Craft ideas for 8 year olds!

[apples and bananas]

I'm holding a birthday party for my step daughter next weekend. It's a "candy" themed party. Kind of like Willy Wonka. I must have used all of my creative energy on the daycare kids because I can't think of a great craft to do with them. There will be both boys are girls there all 8 years old.

anyone have any wonderful ideas? I'm not trying to stay cheap. I don't mind spending some money on it.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

[playfelt]

If the theme is candy what about a variation of gingerbread houses and letting them decorate with candies. The M&M site - forget exactly what it is called but it used to have a newsletter that they sent out with ideas on using the M&M. In keeping with the Willy Wonka chocolate bar theme use chocolate bars like dairy milk or similar for the walls of the candy castle and then let them go to it.

What about getting a big cookie cutter for something like a butterfly - something that needs decorating and then make sugar cookies for them - provide icing for the base in a couple colours and then squeeze gel icing to pipe out, various candies to add on.

Let them create miniature pinata's somehow and then fill them with a bag of candies to take home.