How to create Halloween Mystery Boxes using the traditional Halloween candy plastic buckets, felt and glue.

We have done this at work now for 2 years in a row. You don't have to buy the buckets every year. Just remove the felt and clean them up and put them into storage for the next Halloween.

For the contents of the mystery boxes, here are some suggestions:

1. Damp, Course Sponge - Brains

2. Dried Apricots - Dried-up Tongues

3. Cooked, Cold Spaghetti Noodles - Worms

4. Cooked, Cold Spaghetti Noodles - Veins

5. Peeled Grapes - Eyeballs

6. Tines of a Plastic Fork - Vampire Teeth

7. Soft Flour Tortilla - Skin (can add a little oil)

8. Mango slices in pudding feel like tongues in curdled blood.

9. Dried apple slices - Ears

10. Blanched, peeled tomato - Heart

11. 5 Baby Carrots - Fingers

12. Overcooked rice in olive oil - maggots

13. Yoghurt

14. Hair Gel

15. Hair

16. Weasel balls

17. Spider webbing

Step 1: Supplies

You will need the following:

Plastic Halloween candy buckets - you will need to cut off the plastic handles
Felt pieces
Velcro 'dots' (hooks)

Step 2: Prepare Felt

If you buy the same felt as in the previous step, you will need to cut them in half first.

Then fold each piece in 4, and snip off the middle corner. This creates a hole in the middle of the piece. You then need to cut 4 'cross' lines in the middle of the felt. This is so that the little hands can go into the box after you have glued the felt to the top of the kettle.

(These are newer instructions - I now use velcro dots to stick the felt to the halloween pail instead of glue). Ignore the last picture.

Step 3: Stick Felt to the Pail

1. Attach at least 4 velcro dots (hook) to the top of the pail - the more the better - position the felt on top to make sure that you are sticking the velcro dots where the felt is going to be.

2. Add the 'gross' stuff to the pail.

3. Press the felt to the top of the pail opening and make sure it is stuck to the velcro dots.