2013 Halloween Posts

Tomorrow is Halloween! We carved our pumpkin last night and roasted the seeds (so yummy!). If you need any last minute Halloween ideas, here are some ideas :) 

ACTIVITIES:

• Feed The Monster Game
• Halloween Tic Tac Toe
• Boo Bags/You've Been Boo'd!
• It's A Spooky Glow Party (This year's Halloween cookie decorating, including glow-in-the-dark cookies!)
• Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe

FOOD:

• Witchy Pretzels
• Pumpkin Oreo Cookies
• Candy Corn Jello
• My Brownies Have Turned Into Ghosts!
• Are You Going To Eat That Worm? (Jello Worms)
• Haunted Shepherd's Pie
• Brownie Candy Corns
• Ghoul Burgers

CRAFT:

• The Erasable Pumpkin (Chalkboard Paint Pumpkin)
• Feed The Monster Game
• Spider Web Placemats
• Toilet Paper Witches Boot

Links to my 2012 Halloween posts: Halloween: Ideas, Crafts, Food and Fun

Toilet Paper Roll Witches Boot

It's time for another Halloween craft! This time it is a witches boot made out of a toilet paper roll.

You will need:

• Toilet paper roll
• Construction paper (Black for the boot part and whatever other colors you like for the sock. I went with orange and purple.)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Clothespins (optional)

Directions:

1. Use the stencil below or trace and cut out a piece of paper to cover the toilet paper roll. This will be the base sock layer.

2. Glue sock layer to toilet paper roll. Hold the ends together until the dry, or use clothespins to hold in place.

3. Cut out strips for the sock stripes and glue on.

4. Cut out the witches boot shape. I had many attempts, but I think I finally got it right. I have the stencil below. 

5. Glue boot to the bottom of the roll. Let dry. DM Tip: I found it easier if I glued the toe/curly part of boot together first and then glued the rest around the roll.

Ghoulish Burgers

These are a fun (and interactive) Halloween themed dinner! Because your kids are decorating their own burgers, it's super easy for you!

Directions:
1. Grill the burgers.
2. Create a buffet line of toppings (lettuce, small pickles, buns, mayonnaise/ketchup/mustard, etc.)
3. Place the burger on the bottom bun to get the assembly line started.
4. Let the kids add on their own spooky faces!

Ideas: Add small round pickles or tomato slices for eyes, dots of mayonnaise or ketchup for lips, lettuce and cheese for hair, ect. For extra color, mix together mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard and spread on the burger. Place the top bun on the side of the plate. I made a body with grilled zucchini.

It's Candy, No It's Corn, No It's A Brownie!

The brownie ghosts went over so well that I thought we would try candy corn brownies! They did not turn out as well as I was hoping, but maybe they will get better with more practice. They still tasted delicious and the boys enjoyed them.

For this you will need:

• Brownie pop mold
• White, Orange, and Yellow Candy Melts or icings
• Brownie mix

Directions:

1. Make the brownie mix according to the package.

2. Lightly grease the brownie pop mold and pour the mix in.

3. Bake according to the box directions and let cool on a cooling rack once done.
4. Melt white Candy Melts.

5. Once the brownies have cooled, dip the brownie pop in the white melted Candy Melts.
6. Set aside to set. DM Tip: I find it easiest to place brownies on a cookie cooling tray with a piece of wax or parchment paper underneath.
7. Melt yellow Candy Melts.
8. Dip 2/3 of the bottom of the brownie pop in the yellow. Set aside to harden.
9. Melt orange Candy Melts.
10. Dip the bottom 1/3 of the brownie pop in the orange and set aside.
11. Repeat for each brownie pop.
12. Enjoy!

It's A Spooky Glow Party!

I wanted to try something new this year instead of our regular Halloween cookie decorating. I thought it would be fun to have a glow-in-the-dark party!

First, I set up the black light in the living room. (DM Tip: Don't use black light string lights unless you know they work. A lot of them will just glow purple and will not cause things to glow under their light.) Next, I hid pieces of a glow-in-the dark skeleton around the room and had the boys find them. Even though I set the pieces out in the sun for several days in advance, they did not glow very much in the dark until the black light was turned on. We put the pieces together and hung it on the wall. I also placed a couple of glow in the dark Halloween themed gel clings on the sliding door for them to have fun with.

Cookies, bowl of glowing buttercream icing, lemonade made
with tonic water, glow in the dark skeleton pieces, soap, gel clings

This year, we made sugar cookies for our Halloween cookies. While they were baking, I made buttercream icing out of tonic water. Tonic water has quinine, which glows under black lights. We had different kinds of candy and Halloween themed sprinkles to decorate the icing.

OTHER IDEAS:

• Wear glow-in-the-dark clothing or have white clothing for black lights.
• Make crafts with glow-in-the-dark paint, duct tape, or stickers.
• Decorate with glow-in-the-dark soap. (Dial sells a soap in a glow-in-the-dark container. I found the ghost one glows the best in the dark.)
• Make glow-in-the-dark lemonade with tonic water. Some people don't like the taste, so try half regular water and half tonic water. 
• Have fun with glow bracelets and necklaces. Check out my Why I Love Glow Sticks post for ideas!
• Wear glow-in-the-dark glasses, bracelets, ect..
• Bob for gummy worms buried in ReddiWhip or Cool Whip.
• Make Ghastly Soap. It's like the Dinosaur Soap we made earlier, but we used snakes and spiders to make it spooky for Halloween. Spider rings work really well.

Halloween Tic Tac Toe

Game board

Game pieces to cut out
To Print: Click on image. Right click. Choose Open In New Tab/Window. Click Print. Or, click on image, right click, choose Save Image As. Print saved image. 

Boo!

It's getting closer and closer to Halloween. Today we are going to deliver our boo bags and I am going to make an eerily haunted Shepherd's Pie. It's similar to my regular shepherd's pie, but the mashed potatoes are changed into ghosts!

Haunted Shepherd's Pie

Prep Time 10 min., Total time 30 min. Serves 6.

For this recipe you will need:

• 2 cups hot mashed potatoes (3-4 medium/large potatoes)
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
• 1 cup beef gravy (about a 10 1/4 oz can)
• Optional: This recipe is produces a mild flavored shepherd's pie. I like to add some black pepper to spice up the meat mixture.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Drain any grease.
2. Mix mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, garlic, and cream cheese until well blended.
3. Add the vegetables and gravy to the meat. Stir.
4. Place meat/vegetable mix in a 9 inch square baking dish.
5. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top of the meat mixture.
6. Form the mashed potatoes into ghost-like shapes and place on top of the meat/vegetables. I placed peas into the potatoes to form eyes for the ghosts.
6. Bake 20 minutes (or until heated all the way through).

(DM Tip: If you use instant mashed potatoes, do not add the milk. That way when the cream cheese is added, the potatoes will remain fluffy.)
Original Recipe

Are You Going To Eat That Worm?

Why yes, yes I am...

Ok, they're not real worms, although they look pretty slimy!

These are a great Halloween treat with tons of gross factor. They are pretty easy to make, but they are time consuming. I would recommend making the day before you want to serve them.

You will need:

• Flexi straws (about 100)
• 2 (3 oz sized) packages of cherry or raspberry jello
• 3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
• 3/4 cup whipping cream 
• 10-15 drops green food coloring
• 3 cups boiling water
• Tall container (such a glass or washed out quart sized juice or milk carton)
• Rubber band

Directions:

1.   Pour all the gelatin packets into a bowl.

2.   Stir boiling water into gelatin until it completely dissolved.

3.   Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until room temperature/lukewarm.

4.   Pull straws to full length and place in a tall container, flexi side down. To help hold straws together, place a rubber band around the straws. You want it to be loose, not squeezing the straws.

5.   When the gelatin is cooled, pour whipping cream and food coloring in the bowl and mix together.

6.   Next, pour the gelatin/cream mixture over the straws.

7.   Place in fridge and chill for 8 hours, or until firm.

8.   Pull the straws out of the container and remove worms from the straws. DM TIP: I found it easiest to run straws under warm/hot water for a couple seconds to loosen the jello from the straw. Make sure the water doesn't touch the jello! Next, I squeezed the end of the straw between my fingers and worked my way down the straw.

9.   Let sit again in the fridge for about 1 hour to help set after being warmed up by the water.

10. Serve and enjoy!

     

DM TIP: The whipping cream is to help make the worms have some opaque spots. A non-dairy cream might work as well. Do NOT use a whipped topping like Cool-Whip: I found out the hard way that it does not make the worms have cloudy spots.

National Fossil Day

Today is National Fossil Day! I remember looking for trilobites in creeks with my Dad as a kid. In fact, there are probably still a few of them floating around my parents house in storage somewhere. My boys now love dinosaurs too. Bernardo is pretty much out of the playing-with-dinosaurs age and has moved on to Lego's, but Higgins still loves them. They both love looking for fossils though.

Some of Bernardo's fossils

We are lucky enough to find have a couple of fossil collection areas within an hour of our house. To find a fossil park near you, try looking at National Park System: Fossil Parks and Other Fossil Parks. However, I noticed that there weren't any listed in my area and I know of two within an hour drive. If you can't find one listed, try searching for "fossil park" or "fossil collection area" in Google/Yahoo/etc. The national parks usually will not let you remove fossils that you find, but many state and local fossil collection areas will let you remove small fossils. Of course, if you find a T-Rex they probably aren't going to let you bring it home.


Activities/Crafts:
1.  Make a fossil with plaster-of-paris.
    a. Prepare thick, smooth plaster-of-paris.
    b. Pour about 1 inch of plaster into a yogurt or cottage cheese container.
    c. Brush a thin layer of petroleum jelly on the object (shell, leaf, etc.).
    d. Press into the plaster but do not allow it to cover the top of the object.
    e. Allow to set/dry for 24 hours before removing object.
    f. Brush a thin layer of jelly on top of the plaster. Make sure to get into any crannies.
    g. Pour about 1 inch of plaster on top and allow to dry for 24 hours.
    h. Separate the two pieces. The first (bottom layer) is a mold fossil and the second (top layer) is a cast fossil.
2. Find a fossil park and look for fossils.
3. Learn how fossils were made. (Try these websites for info: Fossil Facts and Finds, Enchanted Learning)
4. Make dinosaur shaped cookies and use white icing to draw their skeleton ("fossil") on.
5. Try the Dinosaurs Galore! A Word Find.
6. Try the Fossils Word Find below.

WORD FIND

WORD FIND ANSWERS

Other Dinosaur Posts You Might Enjoy:

• My Kids Wants To Be An Archaeologist
• Dinosaur Cupcakes
• Roar Into Teeth Brushing Fun!
• Hand Washing: Make Your Own Dinosaur Themed Soap Dispenser
• Rice Cereal Treats. Form the treats in a plastic egg and place dinosaur candy in the middle to create a special treat for the dinosaur lover in your life.
• Dinosaurs Galore! A Word Find

LINKS:
National Fossil Day
Fossil Collecting, Wiki

My Brownies Have Turned Into Ghosts!

I have had a bit of a chocolate craving, so we made some brownie ghosts! The boys loved decorating their own ghosts (and of course eating them!).

For this you will need:

• Brownie pop mold
• White Candy Melts or white icing
• Brownie mix
• Candy eyes, black icing, or chocolate chips (for the eyes)

Directions:

1. Make the brownie mix according to the package.

2. Lightly grease the brownie pop mold and pour the mix in.

3. Bake according to the box directions and let cool on a cooling rack once done.

4. Once the brownies have cooled, let the kids ice them in white icing. DM Tip: If you are bringing these to a party, Candy Melts might be better since they will harden and not stick together in transport.

5. Add on candy eyes or chocolate chips for the eyes, and enjoy!

Spider Placemats

These make a cute, but super easy Halloween craft.

You will need:

• Construction Paper (I used black for the base and yellow for the spider)
• Glue
• Contact Paper
• Pen, optional
• Scissors
• Paper or plastic bowl
• Thin white string or thread

Directions:

1. Pour some glue into the bowl and set off to the side.

2. Cut off desired length of string. This will make the web.

3. Dip string/thread into glue and run between your fingers to get off the excess.

4. Place string around the piece of paper to create the web.

5. Cut out a spider and glue onto the web. I have a stencil below if you would like to use it. Optional: draw on a eyes or a face on the spider. (Higgins did not like the feel of the glue on his fingers, so we don't have a very large web, but it can be any size you want!)

6. Let dry.

7. Once the glue has dried, cover front and back with contact paper to make a placemat for lunch! Try to squeeze out extra air bubbles and trim off any excess.

Spider stencil

Feed The Monster

The boys have mentioned (quite a few times) that we haven't been making as many crafts at the new house. Halloween is the perfect time to get back on the crafting wagon, so I started getting some ideas for Halloween crafts. The first one was a big hit. We made a Feed The Monster game and they love it!

You will need:

• Tissue box (1 per monster)
• Paint
• Googly eyes (There are a ton of options and sizes out there: Various sizes, Peel and Stick, Oval, Glow In The Dark)
• Glue
• Decorations (These could be stickers, paint, cut outs glued on, etc.)
• Small, softer balls like Nerf Ballistic balls or these small foam balls 

Directions:

1. Prepare tissue box: tear out the plastic liner and cut out teeth or make the opening larger (optional). This will be the mouth.

2. Optional: Paint the tissue box and let dry. We had floral tissue boxes, which no self respecting boy monster wants to be seen in. DM TIP: I spray painted the boxes black while the boys were at school so they would be ready when they got home.

3. Decorate! This is fun to just sit back and watch their creativity. Higgins painted all the teeth white, used the round office labeling stickers and his monster had to have feet. Bernardo preferred painting on his monsters face.

4. Let any paint or glue dry.

5. Place the box and take turns throwing the balls into the monsters mouth ("feeding the monster")!

DM Learning: After awhile of playing, the Elmer's glue did not hold the googly eyes on very well. Hot glue might be a better option.

DM Idea: This would also be a fun take home craft for a monster themed birthday!

Pumpkin Oreo Cookies

You will need:

• Orange Icing
• Green Icing (the little writing icing tubes work great!)
• Oreo cookies (1 per pumpkin)
• Pretzel sticks
• Black icing  (little tubes are great here too)
• Optional: chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Smear Orange icing on top of the Oreo. DM Tip: For less messier hands, only ice the top of the cookie.

2. Break a small piece off of a pretzel stick and stick into the top of the cookie (in between the two cookie halves and into the white filling).

3. Use the green or yellow icing and draw on leaves or vines at the top

4. Use the black icing and draw on the face. Optional: chocolate chips make great eyes!

DM Alternative: You could also dip the whole cookie in orange Candy Melts.

The Erasable Pumpkin

We make a tradition of carving pumpkins with the kids every year. Sometimes they are in a happy pumpkin face mood and sometimes they are in a scary pumpkin face mood. The problem is when we are halfway done with the pumpkin and they change their minds. I have not been able to magically repair the pumpkins so far and it has caused some unhappy kids at times. Does this happen to anyone else?

This year I wanted to try something new. I painted a pumpkin (which Higgins has named Pumpky) with chalk board paint. This time I used a spray paint, although there is also a brush on paint that I used before for the chalk board table. The spray paint was really easy to use for the pumpkin. Make sure you paint it outside, so you don't breathe in the fumes. I sprayed two coats on Pumpky. Once he was dry, we pulled out the chalk and the kids took turns decorating him. It was a big success. I think next time, I will buy a foam pumpkin so we can keep it longer.



Want more pumpkin carving alternatives? Check out my Pumpkin Alternatives post!

Witchy Pretzels

For these Witchy snacks, you will need:

• Pretzel rods
• Hershey Kisses
• Black icing
• White chocolate chips and green food coloring (or you can use green Candy Melts)
• Shortening (like Crisco)
• Wax paper

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate chips. NOTE: If using Candy Melts instead of chocolate chips, follow directions on the package and skip to step 4.

2. Stir in 1 tablespoon shortening and a few drops of green food coloring. 

3. Mix until smooth.  

4. Dip about 2 inches of the pretzel into the chocolate (or Candy Melts).  

5. Place a Kiss on top to create a hat and set in the refrigerator to harden. 

6. Once the green coating has hardened, create a nose, eyes, and mouth with black icing. (DM Tip: You can often find small tubes of icing in the baking aisle. If you have a large container of icing, place some in a Ziploc bag, squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Snip of a small amount in the corner and you have an instant decorating bag!) 

7. If desired, cover the kiss with the black icing too.

8. Let the black icing set.

9. Enjoy!

DM Tip: If your family likes coconut, try using dried coconut for hair before Step 5. Lay the pretzel on the wax paper and place coconut around the sides for hair. No one in my family likes coconut, so I didn't make any with it. However, it would add a nice touch! After the coconut has been added, proceed with placing Hershey Kiss (above Step 5).

Broomstick Pretzels
You will need:

• Pretzel Rods
• Candy Melts or Cookie Icing (they harden and help the "straw" stick on better than softer icing)
• Shoestring licorice 

Directions:

1. Cut small pieces of licorice, about 1-2 inches long.

2. Smear icing or Candy Melts around pretzel end, about 1 inch up from the bottom.

3. Place pieces of licorice on and hold in place.

4. Once they start to stick, lay on piece of wax paper to finish setting.

5. Gently smear or pipe icing or Candy Melts around the top of the "straw" candy pieces. DM Tip: Use a Ziploc bag to help pipe it on.

6. Wrap a smaller piece of licorice around the top of the "straw" pieces to create a more finished look.

DM Tip: I tried making a few with Airhead Extremes, but I liked how licorice "straw" looked better. 

Candy Corn Jello

These are an easy and yummy Halloween themed snack. They were a big hit with the boys and hubby!

You will need:

• Clear glass cups
• Orange jello
• Yellow Jello
• Reddi-Whip or Cool Whip

Directions:
1. Make orange jello according to package. Pour into glasses and fill about halfway.
2. Set in fridge to set.
3. Make yellow jello according to package.
4. Let sit in pan to cool, to about room temperature but not set yet.
5. Once the jello is cool, pour on top of orange jello and place in fridge to set.
6. Right before serving, top with Reddi-Whip.
7. Enjoy!

Halloween: Ideas, Crafts, Food, and Fun

I can't wait for Halloween! Of course since Halloween stuff starting showing up at the end of August at our local stores, the boys can't wait either. If you found us last year, you know we are big Halloween fans (well...except for scary movies, I'll pass on those). I have even more ideas for this year, but here are the ones from last year to get the season started.

CRAFTS:

Attack of the Play-Doh Spiders! These were one of my favorite crafts last year. They are a little time consuming, but a huge hit with the kids. These are a perfect treat to bring into school if you have food restrictions, because who doesn't love Play-Doh!?

Eerie Spiders and Ghosts Reuse old egg cartons and make spooky little spiders and ghosts.

Pumpkin Pots If you have a clay pot, a sharpie, maybe some green pipe cleaners, you can make a quick and easy Halloween decoration!

Ghostly Handprints These make a cute craft or Halloween card to send to Grandma/Grandpa.

Pumpkin Cards With a little paint, some paper, and the right shaped leaf, you can create a great Halloween card.

Pumpkin Stained Glass

Easy Halloween Luminaries

Pumpkin Alternatives If you don't want to deal with the mess of carving pumpkins, here are some alternatives.

Sweep Your Way Into Snacks: Broomstick Bags These make a great decoration or favor bag for a Halloween party!

Gourd Lighting (aka Pumpkin Candle Holder). I had this as a Fall and Thanksgiving idea last year, but it also fits well with Halloween.

Help! The Toilet Paper Roll Turned Into A Monster Easy to make monsters using toilet paper rolls.

FOOD:

• Have Your Cider and Eat The Cup Too! Use an apple to create an instant cup for apple cider.
• Pumpkin Seeds I love roasting pumpkin seeds. My kids love them and I don't feel bad giving them this snack.
• Frankenstein Cups Create super cute Frankenstein snack holders out of pretzels, candy, icing, and green ice cream cones.
• Rice Cereal Ghosts, Frankenstein, and Mummies! Love Halloween? Love rice cereal treats? Then these are the snack for you!
• Haunted Parfaits
• Mummified Hot Dogs Have hot dogs and dough...will make mummies.
• What's For Dinner Mummy? Mummy shaped meatloaf (including my meatloaf recipe).
• Mummy Muffin Pizzas Super easy to make mummy mini pizzas using English Muffins.
• The Not So Spooky Lunch Easy to make ghost cups and Halloween themed lunch.
• Monster Apples These are a great snack!
• Pumpkin Soup
• Jack O'Fruit Bowls
• I LOVE October Making caramel apples.
• Pumpkin Dip This is great at Thanksgiving, but it works well with the pumpkin time of Halloween too!
• Rainbow Cupcakes These were a St. Patrick's Day hit, but it can be used to create a candy corn cupcake too! Use a white cake mix and color 1/3 of the batter yellow, 1/3 orange, and leave a 1/3 white. Layer the different mixes in the cupcake pan and bake according to box directions. (If you need extra instruction, click on the post link.)
• Attack of the Monster Veggies
• Mommy's Little Helper: Warp Corp Breach WARNING: This is an alcoholic drink. BONUS: It looks super spooky with dry ice and might help you get through sitting and handing out candy.

ACTIVITIES:

• You've Been Boo'd! I cannot wait to do this tradition again in our new neighborhood!
• Scare Up Some Cookies We had a cookie decorating play-date and the boys had a blast.
• Spooky Storytimes Many local libraries and bookstores have Halloween themed storytimes! I included some favorite Halloween books so you can make your own storytime too!
• Halloween BINGO This is great if you are stuck at home handing out the candy.
• Pumpkin Picking (Pumpkin Patch) Every year we go with friends to the pumpkin patch and let the kids pick out a pumpkin. We usually end up at the farm's store eating apple fritters or donuts and drinking apple cider. It's a great time and I look forward to it each year.
• Haunted Gingerbread House We decorate a gingerbread house at Christmas as a family and last year we started decorating a Haunted Gingerbread House for Halloween. It's lots of fun!
• Halloween Scavenger Hunt Card Now that we walk to the bus stop, I am really looking forward to using these again.
• Halloween Time Fun: A Crossword Puzzle
• Halloween: A Word Find

TIPS:

• Trick Or Treat: Halloween Safety Some of my safety tips and ideas for trick or treating.
• My List of Top and Worse Halloween Treats for Kids