A Frankenbath Gets Kids in the Tub on Halloween Without Any Tears
How do you get your trick-or-treater into the tub? This Frankenbath Halloween tradition adds spooky fun to their day and gets kids in a slower mode, ready for bed.
The Frankenbath Halloween Tradition
My grade 4 teacher, Mr. Brooks, turned the foyer of his home into one of those Haunted House games with bowls of icky stuff to feel – like spaghetti “guts” and peeled grape “eyeballs” – and made you put your hand in before he’d give you candy. (I always wondered if it was his way of adding to the Halloween fun or getting back at us. . .)
A Frankenbath is like this Haunted House game – only in the bathtub!
When your kids come home bouncing off the walls from the excitement of trick or treating, or a Halloween party compounded by a sugar high, you can get the costume makeup off without tears. Lead them into your Frankenbath Laboratory or Haunted Bathtub and see how quickly they co-operate!
Decorating the Frankenbath
If you find Halloween hectic enough – keep it simple.
Forget about the bowls of ick and just turn your tub into a haunted bath by putting some Halloween decorations in the bathroom without the kids noticing.
If your goal is just to get the kids into the tub on one of the craziest nights, a simple string of orange twinkle lights or fairy lights (I got mine for $2 at Walmart) will give the room some Halloween ambiance and keep the room dark and eerie.
If you want to elevate their experience, add cobwebs and other spooky decorations. (The spiderweb lace on the tub in the photo is a Midnight Lace Door Drape from Walmart for $10, and “cobwebs” are hanging down the wall and off the lights.)
A creepy soundtrack sets the stage for older kids – and gets them running to see what you’re up to when you’re ready for them.
Candlelight is fun, but keep it safe for little kids with the new flickering lights candles that are battery-powered.
Decorating the Haunted Bathtub
The Frankenbath is named after Frankenstein’s Monster, who was sewn together with body parts from several different people. Use your imagination to see what foods you can use to become a body part. We had brains, vomit, eyes, and ears.
Vomit
The kids who are of the age to enjoy a Frankenbath are at that stage where they’re fascinated by bodily functions. Vomit is their favorite part!
You can use chunky salsa, hummus, or a dip that you think resembles vomit. I used a Sundried Tomato Parmesan Dip – not only did it look the part, it smelled awful too!
Have nacho chips in a bowl and challenge them to dip into the “vomit” for a bedtime snack!
Brains
Place a nicely formed raw cauliflower on a serving tray. Spoon some “blood” on it using crushed tomatoes.
(Don’t use a cheap can of tomatoes – they usually have seeds. I went with Unico because I like the smooth seedless texture.)
Make sure all the crevices have turned red. Dab with paper towel until you can see the brain-like texture of the cauliflower. Spoon more crushed tomato blood on the serving dish around the cauliflower.
*For zombie brains use guacamole.
Eyeballs
Peel grapes by dropping them in boiling water until you see the skins cracking and curling then rinse them in cold water and remove the skin.
Drop some crushed tomato “blood” into a small serving dish and pile a few eyeballs in the center.
Ears
It’s amazing just how much dried apricots can look like dried ears! Search the package until you find ones with a rim along one side and an indentation on the other. I found several – enough to put in a small serving dish for our haunted bath.
What’s Halloween without a scare-dare?
Just looking at this stuff can be enough for some kids – and then feeling it – but if you want to take it to the next level, all the food, including the blood, can be tasted too. Bwahaha!
Print, cut out and prepare your printables and get all your body parts ready to go a the day before they’re needed. That way it’s quick and easy to decorate your bathroom for the event and surprise them. Mom should have fun doing this too!
Frankenbath Printable Kit Makes It Easy!
Our Frankenbath Printables include a door sign (with the “frame”), the vomit, brains, eyes, & ears labels, and blank labels in case you want other items. (Like spaghetti guts. Make sure they’re warm and “fresh”.)
How to Use: Download the PDF, open in the free Adobe Reader, print on white A4 cardstock, and cut out. For more details to download or use them, go here.
