Throw a Halloween Party!

There are so many Halloween ideas to make the holiday special it is hard to think of just a few to cover.  The wonderful thing about Halloween is people typically come up with their own traditions that are so special to them!  From hayrides to tricks and pranks, Halloween is a scary good time!

Here are some of my favorite Halloween ideas:

• Watch Horror Movies – this is typically the only time of the year I like to watch these type of movies.  My husband and I like to turn off all the lights, and pop in a good scary movie or two.
• Visit a Haunted House – we live in a fairy average sized city and there has to be at least 10 haunted houses in a 10 mile radius.  We usually stop by one or two a year, and it is a lot of fun.
• Carve a pumpkin – Jack-O-Laterns are a must for me!  If I do not visit a local pumpkin patch every year, I am one sad girl at Halloween.
• Throw a fun Halloween party – I like to invite my best friends and family over for a night of tricks, treats, and pumpkin carving!

These are just a few of my favorite Halloween ideas – what are yours?

No related posts.

Halloween Food

I think the best Halloween parties are the ones with a big variety of food!  I love to throw parties and I try to make sure that I have all the food bases covered (sweet, savory, spicy, and so on).  You don’t have to spend a lot of money, or make the food super complicated either – just serve what you like and your guests will be happy!

My Halloween menu typically includes:

• Baked Brie – wrapped in puffed pastry, shaped like a heart with cranberry or cherry filling.
• Deviled Eggs – I like to add little horns shaped from red bell peppers
• Scary cupcakes – I purchase these at a local cupcake bakery
• Caramel apples – A must in my book!
• Meat Head – I purchased a skull, cover the entire thing in deviled ham, and serve with crackers!
• Meringue cookies – in the shape of skeleton bones, of course!

These are just a few of my favorite standbys.  I typically add one or two new things every year.  What are your favorite Halloween food recipes?

Related posts:

1. Halloween Food Ideas

Halloween Nom Noms

Halloween recipes can be a lot of fun, and you truly do not have to do any elaborate tricks to make great recipes.  Something as simple as a bit of red food coloring added to a beverage or dish can invoke the image of a bloody crime scene.  Another easy idea is to use ice cube or jello molds in scary shapes to add a bit of Halloween spirit to a dish.

I mentioned early one of our favorite recipes to make at Halloween is meringue cookies in the shape of skeleton bones.  Super simple and they look great as the centerpiece on a Halloween spread.  Another cute idea is to make little smokies or hot dogs in crescent rolls to look like mummies.  Simply dot on eyes with bits of black olive or pepper.

The great thing about Halloween foods is you can let your creativity shine and make the most interesting foods!  One of the neatest, tastiest, and grossest Halloween foods I have seen is MEAT HEAD.  You simply find a skull and layer the head with deviled ham or pate.  Serve with crackers and your guests will go wild!

No related posts.

Monster Munch

The sweet treats of Halloween have to be one of my favorite things about the glorious holiday.  Some of the treats I like to indulge in that time of year are just about the only time of year I will eat them.  As it is a splurge, I will really go crazy and eat some pretty delicious things!  I also like to have a variety of sweet treats for my Halloween parties.

One of my favorite ideas is mini brownie bites. I make delicious double chocolate or caramel brownies, cut them into bite-sized pieces and top with a single piece of candy corn.  Cute and definitely a great sweet treat.  Another simple idea is to make sugar cookies and use a cookie cutter to cut them in the shape of owls, ghosts or bats.  You can decorate however you’d like and they are not only cute, but also yummy!

Something that is super simple to make is caramel popcorn balls.  I like to make mini balls so they are easy to bite into! If you’re looking to really add an extra layer of flavor think about making salted caramel balls – trust me, it is so delicious!  I also love to make monster munch which is popcorn, candy corn, peanut m & m’s, peanuts all covered with glorious almond bark.  TO DIE FOR!

No related posts.

Morticia wig

Halloween wigs can be a great way to spruce up your costume and not break the bank!  They are so much fun to wear, because somehow when you put a fun wig on, your whole persona changes a bit and you’re ready for a great Halloween party!

My favorite wig I ever purchased was my Marge Simpson wig!  It was a big, blue, tall wig that was the hit of the party.  However, you can purchase all kinds of wigs that are not specific to one character.  For instance if you are going as a punk rock girl, you can purchase a spunky pink and black wig with a funky haircut.  If you’re going as a devil this year, think about purchasing a bright red wig.  A long black wig is great if you are thinking about going as Morticia or  Elvira.

There are so many wigs to choose from, the hardest part will be deciding which one to get!

No related posts.

Halloween Props

Halloween props are a lot of fun and great if you plan to decorate your home or throw a party!  They can range from rather inexpensive and simple to quite grand, depending on what you want to achieve and how much you want to spend.

Some of my favorite Halloween props, are the most simple ones: apples and pumpkins.  You can set up an apple bobbing station by simply getting an old barrel, adding water and apples.  It is a lot of fun and something I love to do each year.  The next Halloween prop that I adore is pumpkins!  You can never have enough Jack-O-Laterns and carving them is a half the fun.  Plus, pumpkins sell for around $5 so you’re not breaking the bank.

Other prop ideas include:  hanging skeletons, scarecrows, ghosts, witches and other scary ghouls and goblins.  Some of these things can easily be made a home, or purchased online as well!

No related posts.

Halloween USA

Halloween USA style is a lot of fun!  Having grown up  in the United States, I think Halloween is a big holiday for many!  Even though I grew up in a very religious household, we still enjoyed Halloween and made sure to have a lot of fun on one of my favorite holidays.

Many people in the United States enjoy the following activities on Halloween:  wearing costumes, trick or treating, watching horror films, going on hayrides, visiting haunted houses, playing tricks or pranks, going to costume parties, carving jack-o-laterns, bobbing for apples, eating caramel apples, among other fun traditions.

The great thing about Halloween is you can have a lot of fun even if you stay home!  One of my favorite traditions includes watching the old Halloween episode reruns of Roseanne.  I think there are five episodes that are just about Halloween and they are so much fun to watch!  Making your own traditions for Halloween is what being in the USA is all about!

No related posts.

Meringue bones

Every year my husband and I have a big Halloween party!  We typically do it on the weekend before Halloween as often times friends and family will have other plans on the actual holiday.  One of the best things about our Halloween parties is the food, of course!

We have an array of appetizers we utilize that people love.  One of our favorite ideas is to make “Bedeviled Eggs”.  This is simply a delicious deviled egg recipe (use whatever version you like) and then add some small devil horns from red bell peppers.  We like to serve them on red trays and guests love them!

Another great appetizer recipe is baked brie.  We take brie cheese, top it with cranberry chutney or a cherry compote, and form the pastry into the shape of a heart.  When people cut into it, ooey gooey cheese and red filling oozes out.  It is so delicious and a lot of fun!

Something my sister likes to make for dessert, is meringue bones.  She simply  makes the meringue cookies in the shape of skeleton bones.  Everyone loves them and always wants more!

No related posts.

Halloween

Halloween, which is short for All Hallows’ Eve, is a holiday that is loved by many.  It is observed around the world on October 31st, which is the night before All Saints’ Day.  It incorporates traditions from pagan harvest festivals and festivals honoring the dead, particularly the Celtic Samhain; while other scholars maintain that the feast originated entirely independently of Samhain.

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, watching horror films, participating in hayrides, and attending haunted houses.

For me, I love Halloween for so many reasons!  It is the start of the Autumn season and I love that Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are soon to follow.  My husband and I make a point to do many Halloween festivities before the actual night of Halloween, as that night we typically stay home, watch horror movies, and pass out lots of candy to the neighborhood children!

No related posts.

Halloween is a time for crazy costumes, ghost stories, sugar-buzzed kids and all things that go bump in the night.

While the average American is expected to spend over $70 on Halloween this year, you don’t have to break the bank to have a spooktacularly fun holiday. Here are a few tips to help you create a festive Halloween without sending a chill down your spine.

Quick and easy costumes
While purchasing a costume may be the easiest solution, it can be expensive. Instead, consider making a one-of-a kind costume. All it takes is a little creativity and items likely found around your home.

With a few supplies, a little prep-time and some imagination, paint and scissors can transform a simple box into a robot, a racecar or a kissing-booth. Or, scan your closet for inspiration; a fortune teller, Greek goddess or private detective costume may be lurking amongst the treasures and accessories in your closet.

For hair-raising fun, the folks at Jack Link’s Beef Jerky have made it easy for fans of their iconic “Messin’ With Sasquatch” commercials to create a costume of the elusive Sasquatch. Check out JackLinks.com to download a free, printable Sasquatch mask, iron-on T-shirt transfer, and other fun tips to make an inexpensive, yet ferociously fun Halloween costume this year.

Don’t be tricked by your treats
Between the candy corn, candied apples and popcorn balls, finding a healthier Halloween treat can be a spooky experience for parents. Don’t be tricked; a “fun” sized mini chocolate bar can pack 60 to 80 calories and it’s loaded with sugar.

To avoid a holiday candy coma, choose non-sugary, protein-rich snacks such as roasted pumpkin seeds, low-calorie beef or turkey jerky or fun-to-eat string cheese. In fact, after carving your Halloween pumpkin, roasting the pumpkin seeds is a fun activity to share with your family.

The great pumpkin
Nothing conjures up memories of Halloweens past like carving jack o’ lanterns. This year, test your pumpkin carving skills with a family friendly “carve-off” competition. Choose prizes that will engage the whole family such as a “winner’s choice” family movie night or movie passes to a local theater.

“Everyone likes pumpkins, and carving jack o’ lanterns is a great way to bring people together,” says children’s book author and avid pumpkin and woodblock carver Betsy Bowen. “Youngsters, oldsters and in-betweens can all be creative with a pumpkin.”

If you’re a pumpkin-carving novice, it’s easy to get started. Select a nicely shaped, firm pumpkin and cover your work surface with newspaper. Gather all of the necessary carving tools, such as spoons, toothpicks for marking your pattern and a small carving knife or saw. Get creative and sketch out a unique design, or use a stencil or pattern as your guide. You can download a variety of free patterns online, suitable for all skill levels, including a Sasquatch stencil at JackLinks.com. If you’re not comfortable carving your pumpkin, try painting it instead.

After carving, light each pumpkin by placing a candle, battery-operated tea-light, or glow stick, inside. There is a certain magic in the air when pumpkins are aglow.

For more information on the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Sasquatch o’ Lantern or Sasquatch costume, visit JackLinks.com/Growloween. For more information on Betsy Bowen, visit Woodcut.com.

No related posts.