Carving Party…Ready

Things are coming together for the annual Pumpkin Carving Party.
A few nights ago I emptied out the recycle bin and the kids and I sat around the table making a can toss game.

We had so much fun talking and planning the festivities. With a few sheets of construction paper, a little creativity and the can game came to life.

Every year I put some orange light bulbs in the front porch lights to add to the mood. I pain them myself which is probably horrible and I’m sure they sell colored bulbs but I can’t let go of the DIY. I think they look like candy corn after they have been lit for a few hours. I just add another coat of paint each year.

The Pumpkins are ready and waiting.

I have tons of patterns to choose from.

The carving tools are sorted.

Lots of candles available for the group lighting

The slow cookers are on and I’ll be making a rice crispy spider soon.
The garage is getting cleaned out now and things are coming together.

I hope you all have a fun and safe Trick or Treat!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Fun

I love it!!!
I love the fall to begin with then you toss in things like Halloween (dress up) and Thanksgiving (food) and what more could a girl want????

I’ve always loved Halloween. I’m not fond of being scared but I do like the dressing up thing and then the candy is just icing on the cake. You get to be whatever/whoever you want. You can let your alter ego out and no one thinks twice about how you look. This was always great for those of us with sub par self-confidence. I remember being out trick-or-treating and thinking about what kind of costume I would make for the following year as I went door to door.

Even now I like to get creative and express my inner gypsy. Or maybe it’ll be biker chick this year. Hmmm, could do the witch …or ????? Hmmm, what will it be????

Well, costume or not, I love to see all the kids running from house to house bags open wide. Their energy is palpable. This neighborhood is great for the event too. The local police and fire companies drive slowly thru the streets and flash their lights tossing candy out and waving to the kids.

In anticipation each year we host a pumpkin carving party. I think of it as one of the high lights to my year. The house is full of friends and the kiddos play and run and scream and giggle all evening long. Everyone is laughing, eating and having such a good time. It fills my house with joy.

At the end of the evening we line up pumpkins on the front steps for a photo shoot.
Here’s some from previous years.

What do you do for Halloween???

Trick or Treat

It’s time to start having some ghoulish fun. With a little creativity you can have a ton of not so scary Halloween fun.

Let’s see what’s on the menu…

Poison Apples –Fill a basket with some fresh apples and put some mister yuck stickers around it.

Dried Bat Wings with Bug Guts Dip –Blue corn chips look just the way you would imagine a dried bat wing to look. Add a few drops of green food color to some ranch dressing and you’ll have a bowl of bugs guts ready for the feast.

Bat Bones –I wanted shoestring potato sticks for this but couldn’t find them. The matchstick pretzels worked just as well.

Monster Mix -Make some trail mix with black and orange ingredients like chocolate chex, goldfish, raisins, and black & orange M&Ms.

Witch Fingers and Monster Fingers –Use cream cheese to “glue” a piece of olive onto a carrot and you have a finger complete with nail. I colored sliced almonds with green food color and used them as the finger nails on the celery…I mean the monster’s fingers.

Tiny Mummies – Cocktail wieners wrapped in thin cuts of pastry make cute little mummies. Add 2 dots of mustard for eyes.

Spider Web Pie –Use the store bought dough, place to toping on first (cheese and pepperoni) then cover with sauce. Put about ½ cup of alfrado sauce into a baggy and cut the corner open. Make circles of white sauce and then drag the knife through as you cut the slices. Looks just like a spider web.

Worms in Slime – Peanut butter noodles. (I’ll post this recipe some day. It’s really easy and yummy)

Witches Brew – Green punch made with limeade, green sherbet, ginger ale and a few gummy worms.

Eat at your own risk…

Now for entertainment…..

These games are great for kids or adults. (Have a beer and some adults act like kids so it’s close enough.)

Trick or Treat for Words… See how many words you can spell using the letters from “Trick or Treat”

Build a Spider Web… Stand in a circle and use a ball of string or yarn and try to build a spider web.

Wrap the Mummy… Pick an unsuspecting innocent bystander and wrap them up like a mummy using rolls of toilet paper. (What a good Dad he is)

Witches Limbo... Hey, it’s limbo using a witch’s broom.

Candy Corn Relay… Get 2 teams lined up. Have 2 buckets full of candy corn at one end and 2 bowls at the other end of the room. Using large spoons or toy shovels race to fill the bowls up with the candy corn. Each person takes a turn and then gets back in line until the race is over.

What are your fun Halloween Ideas?????