We made some seek and find bottles, and Clara and I had SO much FUN with this!! She enjoyed the entire process, and afterwards loved the challenge of finding all the creepy critters in the bottle. They are very frugal to make, and are a great way to keep the kiddos occupied in the car for long road trips. Wanna make your own?? Clara can show you how it’s done!
We dyed plenty of rice with the idea of making sensory bins with any of the leftover rice. I gave her a ziplock bag with 2 cups of rice, a 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar, and several drops of food coloring inside. Clara’s job was to massage the food coloring into the rice — a great workout for those developing hand muscles! We made rice in several colors — purple, green, black, and orange. Fun!!
Next, take photos of all the creepy crawlies you’re adding to the seek and find bottles. We used a package of them from the dollar store. Be sure to keep track of what critter goes into which bottle. You’ll want to print these out later and probably laminate them, so the kiddos will know which creatures they are searching for.
Drop those creepy crawlies into the plastic bottles! Weeeeee!!
Fill up the rest of the bottles with your beautifully colored rice! Clara wanted to make a second bottle for Emily too — such a thoughtful sister!
Be sure to leave a little room up top, so the rice can easily move around.
Glue on the lid — I used crazy glue. Allow to dry, then ….. try to find all those critters for your own spooky scavenger hunt inside the bottle!!!
BOOK Giveaway!!!
To go along with this little activity, we were given a copy of The Spooky Scavenger Hunt — a book from the popular PBS Kids television series, Dinosaur Train. What a fun book this is! Clara loved hearing this cute story about a spooky nighttime scavenger hunt where the characters listen or use their sense of smell for clues. Perfect for Halloween!
** Now the Fun Part ** — One very lucky Frugal Family Fun Blog reader will win a copy of The Spooky Scavenger Hunt!! To enter for your chance to win, leave a comment on this post telling us what you and/or your kiddos will be dressing up as for Halloween. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and ends Saturday, October 29th @ 6:30pm EST. Click here for official giveaway rules.
Good luck!!
This giveaway is now closed. The winner is…. Brandy L! Congratulations!!! A big thank you to everyone who entered, and another FUN giveaway starts SOON!
Dear Valerie,
Glued shut? Darn! I was hoping for some colorful rice with dinner.
Love,
Mark
My nephew will be dressing up as a dragon. That is all he thinks about now a days! Dragons, dragons, and more dragons.
Can’t say I blame him… dragons are so fantastic!
Bubby (almost 4) is going to be a tiger; MC (8) will be a skeleton; AKD (11) is working on some spooky thing involving a scary glow in the dark mask and a black cape. Thanks for the giveaway!
Ooooo…. sounds awesome!!!!
The Pea is going to be Captain America (the best part of the costume? “it comes with boots!”) The Princess is going to be a witch!
Yes!! Boots are a must! lol
Two black cats and a fireman!
Fun!!!
a dragon and hiccup
A hiccup? Wow, that’s original!!
I have a day care in my home with 7 children each day. So far we have a witch, a butterfly, a firefighter, tigger, and popcorn. The rest are not sure yet. 🙂
That’s fantastic, and I bet they keep you all very busy!
My son is going to be a caterpillar, oldest daughtest a butterfly, middle daughter a bumble bee & youngest daughter is going to be a lady bug:)
LOVE it!!!
I will have a 2 1/2 yr old apple(most creative choice, totally chosen on her own!), and my 3 month old and I will be decked out as an owl in a tree( thank you green moby wrap!). My daughter loves dinosaur train so this would be great to add to her holiday gifts!
WOW!!! I think I love the ideas the kiddos come up with the best — and an owl in a tree?? Adorable!!!!
My daughter is going to be minnie mouse and my son is going to be a miner from the game minecraft.
My hubby is addicted to minecraft — too funny!
as of today 🙂 my girls will be a witch and a dragonfly. the little guy i think will be a turtle. thank you for this give away, my kids love dinosaur train!
quick question…do you try to make harder (use smaller stuff) for your older one? i am using a coke bottle for our see and find game, but the bigger stuff seems to easy for my 4 yr. old. should i use a bigger container if i want to use bigger size items or is that still to easy for them?
My boys have chosen to be hunters (they want dad to be the deer) and my daughter wants to be a mime (which is a stretch for her because she loves to talk).
Pebbles & Bam Bam. What a cute idea with the dollar store critters. Can’t wait to try it.
Me: farmer girl
Husband: out of dress code barista (he works at Starbucks)
Alistair (4): handy man (not Handy Manny)
Wesley (almost 2): a Greaser (like The Outsiders)
My son will be a dragon this year and my daughter will be a pink wabbit. 🙂
They remind me of the Ispy bottles! I love the idea and the colors of the rice for halloween.
My daughter is dressing as Snow White and my son will be a dragon. I’m wishing I’d found a Sleeping Beauty costume since there is a dragon in that one!
Also – my daughter LOVES Dinosaur Train! She says she’s Tiny, I’m Shiny, my husband is Buddy, and her little brother is Don. Very cute.
My daughter loves pbs kids dinosaur train! and she has a friend who also very much loves that show. When we see her, she almost always tells us about Cory the Corythosaurus 🙂
This year, my daughter has chosen to be Rapunzel 🙂 She certainly has the pefect golden hair for it!
My son, 3.5 yrs old, has gotten to the stage where he has an actual opinion about what he will be wearing for Halloween this year. He wanted to be a cat and not just any cat, a white cat. This caused some creativity in the house while trying to make all the parts. This was my first year having to break out the sewing machine to make a tail. I will be going as a witch and per a request from my son I will be a nice witch, not scary. 🙂
Well, after 5 I am going to be this’, my oldest(6) has decided to be a Queen Vampire (which is what was the first I am going to be was ) and the youngest (4) is going to be a purple butterfly princess.
Your guess is as good as mine…my daughter wanted to be Supergirl (a costume she already has) but then saw Toy Story’s Jessie at the store and begged for it. She is still up in the air, so we’ll see what she decides on halloween night!
Try leaving the lids unglued and allow the kids to stick their hands inside (with eyes closed) to feel around for the creepy crawlies. Their sterognostic sensory skills will be inhanced! Trust me, thats a good thing 😉
My daughters love Dinosaur Train!
We are going as the Peter Pan gang (an old pop-up book of my husband’s that we have been reading a lot lately gave them the inspiration. My eldest (4 1/2) is going as Wendy, the 2 1/2 yr old is going as the crocodile and the baby is going as Michael Darling or Captain Hook if the costume I have for him fits. (mom and Dad are going to be Smee and Tiger Lily, although my husband thinks someone needs to be Peter Pan)
I have sewn a few I Spy Bags. Very cool idea.
Alfred Hitchcock and Tippy Hedron from “The Birds” (me and the hubby), Sparkly Witch (oldest daughter), Black Suit Spiderman (youngest daughter)…yes, my daughter is Spiderman 🙂
My three will be going as little orphan Annie, a dragon, and a bunny!
Last year, my 2 year old was Buddy from Dinosaur Train – it’s his favorite show! This year he is 3 and is going to be a giraffe. My other little one is going to be a tiger.
My 3 year old, little boy wants to go has a bee.
My 4 and 3 year old will be Thomas the Tank Engine and Super Why. My 17 month old will be Elmo!
I usually have several events and several costumes. I know at least one of them will be a pirate. My nephew is going to be a dragon.
my daughter is going as Darth Vader and I’ll be going as the Cat in the Hat
Oooh, my son is going to be Tiny the Taranadon (sp?) from Dinosaur Train for Halloween!
My daughter wanted to be CInderella and I like to coordinate costumes so she will be Cinderella, my son will be Gus-Gus, I will be the Fairy Godmother, and my husband will be Prince Charming. 🙂
My daughter loves Dinosaurs! She loves them so much, she’s going to be a Triceratops for Halloween! She’ll tell anyone that asks that she will be a “twisarahtps” and that mama is going to be Minnie Mouse. 🙂
My son will be a Hot Wheels Race Car Driver…I will probably go as myself, as that is scary enough 🙂
I love this craft. The rice idea is great. No halloween here Valerie. Great reading all the creative dress up ideas though!
i am dressing up as a bunny. my husband is dressing up as an old man. my kids are going as violet and dash from the incredibles (disney movie).
ps- we LOVE dinosaur train! 🙂
My 3 year old son will be Thomas the train and I will be dressing up as his passenger (a la 1940’s style). The hubby will be stuck at home handing out candy.
A ninja and a princess.
3 year old is going to be a unicorn and the 1 year old will be Piglet. Husband and I will be “Blue Jean/Gene’s.”
Amareah is going to be a mermaid, Anna a ladybug and Andre will be a red ninja.
My daughter is going to dress up as Cinderella
My daughter is going to be a pumpkin, and I’m thinking about making myself a Charlie Brown in the holey sheet costume. 🙂
One is definitely going as a blue fairy. After making new blue-tipped wings and buying blue hair spray, she’d better NOT change her mind. The other might be a bat or a puppy fairy (they love the Rainbow Magic fairy books) or some other thing I have to pull out of a hat at the last minute. Which is OK, since Halloween is on a Monday and she wears costumes all year round.
My little boy (2) has wanted to be a kitty for months. Since any bought kitty costumes are for little girls, his grandma made him a little costume that he is in love with. He had it on for the first time last night and went around everywhere peeing with his tail. His logic makes sense!
My two kiddos are planning to be dice (they will be a pair of dice)
My daughter (3) is going as Minnie Mouse. My son (18 mos.) was going to be a frog but outgrew his hand-me-down costume. As luck would have it a friend of mine has a Mickey Mouse costume in his size so it couldn’t have worked out better if I planned it! Love the blog!!
My daughter will be either a pirate or a fairy princess. Her friend will be Thomas the tank engine.
My son’s going as Spiderman. Though if we’d have found a Buddy costume, he’d have been thrilled!
What a great activity! My boys love crafts so we will definitely be adding this one to our list! As for Halloween…my 3 year old wants to be a Baseball Player and my 2 year old wants to be Captain Hook! Thanks for the chance to win!
My 7 year old will dress up as a thin man with a costume made out of paper bags and recycle foil paper.
My 4 year old will be a black cat.
Just found your website and LOVE it!!! Our whole family is going as Yo Gabba Gabba Characters…a 4-year old Foofa, 2-year old Brobee, and 5-month old DJ Lance Rocks. Mommy is Toodie, Daddy is Muno, and the dog is Plex.
My son is going to be a pirate…..I tried to get my daughter to go along with the theme and be Tinkerbelle or Wendy, but she chose Rapunzel.
Can’t wait to make these bottles. We have a long car trip coming up at Thanksgiving so this will be great for my 3 1/2 year old. I think I am going to use a water bottle and put in some alphabet beads so my daughter can find letters, which she is so into right now. Then I might see what other little things I can find for the other bottle. She is going to dress up as a princess for Halloween. My 3 month old is just going to wear a Halloween sleep and play outfit. Happy Halloween!!
My grandson and I love all the crafts. He is The Green Lantern this year. Thanks for all the fun ideas.