In advance of Halloween, the Craft Center on Wednesday night offered a pop-up class to help students prepare for the holiday. Students stopped by Jack Magee’s Pub for an hour or two to make masks, decorate cookies, drink cider, and assemble candy bags.

Bonnie Pardue, director of the Craft Center and its pop-up classes, said she thought it would be convenient to hold “Witch Craft Night” in Smith Union to give busy Bowdoin students the opportunity to get creative.

The Halloween-themed craft night is one of several pop-up craft classes Pardue has held at Smith Union so far this semester; others have offered basic sewing skills and lampshade making, for example. Pop-up classes allow students to stop by and quickly make something for their dorm room or for a friend as they make their way through Smith Union.

Witch Craft Night had particular significance for Pardue, who has five brothers and two sisters. She said she loved Halloween as a kid and that she wanted to bring to Bowdoin a bit of the excitement she used to experience in her neighborhood.

Costumes (and not the candy!) are Pardue’s favorite part about Halloween, so she gathered many materials — from colorful feathers and shiny rhinestones to glittering ribbons — for students to use for their costumes.

Some students just focused on the cookies. Gabby Grandin ’15 said that decorating cookies with her friends was a great break from her hectic week. Venecia Xu ’16 said that she is a regular at Craft Center classes because she finds them relaxing and they clear her mind.

Sharon Kempf, the cash operations store keeper for Bowdoin Dining, won best costume of the night and received a gift card for the Bowdoin Bookstore. She was dressed as a cat.

The Craft Center is based in a small house on campus and offers workshops throughout the year, from pottery and tie dying to woodworking and jewelry making. The Craft Center pop-up classes, which take place in Smith Union, are open and free to anyone. Several more pop-up classes are planned for November and December.