Program: Day of the Dead

This was my second year trying a Day of the Dead program at the library and I don't think we'll be doing it again next year. We didn't have much success. Regardless, we had a lot of ideas for the program, but ended up just choosing a couple activities.

We ran the program just for an hour and had it open to ages nine and up. We chose just two activities and a snack station. Our first activity was very simple: sugar skull coloring pages. We had some intricate skull coloring sheets, as well as blank skull outlines for the kids to create their own designs. Not a very popular station, though I've re-discovered how much I enjoy coloring and how relaxing it can be.

The more popular craft of choice was decorating skull flowerpots. We bought small terracotta flowerpots from the craft store and spray painted them white. Then we provided the kids with Sharpies and let them decorate them as colorful Day of the Dead skulls. The kids definitely enjoyed this craft, and the pots came out really cool.

For snacks, we provided Mexican hot chocolate, which the kids hated, pan de muerto, and two kinds of cookies. They liked the idea of trying new snacks, but I don't think the kids actually enjoyed any of them.

Like I said, we had a pretty low turnout for this program, so I don't think we'll do it again next year. It's too bad, because there are a ton of cool crafts to go along with the holiday! Have any of you tried Day of the Dead programs?