Susan Senator

I had a really busy week. I felt like a shitty mother. I had done nothing but book events and laundry. So when Benji reminded me that Halloween was coming right up (ulp!), I realized I ‘d better get started on decorating! Then I realized what I really wanted was to take a nap. But no, I couldn’t, I did not want to let Benji down. I thought for a while about what I could do that would be sufficiently Halloween-y and would not be too taxing on my limited energy.

We had been to a Halloween fair last week at our school, and in the “Spooky Space” there were two huge garbage bag spiders, made from big stuffed black plastic bags. So I thought, “Okay, spiders. Not too tough; just some black garbage bags and some cups for eyes.” I made it with Benj, and it is all lumpy and misshapen, but it is definitely arachnidean. The boys were delighted! Even though, if you look at it quickly, it looks like someone forgot to take out the trash. (If you look at me, you will see how tired I am! So only look at the spider).

Here’s how we did it. It took all of ten minutes:

Materials:

• One big black leaf bag or two smaller ones
• Something to stuff it with (I used recycled newspapers)
• Two or three big red plastic cups for eyes
• Eight black socks

Stuff the socks and the bag(s). Separating out a smaller section of the bag, tie it off and that is the head. Make small slits and wedge the cups in upside down into the head. Staple the socks onto the fatter part of the stuffed bag, on either side; this is the body. String spider web around it and — voila — there’s your spider!