Whenever the calendar nears a holiday, kids get a bit antsy. Planning activities for them to do can be great to get them to sit down for a bit, especially if you're busy preparing for a Halloween party or making costumes. There are many great Halloween crafts and activities you can ready for your kids to keep them busy all through the Halloween season.

Painting Pumpkins: Pumpkins are a common decoration during the fall, but carving pumpkins can be messy and time consuming, not to mention a bit difficult for younger children. Instead, why not paint pumpkins instead? You can use large pumpkins, or you can buy the smaller gourds to paint. Pumpkins can be painted in traditional styles, or you can paint names, scenery, or other things on the pumpkins as well. One of the most fun and interesting ways to paint pumpkins, which can be done especially with older children, is to purchase fall colored spray paints and collect some leaves that have fallen from the trees. Use the leaves as masks to create a neat design with the paint.

Halloween Eggs: Everyone makes painted eggs in the spring, but you can make some for Halloween as well. Instead of using colors like pink and green, use orange and black. One of the best ways to do this is to start by dying eggs completely orange. Then, use a wax crayon to draw designs on the shell. Dip the orange eggs into blue dye, leaving them there for a long time. The result should be a dark egg with orange designs. You can also use markers to decorate eggs if you don't want the mess that comes with dying eggs.

Masks: During Halloween, you can make some great masks from Fun Foam. Start with some sheets in your favorite colors and a regular, inexpensive mask. You can use the foam to decorate the mask you bought or you can trace the shape of the mask on the foam and create totally new masks. Try using hole punches and pinking shears or other crafting tools for neat designs. With younger children, look for foam with sticker backing. You don't even have to use glue!

Bobbing for Apples: Bobbing for apples isn't a craft, but it is a lot of fun and planning a few traditional activities such as bobbing for apples doesn't take long and can keep your kids busy for a long time. You can even set it up in your bathroom! Fill the tub with cold water, dress your children in their bathing suits, and throw in a number of apples. For younger children, fill the tub less full and use sponges along with the apples, since they can be a lot easier to grab.

Making Mummies: Want an innovative way to decorate your house? You're your children a roll of toilet paper each and have them make some of their dolls and stuffed animals into mummies. Use the toys that they carry around the least! This can really make your kids giggle and provides some interesting decorations that will be the hit of any party!