percent or to desired size. Ours is 23 inches tall. Print and trim. Trace nine cat outlines on the plywood. Cut out using the jigsaw; sand edges.
2. Using a nail or a scratch awl, mark the centers of the eyes. (For double-sided wickets, make the same marks on the other side of the face.) Using a brad-point or Forstner bit, drill a 1/2-inch-diameter hole deep enough to insert a button plug. (If desired, for double-sided wickets, use a spade bit to drill through the plywood. Insert plugs on both sides.)
3. Paint both the sides and edges of cats using gray acrylic paint; let dry. Using a white paint pen, outline the cat's body, tail, face, and ears. Using the white paint pen and referring to the photo on page 63, draw a nose and mouth. Fill in nose using pink paint pen.
4. Paint the wood button plugs using white acrylic paint; let dry. Use black paint pen to add pupils; let dry. Lightly coat inside the drilled holes with exterior wood glue; insert plugs. Wipe off excess glue; let dry.
5. Download and print the ticket markers on white cardstock. Cut out using scallop-edge scissors. Using crafts glue, attach a sign to each cat, giving each cat a different value.
6. To play the game, insert the cats into the ground in place of wickets. Use a typical croquet course setup, or make up your own arrangement. For each ball hit through a wicket, the player wins the number of tickets.

Editor's Tip: For an alternate game option, use the cat wickets as ringtoss targets. Arrange a few cats as desired. Have players stand a short distance from the targets to toss rings over the cats' tails. For each ringed tail, players receive the number of tickets shown on the cat's sign.