A double whammy of sticky messiness: children get their faces wet apple bobbing, then turn into white-faced banshees when they dip into a pile of flour to dig out their sweet treat. Apple bobbing is a traditional Hallowe’en pastime: costermongers used to put out bowls of water full of apples in the street for people to dunk and catch between their teeth.
Lay a plastic mat or black bin liner on the floor. Three-quarters fill a wide, not-too-deep basin (buckets make it difficult for small children) with water, and put on the mat. Float some apples in the water, first taking out the stems which are too easy to catch. Take a large plate and large mixing bowl. Fill the bowl with flour and mix in some sweets (we used plain boiled sweets, though if your kids object to the floury taste, use wrapped ones instead). Put the plate over the basin, turn upside down and place the plate of flour beside the apple-bobbing basin. Ask the children to dunk in turn: first they bob for apples, and when their faces are dripping wet, they dunk in the flour to find their sweets… |
